My parents were married in Rocky Mountain National Park and I remember them telling me, “We wanted to exchange our vows somewhere we could always return to – somewhere that would still be beautiful and preserved seventy years from now.” –Lindsay Fay Pruden
I love the idea that Lindsay and Alex decided to have their intimate destination wedding in Grand Teton National Park because they knew that it would be just as pristine and untouched 20 or 70 years from now, as it was on the day that they vowed to spend the rest of their lives together.
I honestly had never really thought about that fact before Lindsay shared with me, but it is so true! Where else besides in a protected state or national park (or monument) are you guaranteed that location of your wedding will be preserved for years to come? That it will be a place where you will be able to return to as a couple to reminisce years down the road (or every year if you are lucky!) Or maybe even be a place that you will take your children and grandchildren to share with them where it all began? What a perfectly romantic and sentimental intention.
… And it was an absolutely gorgeous day at the Blacktail Ponds Overlook as Lindsay and Alex read the vows they wrote to each other next to the meandering snake river with the Tetons looming in the background. I love that they wrote their own vows and also included a number of sweet and meaningful twists on a traditional ceremony.
“Since our relationship started around a series of letters written to each other while Alex lived in the Middle East and I was in South America, it seemed very natural for us to express our feelings for one another in writing. This compelled us to write our own vows, individually. We agreed on a length, but nothing more.”
In addition to personalizing and writing their own vows, Lindsay and Alex each read a poem during their ceremony as well.
“We opted to recite poems during our ceremony and Alex selected a poem written by Gibran to recite in Arabic, which he had studied in college.” (Yeh, that was pretty impressive…)
They also incorporated the actual book of poems in place of a traditional ring bearer pillow.
“I thought it would be a nice touch if we used that book, adorned with a flower, to hold our wedding bands. Each of our rings was tied carefully to the top of the book.”
What a perfectly handcrafted celebration :-)
P.S. To see more images from Lindsay and Alex’s intimate Bohemian inspired wedding in Grand Teton National Park check out their feature on Lucy Dylan Weddings.