Alaska Couple Married in Swimming Pool

The cake was in the shape of a pool and the walk down the aisle was replaced by a zip down a water slide as Mark Confer and Joanne Wainwright took the plunge into marriage — literally.

The two were married Saturday in a swimming pool.

Instead of jumping in with both feet, they came whooshing around and down the pool's 136-foot slide. The couple then bowed their heads while Scott Coffman, senior pastor at College Heights Baptist Church, blessed their marriage.

Confer and Wainwright are dedicated to physical fitness. Confer's passion is skiing, while Wainwright has swum competitively and coached high school swim teams most of her life.

''I always would tell my students if I ever got married in Alaska I was going to get married at the Nikiski pool,'' Wainwright said. According to its Web site, the enclosed, heated pool is open year-round and offers ''excellent views of the surrounding terrain and wildlife.''

On top of their pool-shaped wedding cake, the couple placed a tiny bride and groom coiled on the diving board, ready to dive in.

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On the Net:

Nikiski pool: http://www.northpenrec.com/Pool.html