Setting: Backyard of their family home
Location: Jackson, Wyoming, USA
Wedding season: Late summer/Early fall
Amount of guests: 70
Wedding theme/style: Modern, nature, artistic, intentional/simple, romantic
Hannah and Andrew met in college while volunteering as leaders for a Christian ministry called YoungLife at The University of Texas. After developing a friendship over a few years, Andrew asked Hannah to be his girlfriend! During their time dating in Austin, the couple did all of their favorite things together: they rock climbed, tried local restaurants, went on lots of walks and runs, got hooked on Grey’s Anatomy, cooked new recipes, and dreamed of what their future would look like. On July 12th, 2020 Andrew asked Hannah to be his wife!
“Because I love surprises, Andrew wanted to make sure his proposal was the biggest surprise I’d ever experienced. Andrew had spent two years planning a month-long backpacking trip in California for the summer of 2020. Because it had been planned for so long, I knew it couldn’t be moved. It was July 10th, we weren’t engaged yet, and Andrew was off on his summer adventure. Little did I know, Andrew was able to push back his trip by a few days in order to plot the biggest surprise proposal ever. Andrew convinced me that he and his buddy drove all the way to California by figuring out how to change his Find My Friends location and plotting points along a route from Austin, TX to Yosemite National Park over a 24 hour period.”
On the morning of July 12, Hannah arrived at the home of the family she babysat, not knowing her life would change forever in a few hours.
“I walked in the door and was surprised by my two best friends waiting for me with an outfit and all the things you could think of that a girl needs to get ready for a proposal. I have never been more confused than at that moment, knowing that Andrew’s location was in California! Despite my confusion, I trusted my friends, got ready, and was driven to a house where Andrew was waiting to propose to me on a dock overlooking Lake Austin.
I said a resounding YES and the vision of our wedding began – we dreamt of a day full of whimsy, adventure, and beauty, much like the day Andrew asked me to be his wife.”
Hannah and Andrew wanted their wedding day to reflect them as a couple and couldn’t think of a better place to do that than having an outdoor wedding in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
“Andrew and I both love nature and how the beauty of God’s creation brings you that much closer with your Creator. We wanted nothing more than our wedding day to be centered on God’s love for us, as we committed to a lifetime of love for each other. We held the ceremony and reception in my family’s backyard and took the most amazing first look photos in Grand Teton National Park.”
“Most of the guests traveled far and made sacrifices to be there. That always creates a unique and special atmosphere of love and putting the couple and their event as a priority.”
“Picking Jess Living Photo to be our wedding photographer was the BEST decision we made in the entire wedding planning process! The forever photos we have perfectly capture the joy and beauty of that day. My advice from that day would be to surround yourself with people who lift you up! We had the most incredible bridal party ever and the day would not have been possible without them!!! From re-arranging florals, to doing my hair and makeup, to helping make sure rentals got to the right place at the end of the night- they seriously were the biggest help. I felt so loved being surrounded with so many amazing friends, and it made Andrew and I’s day just that much more special.”
“One crazy story from the wedding planning process – I did have a crazy (and very unfortunate) experience with my wedding dress… I found the most beautiful dress and could not stop thinking about it for months! When it finally came in I took it that day to get altered. I tried on the dress at the dress shop, snapped some pictures for my MOH, zipped it up, and then drove straight to the alterations store. As they began doing alterations something very unfortunate happened… The guy pinning my dress had pricked himself and blood dripped in several spots down the front of my dress. I began to panic internally, but was calm and collected on the outside. The guy told me not to worry and that this happens all the time and they’ll get it out immediately… I left the shop shocked at what happened, but hopeful it’d all be alright.
My Mom even called the shop to make sure they were getting the blood out right away and asked if I could come see it the next day. They assured her they were already getting it out. Because I was in grad school an hour away, I wasn’t able to go back to the store the next day so I went 5 days later. I walked in, told them I was just there to check that the stains were out, and they left for 45 minutes before coming to tell me that they couldn’t find the dress but that they knew the stains were already out. They kept stalling and eventually brought me my dress. The dress was visibly wet in the areas where the stains were and the blood stains were still clearly there. They finally admitted that they forgot to get the stains out, so the blood had soaked in for the past week.
Luckily, Hannah reached out to the wonderful company that made my wedding dress, NEWHITE Bridal, and within 24 hours of hearing what happened they extremely rushed her to get a new dress so she would get it in time to have it altered before the big day! And her wedding look was simple, classic, timeless and effortless.
WEDDING COORDINATOR Lydiah Almeter | FLORIST Magnolia Ranch | PHOTOGRAPHER Jess Living | VIDEOGRAPHER Kenzie Bodily | CATERER InSeason | DJ Pete Muldoon | RENTALS Tavolo Tent Rental; Montana Party Rentals | DRESS DESIGNER NEWHITE | GROOM’S SUIT Suit Supply | BRIDESMAID DRESSES BHLDN | ENGAGEMENT RINGS Ring Concierge | INVITATIONS / DETAILS CARDS August + White
