A Bayfield Ice Road Wedding

Married on a frozen Lake Superior – now that is a winter wedding!

Every year the channel separating Bayfield and Madeline Island freezes over, becoming thick enough to drive back and forth on. Locals plow and sand the route, creating a way to get back and forth. Ryan, who grew up in Bayfield, and Shui, his bride, have a love for Lake Superior and decided to take full advantage of the Ice Road in a completely unique way! Read about their wedding and how they went about getting married in the middle of winter out on the beautiful ice in Bayfield.

Image by Riverstone Photography

Ryan and Shui had an outdoor winter ceremony on February 28, 2015 on the Lake Superior Ice Road between Bayfield and Madeline Island. A small, intimate ceremony is exactly what this couple had in mind. With 12 in-person guests and family Facetiming from China, they had their unique ceremony on Lake Superior. Ryan has family in Bayfield and always loved Lake Superior. Shui’s name actually translates to water – so it was no surprise that they wanted to incorporate Lake Superior into their ceremony.

Around two weeks before their wedding date, Ryan’s mother made the suggestion of getting married on the Ice Road. Since they were planning on having a small, quick ceremony they knew this could work! They found a spot on the Ice Road where they could be out of the way of traffic and set up an arch. Everything fell together perfectly and they had the unique wedding they were hoping for. Following their ceremony they quickly bundled up and had a small reception at Ryan’s parents’ house. Then this past August they had a large reception at the Bayfield Lakeside Pavilion.

Image by Riverstone Photography

To prepare for an outdoor winter wedding, the couple made sure to dress in many layers. February 28 ended up being quite a cold day, but that didn’t stop any of their guests from celebrating with them. Their plan B if it was too cold or if the Ice Road wasn’t open was to either go to one of the Bayfield marinas or Ryan’s parents’ property. Either option would still keep them outside and near the water – like they wanted. For any couple looking to get married outside in the winter, they would recommend to dress very warm and to stress to your guests that it can get very, very cold out on the ice. Ryan and Shui also agree that an outdoor winter wedding is easiest when the ceremony is quick and the guest list is short, in case plans need to be changed last minute.

Ryan and Shui are very happy with how their wedding turned out. They said their guests were excited to attend the unique ceremony and everyone had a really fun time. Not many people can say they were married on the ice of Lake Superior or even attended a wedding out on the ice! If their story has inspired you to take advantage of the Ice Road for your own wedding, please visit here to learn more about the Ice Road.