Fly Fishing Inspired This Elegant Green-and-White Wedding at Martis Camp in Truckee, California

Anne and Charlie's shared love of fly fishing has always been central to their relationship so when it came time to plan their wedding at Martis Camp in Truckee, California, selecting a fly fishing theme was an easy decision. "Of many shared interests and experiences, however, none was more important than our common passion for fly-fishing," recalls Anne of bonding with Charlie over the sport in the early days of their relationship. "Charlie and I fell in love quickly while exploring trout rivers and streams throughout Northern California, spending the most time by far on the Truckee and Little Truckee Rivers near Lake Tahoe. We fished in Northern Michigan, Montana, and Idaho, and took our first major fishing expedition together to Patagonia, Argentina. In keeping with their love of fly fishing, Charlie even proposed after a morning casting session at the couple's local angling club.

From the onset, fly fishing was the unifying theme in the couple's wedding design—even the venue choice was significant as Martis Camp boasts a stocked trout pond. Inspired by a painting Anne commissioned for Charlie as an engagement gift which captured "Charlie and I fishing out of Charlie's wood and canvas canoe on his homewaters in Michigan," the couple's invitation suite featured an aquatic watercolor liner that was also threaded through many of the celebration's other stationery elements. In keeping with the day's theme, the couple even placed "a hand-tied blue-winged olive (a favorite fly of native Truckee River trout) on each guest's napkin." Even much of the decor paid homage to the couple's favorite pastime—a fly fishing creel held the wedding programs at the ceremony while a vintage wood canoe filled with fresh flowers added a whimsical touch to the reception space.

While fly fishing was central to the wedding's decor, the theme didn't stop there. The couple also included the sport in the evening's activities. "At our reception, we had fly-fishing rods and reels strung up for guests to fish in the stocked pond," explains Anne. "The trout were biting in the Martis Camp club pond when Charlie and I made a few casts in our gown and tuxedo, with guests cheering us on." A few committed wedding attendees even donned fishing waders to offer a heartfelt toast during the wedding reception. 

In addition to celebrating their shared love of fly fishing, it was key to Anne and Charlie that their wedding celebrate other details that are meaningful to them as a couple. While Anne's favorite memory of the day was processing down the aisle with her father, a close second was "experiencing the wedding ceremony of my dreams and making my vows to Charlie with the backdrop of the Sierra and nearly 100 of our family and friends, something I did not think possible a few months earlier." For couple's mountainview wedding ceremony, they tapped Reverend Sarah A. Dunn, the rector at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church in North Lake Tahoe, to officiate because "the Episcopal rite of marriage is very meaningful to both me and Charlie, and solemnified our union in such a profound way." As a meaningful nod to family, Anne wore her grandmother's pearl necklace, which her mother wore for her own wedding, and even "had a sixpence and penny in my shoe from the year of my grandparent's marriage and parent's marriage, respectively."

"After such a challenging year in all of our lives, our wedding felt like a victory and we savored every moment." When the couple's dream fly fishing-inspired wedding came to a close, they kept the theme going with an active fishing honeymoon. "Charlie and I honeymooned on three famous trout rivers in Iliamna, Alaska, and are grateful to feel that we both have made the catch of a lifetime," reminisces Anne.