Jess & Ryan – Many Glacier Elopement – September 2017

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Would you give me just a short background to how you met, your relationship, and engagement?

Our first date was a blind date, the result of a set up by mutual friends. They had been bugging us for months to meet because they thought we would get along great! I was in Africa at the time, and Ryan was traveling the world for work. We finally met for the first time at Oktoberfest in Utah. Come to find out we grew up less than 2 miles from each other. We very quickly became two peas in a pod from that first date. Fast forward 4 years, almost to the day from that first date, Ryan proposed to me in Muir Woods National Monument. We were hiking when he got down on one knee on a redwood tree that had fallen over a bubbling river. It was perfect. We got married one year to the day from his proposal! 

Why Montana?

We pretty quickly decided on a destination wedding. Both Ryan and I are major fans and supporters of the National Parks. Many of our vacations are planned around visiting our nation’s Parks, and we have a goal to visit them all! Plus, we became engaged in a National Monument. I had visited Glacier National Park on a family vacation growing up, and decided it was the most beautiful place on Earth. It was an easy sell to knock Glacier off Ryan’s to do list and get married in the most beautiful place on Earth. 

Tips for other brides?

Do what makes you happy. Your wedding should make you happy, not stressed out. Try not to worry about the things out of your control (weather, wildfires). Keep the people you love the most around you. On your wedding day keep your focus on the your partner and your marriage. 

Favorite thing about Montana?

Glacier National Park! How beautiful it is! The wildlife! Really though, there’s no way to describe the scale and how epic Glacier is. You just need to visit and see with your own eyes.

Favorite restaurant you ate in Montana

Breakfast served in the Ptarmigan Dining Room in the Many Glacier Hotel.

Flowers: Flowers by Hansen, Kalispell, MT

Suits/Tuxes: Express

Wedding Dress: by Maggie Sottero, purchased at Bridal Closet in Draper, UT

Hair Stylist – my awesome sister-in-law Annie Fonnesbeck

Rings: McKay Diamonds and Jewelry in Salt Lake City, UT

Videographer: Charley Fern with Fern Films, Great Falls, MT

Rentals: The Party Store