Lakefest 2025
“It’s Not Just a Wedding, It’s a Weekend“
We planned this wedding for almost two years, and it was important to us that we created the ultimate party environment. You only get one shot to get all of your friends and family together to party with you and we made the most of it!
The Setup
All guests stayed onsite at Camp Dogwood Friday night through Sunday morning, with food and drinks provided all weekend. Lakefest was a competition where guests could earn points by playing games throughout the weekend.
The unique experience started over a year in advance, with the ‘Snackbox Traveler’ newspaper invitation, including articles about our lives and point opportunities. Guests who submitted a ‘favorite snack’ were rewarded with their snack in the snack box in the common area.
Every guest received a mini bottle of Goat Island Whiskey or Turbo Shine. Stacey set up a display with a picture of us with each guest and we created a sign-in board where everyone doodled their portrait.
We had friends and family create ‘radio hours’ to play throughout the weekend. Music was broadcast over an FM transmitter and picked up by 90’s boom boxes all over camp.
The Games
Friday kicked off with a food truck, lawn games, speeches by the dads, and our first team competition: S&J trivia. Guests wore their team colors Saturday and we encouraged funky re-worn party attire throughout the weekend.
Teams scored points by participating in games, and everyone at Lakefest participated. We couldn’t have asked for more enthusiasm from our guests. We even had a ‘ref’ (Kenedy) who helped explain games, stocked coolers, and provided general assistance. All teams played hard, but Team Blue (JD’s UNC friends) squeezed past Team White (Stacey’s Raleigh friends) in the final games to earn the first place medals.
The Wedding
Saturday evening we changed into our evening attire and got married. Kevin (Rosey) officiated the ceremony, with some help from Oran (Israeli cousin) for the Hebrew portions. The ceremony was short, complete, and meaningful.
The caterers were short-staffed (long story), so some friends helped deliver the meals, which made dinner memorable. All the speeches were great, but Eric, Cory, and Elliot stole the show with their props and hysterical delivery.
The DJ absolutely crushed it and kept the dance floor full until it was time to shut it down and move to the after party. Stacey and I partied until 4am with whoever remained standing.
The Hangover
Sunday morning was Bojangles and farewells. What a party. A huge thanks to every one of my family and friends who brought the most incredible party energy and made it the event we could only dream it would be.
