Sarah and Lucas decided to incorporate skiing into their wedding day at Jackson Hole. They chose a ceremony that best represented both them and their love of skiing. Here’s what they have to say about their ceremony, in their own words:
Lucas and I had been together for 10 years and had been to many traditional weddings over the years. Traditional weddings were not our brand of fun, so we had to come up with something that felt like "us". Lucas and I grew up in Colorado with our childhoods centered around the outdoors. We wanted a destination wedding, but Europe villa was unreasonable, and a Mexico all-inclusive [resort wedding} was my nightmare.
Whether it be with friends, family, solo, or just the two of us, skiing is our favorite activity. We center our entire winter months around skiing. We are both adventurous and wanted a mountain wedding, but we couldn’t afford the top of the gondola, mountain lodge price tag (or even bottom of mountain lodge price tag). I hate being the center of attention and never pictured myself walking down an aisle.
Skiing down Jackson Hole as partners into a welcoming crowd of friends and family, getting married by our best friend, followed immediately by champagne was our dream come true.
Ski Wedding Party
Instead of a traditional wedding party, Sarah + Lucas had a ‘ski party’, comprised of family and friends decked out in Mardi Gras beads, tutus, dresses, rhinestones, and streamers.
SKI CEREMONY
Sarah + Lucas’ ski party skied down before them, and joined the rest of the guests who were waiting at the base of the mountain for the bride and groom. Their friends and family cheered as they made their grand entrance skiing into their ceremony. They had their friend Kevin officiate, and as he got ready, everyone started chanting “Rev Kev! Rev Kev!”
They had an intimate ceremony, with all of their loved ones circled around them. Once they were pronounced man and wife, they popped some champagne!
FIRST LOOK
After the ski ceremony, Sarah and Lucas changed into a suit and a dress for their reception and they has a first look in their hotel.
PORTRAITS
For their bride and groom portraits, we walked around the town of Jackson, and took pictures under the iconic antler arch. Due to the heavy snow, we were completely unable to see the Grand Tetons. So instead we headed to the tiny town of Kelly, which Sarah and Lucas had visited the previous summer. Driving out there we saw several wolves walking through the snow on a ridge!
RECEPTION
Sarah and Lucas’ reception was held at Gather, an awesome restaurant right in the town of Jackson. It was such a wonderful time, seeing all of their family and friends celebrate the two of them. At the end of the night, we went out into the street where some gorgeous lights were hung up, and Sarah and Lucas danced in the snow!
It was such a a beautiful day, and uniquely them.
Here’s what they had to say, reflecting back on their day:
We looked forward to the entire weekend – it is rare to have a whole crew of people travel in the winter to celebrate you in a random mountain town! We were ready to be married and party. My friends who had been married kept repeating: “take some time to enjoy your wedding”, I was stressed, the wedding flew by, and it ended so quickly.
We had a unique experience where our wedding wasn’t wrapped up in details (e.g. flowers, decorations, family dynamics, timelines, etc.), and the entire day was celebrating our marriage with our friends and family Sarah and Lucas style. When you project your casual, adventurous attitude onto your wedding, people respond similarly and embrace the ambiance.
We had the best day of our lives, did not get worked up on details, had a blast, and lived in the moment. We also received a lot of positive feedback from our families and friends: that was such a unique wedding, this was amazing, we had so much fun, the food was so good. It was amazing to hear people had fun and enjoyed those bigger picture things we valued.
About the Photographer
I’m Gabrielle, the creator and photographer behind Ski the Day. I specialize in photographing ski and snowboard weddings, elopements, proposals, and engagements. As an avid skier and wedding photographer, I aim to be a resource for couples who want to incorporate their love of skiing or snowboarding into the biggest day of their lives. I’m based in Colorado and available for travel worldwide.
