A Nautical Wedding at Detroit Yacht Club in Detroit, Michigan

Josephine Cook (31 and a nonprofit executive director) and Justin Roberts (29 and an architect) both grew up in Lake Charlevoix in northern Michigan, and they met at the Detroit Yacht Club in Detroit, Michigan, where Josephine is a competitive sailor. So it made sense that they’d get married at the yacht club too, a place that holds such special meaning in their lives. “We kept trying not to make our wedding nautical-themed, but once we started nailing down what we wanted, we were drawn to everything that had to do with being on the water and in boats,” Josephine says. Their palette was navy, copper and wood. In addition, their officiant was the club’s former commodore, and they exchanged vows at the end of the main dock near the yachts (and used passages from Jimmy Buffet's “A Salty Piece of Land”). To highlight their love of sailing the day, Josephine and Justin raised their own custom nautical flag from the club’s mast, had a champagne toast on a yacht cruise around Belle Isle and had their first dance to "Beyond the Sea" by Bobby Darin. “Joining of lives isn't picture perfect," Josephine says. "It's a combination of all sorts of traditions, tastes, cultures and people. Your wedding should really reflect who you are as a couple.” —Chrissy Sorenson