Tying the Knot at Lake Max Meadows: Culver’s Newest Wedding Venue and its Nautical Roots

The love story behind Lake Max Meadows, Culver, Indiana’s newest wedding venue, started on the water, but led to the fields of the Midwest. Owners Becky and Ed Furry met years ago in Annapolis, Maryland, when competitively racing sailboats. At the time, Becky was working as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and Ed was racing professionally throughout the United States. They kept in touch after meeting and raced against each other in regattas. Eventually, they created a sailing company together, Sail22 in 2007.

Ed had always wanted to find a place with land to grow the business. One fateful weekend, Ed’s parents learned the previous owners of the property Lake Max Meadows sits on were moving out of state. Ed quickly bought the farm, and Becky soon decided to join him in Culver full time. “Eventually, it made sense for me to move out to Indiana. After all, we owned a company together, and we’d definitely fallen in love,” Becky reminisced. 

When they purchased the property, the farm had three barns: what is now called The Blue Boat Barn, the barn known as The Studio, and a little red barn called The Chicken Coop. All of the buildings needed paint and varying levels of work; the couple even considered tearing down The Studio, but Ed’s father had a vision for the old barn and fought to preserve the history of the structure. The barns were slowly repaired, and two more were later added. The couple hosted parties and entertained on the property often, and even held their own wedding in the fields in 2011. Soon friends and neighbors began to ask to use the property for weddings and events, and that, as they say, is history. “Since the venue sits on a hill, surrounded by fields just 1.5 miles from Lake Maxinkuckee, it made sense to call our special spot Lake Max Meadows.”

The venue is rented exclusively in two-night weekend packages, giving couples an extended stay for a stress-free wedding. The Blue Boat Barn is the perfect reception space with huge barn doors on either end, a newly constructed deck overlooking the fields, and gorgeous farmhouse tables. The Red Barn was originally built for Sail22’s offices, but the industrious couple knew it had more potential. Now, it is also home to an AirBnB with space to sleep 10 with gorgeous streaming light and incredible views of the surrounding property. The Studio houses Becky’s photography studio, Always Happy Life Photography, and provides a great space for the bridal party to get ready. The Studio also sleeps three. With The Studio and The Red Barn included in the weekend rental of the property, the entire bridal party has a wonderful space to prepare for the wedding. 

When a couple books Lake Max Meadows for their wedding weekend, all three unique barns are included. “What’s great about the barns is they all have so much personality,” Becky said. The couple also sprinkled in nautical touches throughout--cleats as bed pulls or coat hooks, wire and line in place of traditional railings and lots of naval white. 

So why did this world-traveling couple choose Culver? Ed attended the Summer Naval Program at Culver Academies when he was younger, and Culver has been a part of his family and extended family for multiple generations. For years, Becky has been a Culver Academies portrait photographer, and the entire Furry family loves to spend time on the campus. “I'm looking forward to the day when our three children are able to have their own Culver experience,” she said with a smile. Most importantly, the city of Culver called to the couple. “We love to travel, but we also love to have a place to call home, which is what Culver is for us. We could choose to live anywhere with owning Sail22, but we choose to live in Culver.”

“Culver is a bit of a gem, and I love how we are creating something our community doesn’t have,” Becky said. “By creating Lake Max Meadows, we hope to draw new people to the Culver area to enjoy our beautiful town, as well as offer a wedding venue for those who already know and love Culver, so they can host the wedding of their dreams locally.”
 

Lake Max Meadows will be kicking off its first full year of weddings and events in 2020. The venue will again host the Northern Indiana Wedding Expo on Saturday, May 9, a great chance for couples to meet the very best of the best wedding professionals. Contact Becky for more information about this staycation destination at [email protected].

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