Kodiak has been the scene of unique weddings before, but the marriage of Dake Schmidt and Kadie Walsh may take top prize. On Saturday afternoon, the pair waded in the middle of the Buskin River, accompanied by their wedding party.
For the operators of MemoryMakers Tour and Guide service, the scene was a reminder of how they work and play.
"That's about as Kodiak as it gets," Schmidt said after emerging from the water.
Schmidt, a fishing guide and photographer, and Walsh, who also runs Smarty Pants Graphics, met about nine years ago at the former Buskin River Inn, a hotel and restaurant on the banks of the river.
Since then, they've worked together and lived together as Schmidt opened a photography studio and ran his fishing guide business. Walsh started her own graphic design business and continues to help with the guiding operation.
A one-year hiatus in their long friendship only cemented their bond. "It was a long time coming, supposedly," Schmidt said of the ceremony and his friends' reaction to the announcement.
Groomsmen and bridesmaids alike carried fly fishing rods into the river — the groomsmen's were strung in yellow, the bridesmaids' in purple.
The wedding couple's rings arrived in the mouths of a pair of fresh-caught king salmon kept in a cooler for the purpose.
by James Brooks, ADN via Kodiak Daily Mirror | Read more:
Image: AP, Kodiak Daily Mirror, James Brooks
