March 28, 2024
Sports

Couple to wed on Va-Jo-Wa fairway

Birdies and eagles can be rare commodities on a golf course, but nowhere near as rare as wedding bells.

At 5 p.m. today, Jessica Walker and Brad Daggett will take that unusual step during a ceremony on the 13th fairway at Va-Jo-Wa Golf Course in Island Falls.

Walker, 25, is the daughter of Va-Jo-Wa head pro Warren and Donna Walker. Daggett, 27, is the son of Wes and Phyllis Daggett of Cushing.

The setting of the 13th hole is the reason it’s being held out there.

“It’s high on a plateau,” said Warren Walker. “It’s a natural amphitheater with [Mount] Katahdin as a backdrop. It’s a very pretty area.

“Sometimes we’ll just go up there to watch the sunset.”

Jessica Walker and her fiance, who both live in Florida and work for MBNA, selected the site last summer.

“They decided they’d like to have the wedding there,” said Walker.

Because the wedding will actually be on the golf course, the back nine is being shut down at 2 p.m., the entire golf course an hour later.

That might normally have been a concern for the club’s players, but Warren Walker said that it isn’t really a problem.

“Most of them are excited to see the wedding,” he said. “A lot of them are going to be in it anyway.”

Walker is expecting between 250 and 300 people to attend.

Of course, being at a golf course, it makes sense to take advantage of as many aspects of the operation as possible.

“Parking will be on the 12th hole,” said Walker. “Then the [ushers] will escort the guests over to the 13th on golf carts.”

The bridesmaids will also get rides in golf carts from where they’re staying.

“It’s only two or three hundred yards,” said Walker.

A major question mark for an outdoor ceremony is the weather, but it appears that that will turn out well. Not without some anxiety, though, on Donna Walker’s part.

“My wife’s been checking the Internet long-term forecasts for a couple of months,” said Warren Walker. “It’s looking good, though.”

The Walkers opened Va-Jo-Wa in 1964 and the family has expanded the golf course and developed the southern Aroostook County property as a vacation destination.

Given the family’s golf background, one would wonder if Daggett is a dedicated golfer, also.

“He’s not a dedicated golfer,” said Walker, “but when he’s here, he plays all the time.”


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