Corey and Erica Strength
August 1, 2009

Corey Strength and Erica Knight got engaged March 7, 2009 and one of the early decisions was to have an outdoor wedding. The couple scouted locations at the beach and Mt. Cheaha before deciding on Chimney Cove at Lake Wedowee.
"When we looked at Chimney Cove, we knew we had found the place for our wedding," Erica said.
Both Corey and Erica are Randolph County natives and the location made perfect sense.
"It was beautiful and being close to home allowed all of our family to attend," Corey said.
Erica and Corey both have a rather large extended family and deciding on who would participate in the activities could have been cause of duress, but the problem was solved easily by having more than one flower girl and one ring bearer.
"We couldn't pick between our cousins so we let all the little ones be in it," Corey said.
In all there were six flower girls and two ring bearers.
For most summer weddings the chance of rain is a given and the Strengths' day was no exception, however it did hold off until later in the night and the couple were able to enjoy the day.
"We wanted the outdoor wedding at sunset and even though the weather didn't cooperate fully, we still had a wonderful time," Corey said.
The couple even left the reception by boat courtesy of Wedowee Marine.
"Mr. Randy was great for helping make that happen," Corey said. "It was a great way to leave our lake wedding.

John and Krystal Payne
July 12, 2008

As a child Krystal Rice decided when she married she wanted to do so on her family's property on Lake Wedowee. And, on July 12, 2008 her dream came true at Rice Pavilion when she became John Payne's wife.
"I always wanted to get married on the hill on our family land and John wanted an outdoor wedding," she said. "But it was my aunt that suggested we get married on the dock at Rice Pavilion instead of the hill behind it."
The couple relied on family to plan the wedding with her grandmother Letha Rice (owner of the Hub Restaurant) taking the lead on the reception.
"She took care of everything," Krystal said. "She looked through magazines to get her ideas and got a little input from us. It was a relief that she did that for us because it was one less thing we had to worry about."
Rice also baked both the wedding cake and the groom's cake as well as handling all the decorations there.
The main worry the day of the ceremony was the chance of rain.
"I remember we looked at the radar for most of the day," John said. "The forecast said it was going to rain at 7 p.m. (the time of the ceremony), but it didn't rain a drop."
John and Krystal did have their share of wedding nerves on the big day but it was more about being the center of attention instead of doubts about each other.
"Neither one of us really like to be in the spotlight," Krystal said. "John had worked himself up about it for months, but that day he really enjoyed himself."
The couple grew up in Wedowee and have enjoyed playing on the waters of Lake Wedowee for most of their lives.
"We both have fond memories of skiing, tubing and fishing on the lake and we couldn't think of a better place to have our wedding," Krystal said.

By Kelly Caldwell

Kelly Caldwell helped create Lake Wedowee Life in 2008 and remains the principal photographer as well as the main writer for the magazine. She has more than 10 years of journalism experience after graduating from Troy University in 2000. She grew up in Randolph County and has enjoyed spending time on Lake Wedowee.