Grand Teton National Park Elopement | Kelly Jo + Justin
Kelly Jo and I used to work together at this cafe/food store in virginia, and instantly became friends so when she came to me saying her and Justin wanting to elope somewhere I immediately died. I did a couples session with them, and as I arrived to it, Kelly Jo’s mom stopped me to tell me Justin was actually planning on proposing! So I got to witness and be a part of their proposal as well, so shooting their intimate elopement was that much more special to me!
So we started dreaming and scheming ideas. They wanted mountains, wanting somewhere they had never been, but had always dreamt of going, so Wyoming it was! Doubling up as wedding planner and photographer, we found a cabin, found a spot in the Tetons, got a permit and we were ready to go! With just their immediate families, it turned into a wedding week vacation and celebration!
The day before the wedding we all went hiking, and location scouting together, visiting so many gorgeous overlooks, trails, and lake, and eventually finding the perfect spots for their photos! We also spent the day foraging, and picking and finding the perfect flowers to use for Kelly Jos bouquet and Justins boutonnière, and boy did we luck out finding the most beautiful wildflowers and few little goodies from a local Jackson hole flower shop! And Kelly Jo’s mom brought a suitcase full of greenery from their farm back in Virginia!
They started the morning off writing their vows, in books her mom made for them, even made the paper and bound it together and then engraved it for them, and then they got ready separately preparing for their first look. We slowly made our way to Glacier View Turnout to have their first look, knowing there was a chance it would be swamped with tourist, we lucked out and had it all to ourselves! They shared the sweetest first look, overlooked by the stunning Teton mountains behind them. We made out way to Mormon Row to then have the sweetest ceremony, lead by Kelly Jo’s mom! But of course everyone had to take a few little personal shots before we had the ceremony!
Kelly Jo’s mom reminisced on their relationship, advised for their future, and shared love and stories from both of their childhoods, tears were shed, and bellies hurt from laughs, and cheeks hurt from smiling ear to ear. It was the simplest, most beautiful perfect ceremony ever, with the sunset light peaking over the mountains, highlighting their ceremony, it truly was a breathtaking sight. Followed by many hugs, and tears, we then made our way to Schwabachers landing where we did sunset photos, only to be greeted by everyone else In the world taking sunset photos, luckily everyone wanted to watch a girl in a white dress, so they let us have all the good spots! Followed by drinks at a hotel bar, and then handmade pizza in downtown Jackson hole (happened to be the only thing open at 10 pm haha) we all hung out together to celebrate their new marriage!
The next morning we decided we didn’t have enough, so we woke up at 3:30 am and went hiking at Jenny Lake to do some sunrise photos, the forecast was not in our favor and we decided to risk it anyway, and we are SO GLAD we did. After sleeping it off for a few hours, we woke up after ht photos and all made our way to Yellowstone to hang out with the newlyweds, before they left for a rod trip to Montana to begin their honeymoon. To say that I am blown away by their love, generosity, and the way them and their families bought me in and treated me like family, is an understatement. I have never felt more loved! I truly do mean it, when I say my couples are my friends and more to me, Kelly Jos moms even comments on my pics that she misses me- thats a win in my books! This is an elopement you’re going to want to stare at for hours, so stare away! Kelly Jo is stunning in her Lillian West dress from Ashley Grace Bridal in Lynchburg, Virginia.
