Sunny Wedding Ceremony at Senate Meadows

We met while we were both working in London in 2011.  A mutual friend of ours, Nina, was planning a weekend trip to Dublin and invited both of us but we had not met yet. During the planning stages, we did finally meet but only for 5 minutes. Flash forward a couple of weeks later, our friend Nina bails on this trip to Dublin. At this time, Amanda was focused on traveling somewhere, anywhere! She reached out to Dave via chat and asked if he wanted to join her on a trip to Copenhagen. He said yes. And it all began. Perhaps Amanda’s refusal to eat hot dogs or wear socks in 0º weather should have been Dave’s cue to run for the hills but nothing a couple of hot toddies, a shared obsession with skiing, or a random Danish speakeasy couldn’t diffuse.

After dating for nearly 4 years, we recognized that we spent all of our spare time leaving the city to get to the mountains. Surely it would make more sense to just live in the mountains right? We packed up our London flat, moved back to the United States, bought a Subaru and endured a 2,000-mile road trip to find a home. We were on our way to Bozeman, MT but Ketchum, ID stole our hearts.

When planning our wedding we knew we’d be bringing a lot of people from out of town so we would have to make it memorable. We made a whole weekend out of it, from the Sun Valley Symphony, a hike up to Roundhouse, welcome drinks in the Forest Service Park (Hammerschlaggen was quite the hit!), to the main event at Galena Lodge.

We had no doubt Galena Lodge was the place for our special day. Not only do we love the area, food, and staff but it is a place we go during all seasons. After a beautiful ceremony in Senate Meadows, our friends were slow to head back to the lodge as they held their own photo sessions taking advantage of the stunning backdrop. At cocktail hour, they were greeted with our favorite beers, wines, and signature cocktails (Idaho Mules!). For food, we chose classic barbecue fare and subbed out a cake for wagon wheels. Post dinner and speeches, the guests moved between the dance floor, photo booth, and bar. Our band, the Ben Mallare Band, was fantastic and kept everyone dancing until the very end. We are so grateful for everyone that attended and for those that helped make our weekend flawless and so special.

– The Bride and Groom, Dave & Amanda

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