Snowy Glacier National Park Elopement

Kaytlin & Nick  | Glacier National Park

 

From the bride…

 

Nick and I had our first date in Glacier a few years ago. We hiked to Iceberg Lake and then had dinner at the restaurant in the Many Glacier Hotel. After that, we had many adventures in Glacier National Park, including getting engaged! We knew that we wanted to also get married in Glacier, so Many Glacier seemed like the perfect idea to bring our story full circle! Nick and I decided that we wanted our ceremony to be intimate, so we decided to elope with only our immediate families in attendance. Nick is one of seven children, so we still had a decently large group!

 

 

THE ATTIRE

I went home to Missouri to visit my parents shortly after getting engaged and on a whim, decided to go to a bridal shop to see if I could get an idea of what I generally wanted to wear on my wedding day. I fell in love with a high neck, gorgeous lace gown and bought it that same day! I also wore a fur shawl that I borrowed from my grandmother. Thank goodness for this since it was so cold (40 degrees in June!).

Nick was more deliberate than I in his wedding day attire planning. He got his gray wool suit custom made in Montana. The lining was a light blue and brown print with his monogram inside.

 

 

THE VENUE

We thought that the deck of the Many Glacier Hotel would be the perfect venue for our big day, but the weather that day had other ideas. It was hailing and the wind was so strong that the hail was going sideways! Thankfully, we have a great family who was willing to hike a little bit into the woods where we found a quiet spot by the lake that was protected from the weather.

 

 

THE CEREMONY

It was very special to have Nick’s brother, Ethan be both the best man and officiant because he was able to personalize our ceremony just for us!  My brother, Kayne, and his friend, Anthony, played their guitars and sung during our ceremony. A recording of this is on our wedding video, so we can completely relive the day anytime we want!

 

 

The most anticipated moment of our wedding day was hearing each other read our vows. We decided to write our own and didn’t let each other know anything about them beforehand. Our vows are now framed in our bedroom so we can remind ourselves of them every day!

 

 

 

BOAT RIDE

After the ceremony, we chartered a boat and cruised around the lake for an hour while we enjoyed everyone’s company, popped champagne, and ate snacks.

 

LOOKING BACK

One of my favorite parts of our wedding was everyone being so flexible with us because of the weather. Our families were down to go anywhere we asked them to–even a mile into the woods in dresses and heels in 40-degree weather!

 

 

ADVICE

Pick one or two things that are important to each of you and focus on those things. Let the other details work themselves out and don’t stress. Your best memories won’t be your decor or makeup, but enjoying the time with your new spouse and celebrating with friends and family! Be sure to take a few intimate moments with just your spouse and soak up the day.

 

 

CREDITS:

Photographer: Marianne Wiest Photography

Location: Glacier National Park