We grew up in the same town. Sam’s was a few years older than me, so we never started dating until college. We dated for 3 years, broke up for 5, then circumstance brought us back together. After 8 months of trying it again, Sam popped the question.
The Proposal
Sam proposed at the ranch where we spent most of our time. We were driving around checking livestock when he asked me to get out of the truck to come help. Next thing I knew, he was getting down on one knee!
Picking the Date
Taylor and I met through some tough circumstances. Prior to Taylor’s own wedding, her future (and now) mother-in-law suffered from a severe stroke leaving her hospitalized and unable to attend their wedding. I worked with her MIL as her Occupational Therapist while she was going through inpatient rehab. During this time, I had the pleasure to get to know her family very well. When I learned Taylor was a wedding photographer, I went to check out her content and fell straight in love. I always said if I ever got married, she’d be the girl to capture it. Our wedding date was heavily influenced by Taylor’s availability and man did she deliver. Taylor’s down-to-earth personality coupled with her unmatched talent with a camera is perfectly displayed in every photo she snapped. She felt more like a close friend through this whole process and was intentional about getting to know Sam and I personally to ensure that she shared our vision. Meeting Taylor was never a coincidence.
Planning
Honestly, keeping it simple made it all a piece of cake. I had most of it planned in about a week and a half and had to tie up a few details right before the wedding, but overall it was pretty stress free! Perks of a small (30 person) wedding
Why the Rockies?
We are both from Texas, but I had been to the Tetons several times and absolutely loved them. We wanted an elopement/destination type wedding. So we asked our families, they were down, and we boarded a plane!
The Venue
As a young girl, I never really grew up “dreaming” about my wedding day. I think I just always assumed it would follow the status quo – a big wedding, with several hundred of our closest friends in a common location in Texas. It wasn’t until I had a good friend tell me that her small “covid wedding” was her perfect day, that I started to consider something different. Naturally, my mind went to the mountains of Northern Wyoming due to it’s incomparable beauty and western culture. After about a week of planning and 4 months of engagement, Diamond Cross Ranch in Jackson, Wyoming was the destination. We had our family and a handful of our closest friends join us for a few days of celebrating. We all stayed in the Togwotee Cabins near the venue and had the best weekend ever. It truly was magical. The skies opened up for us on our wedding day, with the Tetons showing their face just in time for the ceremony. We said “I do” and “yeehaw” and haven’t looked back since.
Getting Ready + Details
The Ceremony
Ceremony Highlight
It had rained and was freezing the days before the wedding. I wasn’t that worried about it because I was just ready to get married! However, a few hours before the wedding the clouds opened up and the sun shone through with the Tetons peaking their heads out! It was a great wedding day gift.
Important Traditions
Sam and I are both Christians and wanted that to be the main focus of the day. We wanted the gospel to be shared and it’s relevance to our marriage. As our first act of husband and wife, she shared communion together then we serve communion to our family and friends.
Portraits
The Reception
Reception Highlight
We kept it very low key. We had a friend’s husband play DJ via my iPhone Spotify playlist. It gave us a lot of freedom to choose what songs we wanted, when we wanted to leave, etc.
The Getaway
We had our guests throw sprinkles as we exited. I think to this day I’m still finding sprinkles in our luggage!
The Getaway
Advice to Couples
Do what you want and how you want. Our wedding was very simple. We both wanted it to be intimate and stress-free, so we shot for that! Don’t follow the status quo or feel the need to try to “Keep Up With The Jones” when it comes to your big day. Do what you want, don’t stress about the details, and enjoy the process.
Honeymoon
We stayed in Jackson Hole at the Wyoming Inn. We explored the Tetons, the town square, and mainly just relaxed for several days!
