Jackson Hole Wedding by Carrie Patterson

Along with the rest of the world, one of my very favorite blogs is The Pioneer Woman. I heart Ree big time and am a little jealous of just how chic she makes Western look. Well, the moment I laid eyes on this next little wedding…I thought that this just might be the exact wedding that Ree would plan if she was doing it all over again. Photographed by the absolutely wonderful Carrie Patterson, it’s is the definition of effortless elegance with a twist of Western style. Click here to see even more.

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We wanted our wedding to be incredible, but relaxed and fun. We chose not to have your “traditional” ceremony and instead, had our close friend married us and to our surprise actually got ordained so the ceremony was totally legal. Our wedding party was our dogs. Our goal was to show the things we loved, outdoors, nature, symbols of the things we like to do together. These included making the placemats for us and the center pieces for the tables out of pheasant feathers. Adding the little touch of aspen trees in the tent. Having our vendors use their own ideas and inspiration, instead of us mandating what should be done. We also knew we would have several children so we had bubbles and hula hoops.

We went with a bit of a western theme, which included cowboy boots for both of us and traditional old time western attire for the groom. As for my gown, I was not excited at first about finding a wedding dress. As a matter of fact I dreaded it. Every one had told me that I would have that ah ha moment when I found it. That I would hear angels sing and the like. It was not that way for me. My friend, Mary Ann Stein, took me by the hand and said “we are going.” The first few places we went to I felt as though I were the bride in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” When I asked for simple and no “bling,” I got everything but. Then Mary Ann took me to a wonderful boutique, The White Dress By the Shore. The boutique was helpful and I felt comfortable and as if I were among friends. My experience was wonderful there and after trying on several of them the right one, “My Dress,” appeared.

For flowers, we wanted fragrant, soft shades of crème and green with our pheasant feathers incorporated through out. My bouquet was wrapped in birch bark and the dragonfly pendant adorned on the front was the first gift Victor gave me. Our Wedding Cake was chocolate with crème frosting. It was very simple and moist. We wanted it to reflect our love of the mountains which was reflected in the base layer of a fondant mountain scape and our love of riding together which was illustrated by the cake topper which had “Two Trails Become One Road” on its base. We also used a stump that we branded with our initials for the wedding cake to sit on.

Our goal was to have a fun and relaxed atmosphere where everyone felt at ease. It worked.

Photographer: Carrie Patterson Photography / Venues: Linn Canyon Ranch / Florist: Chandra Carr / Wedding Cake Baker: Naomi Stockton / Caterer: Linn Canyon Ranch / Band: Derrik and the Dynamos / Bride’s Dress: The White Dress By The Shore / Bride’s Hair Accessories/Veil: I made my own hair clip with the pheasant feathers from our Pheasant Hunt in South Dakota in 2009 / Bride’s Shoes: I wore my Italian custom Western Boots / Accessories: Our Dogs wore Pheasant Feather Collars made with the same feathers