Mrs. Sundae, Chicago/Lake Geneva, WI
Age and Occupation: 28, Knowledge Manager
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Investment Advisor
Engagement Date: July 20, 2007
Wedding Date: September 2008
Blogging Since: February 5, 2008
Venue: The Abbey Resort
About Me: It’s hard to believe that by the time Mr. Sundae and I get married we will have been together for almost ten years. When we first met in college we split dollar pitchers and now we share the mortgage payments. Despite our love for the city we are looking forward to tying the knot in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
The Getaway Boat
June 6th, 2008 @ 3:31 pm by Mrs. Sundae
Our ceremony and reception sites are exactly 1.3 miles apart - about a 3 minute car ride. Because they’re so close, a mode of transportation for the wedding party never even crossed my mind. Of all people, Mr. Sundae is actually the one who thought of it ((stunned silence)).
My stance on the issue was that I really didn’t care, it seemed like an added expense we could do without. I had actually budgeted for some mode of transportation at the very beginning, but now that I realized it was there, it seemed like money that could be allocated to something else (a candy bar! mini hamburgers at midnight!). But Mr. Sundae wasn’t having it…he wanted his getaway. It must be a guy thing, the idea of renting a large vehicle with a big engine to take you somewhere.
We’ve allotted for about 40 minutes between the ceremony and reception, which will give people time to walk back to their cars, drive to the reception site, park again (most will probably want to run up to the room to freshen up, etc) and then make their way to the tent and find their seats. So we first discussed renting an antique car and just taking a little drive around town in those 40 minutes, stopping along the way for a few photo ops. But the car was hard to find in the immediate area and we didn’t want to pay travel expenses for someone to come from Chicago or Milwaukee. There was a brief conversation about other cars (read: Mr. Sundae could taste a James Bond fantasy car within his reach) but then there was a stroke of genius…we’re on a lake, why not a boat? Hello, Lorelei:
Meet our getaway boat. She’s going to pick us up on the pier just steps away from the ceremony and drop us off at The Abbey Harbor (our reception site). Since we’re only going to be taking a short cruise, Gage Marine was nice enough to waive the alternate docking fee and actually listed two bottles of chilled champagne on our contract. I like anyone who gives me a discount and offers champagne.
Since the antique cars we researched had one hour minimums, the difference in cost between the boat and a car really wasn’t that much. Crazy to spend a couple hundred dollars on a 30 minute boat ride? Maybe. But I think the pictures and the memory of it all will be well worth it.
How are you getting from your ceremony to the reception?
10 Responses to “The Getaway Boat”
Well worth it. Look at all the teak and the dark blue. It really will make for some great pictures!
Who cares about the extra cost! Ok, well I guess easier said than done, but that sounds like a FANTASTIC way to get from the ceremony to the reception! I chose a venue where we can have both the ceremony and the reception to avoid having to travel in between (we’re trying to have a greenish wedding), but that sounds so amazing, I’m actually jealous!!
The number one goal on my wedding day is to get myself on a boat at some point to take some pictures in. This one would be perfect. The pictures will be incredible (for you, and for me if I ever find one)
@Miss Gingerbread: Ditto!
Oh! that’s great!
I had a very similar experience. FI brought up post-wedding transport (I had thought of it, but only long enough to scrap it from the to-do list). We even rearranged our hotel plans so that we’d be traveling more than a block (which made a “getaway” seem silly). While we had also considered and dismissed renting a classic car, we will likely go with another non-traditional mode of transportation: bicycle carts! They are these bicycle rickshaws that are tourists ride in, but we thought it would be a fun (and affordable) way to integrate some Portland-ness into the wedding.
I just got married in May at our cottage on a lake in Michigan. The ceremony and reception were in the same place but we still wanted our “getaway” We got a vintage wooden boat to take us around the lake for about 30 minutes while the reception started. We got the best pictures with the photographer on the boat. Everyone commented on how fun it was. The driver even stuck around during the reception to take guests out for sunset cruises around the lake. It was the best thing we did at our wedding! Good luck to you!
All I can say is AWESOME!!!…and I’m jeolous 
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