Couple Sami and Danny fully embraced their rescheduled wedding (due to COVID-19), so much so that they celebrated it with a jump in a lake at the groom’s family’s home after exchanging vows, says Minneapolis wedding photographer Athena Hays of Empiria Studios. “Each moment of the day felt more memorable than the last, and it was so fun to be able to capture the day in such a creative way!”

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“Rather than a New Year’s Eve 2020 wedding, their new plan was to get married at Danny’s family home on September 19th,” says Hays. “While this plan made sense for COVID-19 guidelines, it really also spoke to them personally. Danny’s father passed away many years ago and used to always say, ‘Go jump in the lake.’ When Danny proposed to Sami, he asked, ‘Will you jump in the lake with me for the rest of our lives?'” Hays says that both Sami and Danny also incorporated this phrase in their vows to each other.

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“I asked them later that evening if they would jump in the lake with each other to commemorate the day, Danny’s father, their vows and this new life together,” says Hays. “They embraced it…and even did a few extra cannonballs.” Twenty people were on land and 30 people were in pontoon boats on the shoreline, ready to help celebrate the couple’s nuptials.

Other meaningful details and creative wedding photos Hays was able to capture in her coverage included the following (view images in the gallery at top):

Seven pontoon boats, each with a letter balloon for their last name, Schmidt. Some of the the balloons floated away, but Hays says everyone enjoyed watching them in the sky.

Danny’s dad had a Hibiscus tree that he cared for through many years, although, says Hays, it died shortly after his passing. “A few years later, the tree re-bloomed and was with Danny at the front of his and Samy’s wedding ceremony; Danny put a matching tie on it after he walked down the aisle.”

The couple had a wedding yurt put up in the backyard, which is where they spent their first night as newlyweds.

Sami and Danny’s dog, Buxton, made many appearances throughout the day, “including helping Sami put on her shoes,” says Hays with a laugh.

There is a traditional dance from Sami and Danny’s college involving men taking off their pants and dancing to Billy Joel’s Piano Man.

The family surprised Sami and Danny with fireworks at the end of the night. “Though they were lit from the dock and a bit close to everyone, it was a fun show, and a great way to commemorate such an epic day,” Hays sums up.

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