I’m not one of those girls who had her wedding planned by the time she was ten years old. I knew that one day I would get married, but I didn’t start thinking about the details until I was older. Who would have thought I would have planned four weddings for myself before the fourth one stuck? ;)

Without diverting this story too much (you can read more about my love journey here), I was engaged to someone before I met Andy, during which time I planned two weddings for us. Fast forward to today, Andy and I had a two-year engagement during which we planned two weddings. Our original plan was to get married at Badger State Brewing Company and have a grand old bash with friends and family present, dancing the night away and drinking some delicious craft beers. Then COVID happened, and we quickly realized it wasn’t going to be safe to gather a large group of people together to celebrate our wedding. After a conversation with our parents, we decided to cancel our large wedding and plan an intimate elopement instead.

We knew we wanted our wedding to be incredibly special to us, no matter how many people were present. As we started brainstorming location ideas, Grand Teton National Park really stood out to us. Andy proposed to me in Grand Teton, and after chatting with our photographer (a KLEM Studios associate photographer – one of our priorities was to have a great relationship with our photographer, which was why it was a no-brainer to work with Krista!), we found out that our elopement crew was available on August 3rd, which was the day on which we got engaged. The date and location were picked!

It was much easier to plan our elopement given the smaller size of the event (I had almost everything secured in 48 hours), and the entire elopement trip was about 1/3 of the cost of what our “traditional” wedding was going to cost us. If there was one thing I wish I had done differently, I wish I would have hired a day-of coordinator or someone to help set up the minimal ceremony decor we had. I possibly would have invested in a professional videographer as well, although I love the iPhone videos we do have. Regardless, the entire journey was incredible.

Andy and I drove out to Jackson from Green Bay so that our dogs could be a part of our wedding, and to transport all of our wedding items. We were OBSESSED with the Ford Expedition Max we rented from Enterprise. It had plenty of room, climate control in the back to keep our pups cool, and we loved the heated and air conditioned seats in the front. Arriving back in Jackson, WY after two years away, Andy and I both commented that the Tetons were bigger than we remembered. The last time we had been there, they had been largely covered by smoke from wildfires in the area.

We stayed at this incredible VRBO home in Driggs, ID (just on the other side of the Tetons) that served as the basecamp for our wedding adventures. We were able to host my parents, our photographer, our friend/personal assistant extraordinaire, ourselves, and our pups on-site. Andy’s parents and brother were able to stay in Jackson, WY which kept them close to the buzzing tourist area. Even in the midst of a pandemic, Jackson was still extremely busy. We spent the days leading up to our wedding adventuring and spending time with our families – dinners with our parents, hiking with our dogs, getting socially-distanced beers at Grand Teton Brewing (only 10 minutes from our VRBO!), trout fishing, and shopping in Jackson Hole. We held a wedding rehearsal with everyone to make sure that everyone knew how to get to the location (since we were taking multiple cars) and so that everyone knew the flow of the day. Before we knew it, our wedding day was upon us!

The morning of our wedding, Andy went trout fishing with his dad and brother while I got a delicious breakfast and finished some last minute prep tasks. Since we were sharing a space, Andy had to cover his eyes and be lead upstairs away from where I was getting my hair and makeup done upon his return. It was quite comical being able to shout to each other throughout the house without seeing one another before our First Look.

Our original wedding party wasn’t able to be with us for the wedding, but my bridal party was so thoughtful and sweet. They put together a handmade scrapbook with pictures of me with each bridesmaid, and some of them even wrote me the sweetest letters for me to read the morning of the wedding. I’m deeply emotional, so the waterworks started early. I had the chance to Facetime with my maid-of-honor while I was getting ready; it was special to share that moment with her across the time zones.

I put a lot of thought into the details of my wedding attire. The moment we decided we were getting married in Wyoming, I had the brilliant idea of getting cowboy boots from Ariat for my wedding shoes. I’m obsessed with the Pendleton brand, so Pendleton wool boot socks were a must as well. I had my seamstress sew a piece of my late grandfather’s shirt into the underlayer of my dress, a tradition a number of my cousins and I have done for our weddings. My “something borrowed” was the pearl necklace my father gave my mother for their 10th wedding anniversary; they got the pearls while they were in Hawaii when my mom was pregnant with me. My “something old” was my great-great-grandmother’s wedding band, passed down to my great-grandmother and then to my grandmother, who gave it to me. This ring was tied on my wedding bouquet, along with my “something blue”, an aquamarine (my birthstone) ring my parents gave me when I was a teenager.

I did a First Look with my dad before my First Look with Andy. I didn’t think my dad would be “emotional”, which he wasn’t, although he was thrilled to see me. Andy swore he wasn’t going to cry at our First Look because he “had seen me dressed up before.” When he heard me walking up behind him to tap him on the shoulder, he started crying. We hugged for a long time before stealing a few kisses, looking over each other’s outfits, and hugging some more. We both agreed this was one of our favorite moments of the entire day.

I was incredibly thankful to have all of the wedding experience I do when it came to crafting our wedding timeline. We were able to prioritize and structure the day so it flowed smoothly and wasn’t too inconvenient for our families. After our First Look, we went to Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park to take some photos before our ceremony. We made sure to get a permit for our photographer and to hold our ceremony in the park so we could have photos in the places that were important to us. It was so much fun to walk around the park and interact with other visitors who most likely weren’t planning on seeing a couple dressed up in wedding gear on their adventures! It was amazing to be celebrated by so many people we didn’t even know.

We chose Mormon Row as our ceremony spot because it had an incredible view of the Tetons and was very accessible for our families – no hiking required! It was a hot day (about 85 degrees), so we kept the group outdoor activities to a minimum. My mom officiated our ceremony perfectly (if you’d like to see our non-professional wedding ceremony video, click here!). From the beginning, it was important that we had a relationship with the person that would officiate our wedding. We asked my mom to officiate our wedding even before we downsized and relocated. Having her perform the ceremony was so special.

We asked my uncle, Jay, to record our processional and recessional music as he is an extremely talented musician. We walked down the aisle to my favorite song, Swing Life Away by Rise Against – my uncle adjusted the lyrics a bit so they would be personalized to our wedding! Our ceremony was so perfectly us – we blended two beers together for our unity ceremony (New Glarus’ Raspberry Tart and Untitled Art’s Zanzibar Chocolate Ice Cream Stout), my mom worked in some incredibly sweet moments, and I cried with happiness when we were announced husband and wife. Plus, it was super intimate, which was ideal for my attention-averse husband.

We took our family photos at Mormon Row before heading to our final photo location, Schwabacher’s Landing. I can’t say it enough, our families were incredible. Not only did they travel in the middle of the pandemic to celebrate with us in such a glorious way, they were immensely helpful when it came to picking up cupcakes, taking care of our pups, and even cooking our wedding dinner (more on that later). Andy and I were able to move into our last photo chunk knowing everything was being taken care of.

Schwabacher’s Landing is a special place to us because this was where Andy proposed to me on August 3rd, 2018. We knew this had to be one of our photo locations, and we also did a private vow reading here (another one of our favorite parts of the day). More joyous, grateful tears were shed as we shared what was on our hearts and spent some time loving on each other before returning to our VRBO for dinner. Andy helped with bustling my dress, which was a surprisingly sweet memory I still hold on to.

Back at the ranch, dinner prep was in full swing. Another heart-warming part of our wedding festivities was the fact that my dad made our entire wedding meal for the nine of us to share al fresco with the Tetons surrounding us. My dad used to own a restaurant, and he’s an incredible cook. With the pandemic and the restrictions Wyoming had in place at the time, there wouldn’t have been a way for the nine of us to dine together at a restaurant, even outside (which we didn’t know before my dad offered to cook for us). When we learned that, we were extra thankful my dad had already stepped up as the chef. We went all-out for our wedding meal – Pat LaFreida steaks delivered from New York, truffle goat cheese mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, amazing bread and butter, and actual champagne for the welcome toast and speech. I still dream about this meal, it was everything we could have asked for and more. We topped it off with mini cupcakes from Buttercream Designs in Jackson – perfection.

When the dinner prep was at a point where my dad could step away for a few moments, all of us gathered on the lawn with a glass of champagne in hand and the Tetons glowing in the background. My dad gave a beautiful speech and toast, one I’m so thankful was recorded on my phone. My parents are two of my best friends, and I had been looking forward to the speech my dad would give at my wedding even before Andy and I were dating. He definitely did not disappoint.

Once dinner and speeches were complete, we had three dances on the lawn by the light of our rental car headlights. We danced our First Dance to “What Ifs” by Kane Brown; I played this song for Andy after three weeks of dating, at which time I told him I was falling in love with him and he told me he loved me, too. It was so wonderful to see everything come first circle and have Andy “change my name” (peep the lyrics for that reference). My dad and I danced to “Have a Little Faith In Me” by John Hiatt, and Andy and his mom danced to “Simple Man” by Shinedown.

We ended our evening with a cute slideshow my mom had made chronicling our childhoods, how we met, and our relationship’s journey. Some of our family and friends had also written us letters to read on our wedding day; it was touching to have those people there with us in spirit and read their loving notes.

Even though we had to completely change our wedding plans from what we originally envisioned, we wouldn’t trade it for the world. Our elopement was so incredibly aligned, and every single piece of it was intentional and personal. We created the wedding of our dreams, and that is the greatest wish I have for all of the KLEM Studios couples as well. Whether you choose a “traditional” wedding or opt for a beautiful elopement, make sure it feels right to YOU.

A special thank you to our elopement crew: to Ashley, for being a sweet friend, unexpected personal assistant, and beautiful addition to our wedding adventures; to Krista, for not only being our epic photographer and floral designer, but for being a friend and support through it all; to my in-laws for raising such a wonderful man and for all your help during our elopement; to my mom, for officiating the perfect ceremony, creating your slideshow, and being exactly who I needed you to be; to my dad, for cooking an unforgettable meal and being my partner-in-travel and stand-in man-of-honor; to my husband, for always being up for adventure and for your trust in my vision and planning abilities; and to everyone mentioned above, for supporting our elopement dreams.

This elopement was pure heaven. Thank you all for letting me share it with you and preserve these memories here. May you have experiences and people in your life that light you up as much as everything and everyone we celebrated here.

Much love and appreciation,

Kate McFadzen-Lindsay

A huge shout out to the wedding vendors that made this adventure possible: