This Couple Got Married on Paddle Boards in the Middle of a Lake—And It Was Pure Magic

Q: What do you get when you cross weddings with watersports? 

A: Kirby + Corey’s fabulous floating “I do’s” on Lady Bird Lake in Austin, TX!

“When we first started dating, Corey lived in an apartment right on the Town Lake (aka Lady Bird Lake) path in Austin, and we spent most of our free time running around the lake training for marathons,” says bride Kirby of what initially drew them to Rowing Dock Austin, where their guests suited up in life jackets and loaded into kayaks for the ceremony. “That area holds so many memories for us, so getting married on the lake just made sense.”

With the help of planners + event designers from Bianca Nichole, Kirby + Corey built their out-of-the-box Austin wedding day in two parts. First: the sporty, sunny ceremony on the lake. Then: a dreamy “Texas chic” ranch reception at Two Wishes Ranch.

Romantic paddleboard portraits on the water. A swimsuit wedding dress. And then a switch to the down-to-earth elegance of their reception complete with good tunes, yummy food, and a fairytale-worthy cinderella-blue gown. AND! Instead of a registry, Kirby + Corey had guests donate to local animal shelters! SO much to love about this one.

Caitlin Rose snapped photos along the way to prove that – when it comes to creating a wedding day that’s a little outdoorsy, a little elegant, and full of a lot of love – you really can have it all.

I Do’s: Afloat

Rowing Dock Austin outfitted Kirby + Corey’s guests with kayaks, paddles, and everything they’d need to attend a wedding in the middle of the Lady Bird. The bride and groom, however, made their entrances standing on paddleboards.

“The paddle board idea came up randomly on a date night years ago,” says the couple. “We were at a restaurant overlooking another stretch of the Colorado River when we started daydreaming about what our future wedding could look like and thought how cool would it be to get married out there? From then on we just stuck to it! “

Planning your own wedding at the moment? Let yourself dream big like Kirby + Corey did and check out our list of creative + meaningful ceremony ideas!

“Our original vision was definitely more extravagant — we imagined kayaks forming an actual aisle, our dog PJ as the ring-bearer ‘swimming’ down the aisle, me paddling down the aisle, etc..”

“I sort of ended up ‘paddling down the aisle’ alongside my parents who were on their own boards,” Kirby remembers, “and everyone else was on kayaks or watching from the boat rental dock.”

“I think the way it worked out was perfect — especially considering that no one fell in!“

Our Musical Choices
Processional
"Seasons of Love" from RENT
Recessional
"Love Story (remix)" by Taylor Swift
First Dance
"Oh What A World" by Kacey Musgraves

“Because our ceremony was on the water, I saved my main dress for the reception and wore a two-piece outfit for the paddle boards — a white bathing suit with a fishnet-style coverup skirt,” Kirby says of her one-of-a-kid, water-ready wedding day style. “Finding the swimsuit was easy, but I couldn’t track down a skirt that matched the vision in my head… until I randomly stumbled across a wedding dress from Stacees.”

“The bottom half looked exactly like what I’d imagined. At first, I just took a screenshot for inspiration, but then I realized the dress came in two pieces!”

“I ordered it, used just the skirt, and it paired perfectly with my suit. Honestly I think I got more compliments on that outfit than my main dress!”

LoLa Beauty ATX took care of Kirby’s super cute half up half down bridal hairstyle for the paddleboard ceremony as well as her reception looks later on. Love that bow! A perfect veil alternative.

How cute is it that Kirby paddled out holding a beautiful eucalyptus-filled bouquet from Fae’s Florals!

Back On Dry Land: Time To Celebrate!

“For the reception, I wanted something more traditional — but still me,” Kirby says. “My only requirement was that the dress had to be blue. (I’ve never been into wearing all white, and blue is our favorite color.)”

“I ended up falling in love with the flowy, sparkly HOPKINS dress from Pronovias while visiting a bridal shop in Florida, and I was able to customize it by adding a thin layer of blue fabric under the skirt. Unfortunately the dress was shipped to me two months late so there was a big time crunch for getting the blue in there (I literally picked it up the day before the wedding), but it was worth it!”

If you’re liking the idea of your wedding dress actually being your ‘something blue’ like Kirby’s was, explore our collection of the most beyond-beautiful blue wedding dresses!

And don’t miss our fave fairytale princess wedding dresses if it’s the Cinderella-at-the-ball-ness of it all that’s speaking to you!

We’ve also got a great roundup of the best navy blue bridesmaid dresses if you’re longing to recreate Kirby’s cool-tone bridal party palette.

Wishful Drinking was on hand pouring cocktails for Kirby + Corey’s guests.

Our Favorite Memory
It’s hard to pick just one moment, but the highlight for both of us was definitely the band Love & Happiness! We stumbled across them playing at a bar on Rainey Street years ago and fell in love. I was so excited that I booked them long before we had a venue. They absolutely blew us away at the reception — they were even better than I remembered and our friends and family still talk about them. 

El Chile Cafe served the day’s delicious Mexican food feast in this stunning barn-turned-event-space.

Our Advice
Do something special to make your wedding about you! Let go of traditions and expectations and choose something that feels personal and memorable. Even if it’s something small. 

Congratulations, Kirby + Corey! Your unique floating wedding made such a *splash*! Best wishes from GWS!