IF IT wasn’t already, Lake Wendouree is officially part of Ballarat’s life forever.The lake and city were wedded in a special ceremony on the foreshore on Saturday afternoon.The event, which attracted hundreds, was based on a historical ritual in Venice, where the city would be married to the sea each year.In keeping with the Italian ceremony, the ‘doge’ (mayor Mark Harris) was paddled across the lake with Ballarat bishops Peter Connors and Garry Weatherill. The group of paddlers, named Dragons Abreast, used a 13-metre dragon boat to make their way across the waterThe ceremony was part of the 17th Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields festival, which continues this week.Cr Harris, who symbolically threw a ring into the waters of Lake Wendouree, said he hoped the event could be carried out every year.“It’s of special significance. We’ve got water back in the lake and we’re back to our normal relationship with it,” he said.“It was great.”Follow @ballaratcourier