Intimate, Natural, & Boho ❤
National Parks, Adventure Day & Pikachu ...The elopement of our dreams!
Mikayla & Adam tied the knot in this gorgeous adventure elopement spanning across two days in the beautiful Grand Teton & Yellowstone National parks featuring our Celeste gown.
ALL PHOTO AND VIDEO CONTENT by TOLMAN MEDIA
After two wonderful years together, Mikayla and Adam committed their vows together in a wonderful 2 day adventure on Oct 2, 2021. Read all about their special day (s) below and see how Mikayla styled her Celeste gown.
When did you know Adam was the ONE?
Adam knew within the first month of us talking, I knew probably 2 months in after we decided to get promise rings. It was as if something clicked in my mind and I knew he was the one!
Tell us howAdam partner proposed - We love a good ring story!
We decided to go on a vacation for our one year anniversary to Yosemite National Park. Adam grew up there and we thought it would be a fun way to celebrate since we started dating during a trip to Yellowstone National Park. He took us up to an incredible view point overlooking Glacier Point and Halfdome. A girl asked if we could take her photo and afterwards Adam asked if she could take ours. To both my and her surprise he popped the question! It was absolutely beautiful and we’re so thankful to have gotten photos and video of the special moment.
When you first started wedding planning, what where the most important things to you both about your wedding day?
We HATE crowds and we felt super awkward having to walk down an isle so we wanted something small and intimate. We decided to do a small elopement with just our parents. We also wanted a private vow ceremony for just the two of us.
Like I said we hate crowds and we wanted to keep a special moment to our selves. We also decided having a photographer and videographer was a MUST have. Since we weren’t having a big wedding we decided to have an Adventure Day after our wedding to film and shoot some magical photos. We wanted to have some amazing moments captured and having a second day to dress up and celebrate was incredible.
Where did you choose to get married?
We got married in the Grand Teton National park and then celebrated our adventure day in Yellowstone National Park. We felt keeping a theme of National Parks was important since we both lived in them previously. We had a small group of 8 people not counting us!
What vendors did you use for your wedding?
None! Elopements are so stress free! We bought a pass and permit for the site of our ceremony and that was it!
How did you pick your venue?
We found a beautiful area along a river and just decided that was the place! No venue and now crowds! It was secluded and so beautiful!
Did you find it difficult to bring your wedding under budget?
Since we got married during Covid we knew we wouldn’t be able to have a big extravagant event. So we chose to spend our budget on hotels and our media team.
What Vendors did you spend the most time researching?
Photographer and videographers were our number one priority when planning.
We found a nation wide company and they found the people to shoot our two day elopement!
What is a unique way you personalised your special day?
I feel our whole weekend was somewhat unique. We travelled all over and shot photos and video for 12 hours over a 2 day period.
We got to spend almost the whole time alone together which made it feel like something more for us and less about making a big event and entertaining others. It truly was our special weekend together.
Do you have any advice for other couples planning a wedding on a lower budget?
Don’t knock out the idea of eloping! We had 10 people total and we made it into a “come if you can” event. Make the day about yourself. BE SELFISH! It’s your big day!
When you look back on your day, what is your most favourite memory?
I surprised my husband in an inflatable Pikachu costume during our first look.
It was incredible and we had so much fun.
Party all night or did you sneak off early in the night?
We had to drive back to our hotel 2 hours away from where we had dinner, so we just had a fun relaxing drive home. We had a 4am wake up the next day to shoot some sunrise photos, so it was an early night.
What is something unique you did in your ceremony?
My roommate from my time working in Yellowstone married us. We chose to have a very nature themed ceremony. We also did private vows away from others since we tend to be more private.
I know we all hate hearing about it but did Covid affect your plans?
If so how did you stay positive and keep planning against all odds? Any advice for other brides affected by lockdowns?
Yes! We have rescheduled our reception 3 times now 😂. We chose to elope and hold a reception at a later date after Covid. We know have it scheduled after our 1 year anniversary. It also played a role in us choosing to elope!
Did you get any styling inspiration from online?
Not really. I knew I wanted a boho nature theme and I knew eloping meant no decor. We chose to make statements with our clothes. I wore two dresses (one Desert Moon Bridal dress on the wedding day and one Etsy dress the second.
How did you include Adam in the planning? Did he contribute to the nitty gritty stuff or leave the details up to you?
He was so excited to help choose our location! He also chose our reception venue. But since we haven’t gotten to celebrate yet we still have so much planning to do!
If you had the chance to give one piece of advice to a fellow bride what would it be?
Do what YOU want.
Only if you feel comfortable sharing, please let our readers know what was your total budget for your special day and did you go over or under this amount?
We never really set a budget, but we spent around $7,000 including permits, dress and tux, flowers, reception venue, airfare, hotel, food, and car rentals.
Looking back, how would you describe the atmosphere of your wedding day? Did you include any special traditions?
Comfort and calm. We both knew we wanted to get married so early on in our relationship that we were excited to finally do it.
I carried my great grandmother’s handkerchief. Just like my sister and mom.
How did you find Desert Moon Bridal?
Did you love your gown? How did it make you feel wearing Celeste?
TikTok! Celeste was INCREDIBLE! It was exactly what I wanted! I felt so amazing.
Did you have THE moment trying on your gown for the first time?
When I ordered from DMB and finally got it in the mail - it was all the tears!
Is there anything else you'd like to share about your dress?
Having the adjustable sizes was amazing!!
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