Part 1: How We Celebrated Our 6th Anniversary (During a Pandemic)

So I’ve learned to make the most of this pandemic, from birthday parades, to balloon parties in our living room- we’ve ever stopped celebrating special occasions. Now, what that looks like has been different, but honestly for me- it’s just allowed me to be more creative.

As our anniversary slowly approached I was upset that we wouldn’t spend it on a trip like we always do. We spent our Honeymoon in St. Lucia, 1st Anniversary in Tennessee, 2nd Anniversary in Mexico, 3rd Anniversary in Naples, 4th Anniversary in Miami, and last year we spent our 5th Anniversary in Cabo. This year…. CLEVELAND!

It was a bummer at first then it wasn’t. We agreed we didn’t want to be around people and that as long as we had a sitter hanging out and relaxing together would suffice. Needless to say, we did a little bit more than that. We agreed to split the day, I would plan the first part of the day and he would plan the second- hence this article is Part 1 and his is Part 2.

So I’m very intentional in everything that I do. I started my planning journey thinking what was one aspect that is always apart of our usual trips and secondly, researching what the 6th anniversary means. After I did these simple things… it was like the stars ALIGNED! I realized we always spend our trips on or close by water, and that the 6th anniversary was symbolic for durability and strength. It was a no brainer… RENT A BOAT! That’s on the water and reflective of both durability and strength because boats weather the storm! POW!!! Just like that.. my part of the anniversary was planned and I felt damn good about it!

Now to find the boat, which for me was easy as sending a text. The year we got engaged (2014), I rented a boat to pop the question to my bridesmaids. It was owned by my brothers childhood friend, and I have been on it a few times since. Knowing he was still operating that same boat- I reached out and booked our date. We decided on a 2 hour window early afternoon, to not overlap with Bryon’s plans. The weather was scheduled to be nice so I knew it would be hot and sunny!

Once the boat was booked, I just needed to plan the food and beverages- and music playlist. I knew I could bring our own beverages so I planned to bring our cooler fill it with waters, beers and of course our favorite WINE! I was this close to saying I’ll pack cheese and crackers but then thought we might need an actual meal. I reached out to my great friend Tiwanna at Pearl Flower Catering and she suggested we do a picnic! She filled it with assorted cheese, grapes, crackers olives- literally all of our favs! She even added  Bryon’s favorite Shrimp Pasta,  an amazing jam, plates and glasses.  It was perfect and I had to do ZERO WORK! I literally met her, filled the picnic basket.

Once I had the car loaded I told Bryon it would get hot so bring his shades and wear some shorts. I drove to Edgewater Beach, and figured he was probably wondering what we were doing. I said surprise we were going to have a picnic in the sand, watching the water LOL! I could tell he hated  but thought it was pretty funny. I then made a call to Jerome, the owner of the boat and met him in a parking lot. We parked, started unpacking the car… then SURPRISE Bryon.. he’s taking us on a boat! He jaws dropped and he was sooooo excited! We got in Jerome’s truck, and were off to the dock!

Once on board we enjoyed 2 hours of listening to our favorite songs, drinking our favorite drinks and taking in the beautiful scenery on Old River. We had an intimate conversation, reflecting on the last 6 years of our marriage while enjoying the view of the Flats.  We got to wave at other boats, people watch at the restaurants- just enjoy the beauty of CLEVELAND- that we rarely get to see. Everything was literally perfect! Even the weather, although super sunny and HOT— it was perfect! It was hands down the best way to spend our anniversary together, on water like always!

So if you’re looking to rent this boat, he usually requires a minimum of 8 and maximum of 10 people at 50 each for 2 hours. There’s a $100 deposit required to lock in your date and time. If you’d like to do something smaller, expect an increase in the fee. No matter what, it’s worth it especially if your’e planning something intimate. To book with Jerome reach out to him on IG @yacht216  and be sure to mention Courtney Covers Cleveland! If you want to use my amazing caterer Tiwanna, from Pearl Flower Catering she does everything from small intimate dinners to large parties- and every celebration in between.

Part 2 of our amazing anniversary coming next!