Small Summer Wedding at Grand Teton National Park

Bride and groom couple photos for small summer wedding in Grand Teton National Park

If you’re a couple who loves adventure and the outdoors, why not get married at a national park? National park weddings are one of the best ways to celebrate your special day together and that’s exactly what Ricky and Nancy did! This couple chose to get married at the place where they also got engaged; Grand Teton National Park! Keep reading to hear more from their epic proposal and summer wedding!

meet the stars of this gorgeous summer wedding, ricky & nancy

Ricky and Nancy are the ultimate adventure couple. Both are big-time runners and they love running through the mountains together. Ricky has even run several ultra-marathons! They live in Tri-Cities, Washington and they love to travel together! One of their favorite places to travel also happens to be the place where they got engaged..and later married.

how ricky & nancy got engaged in grand teton national park

The year before they got married, Ricky decided to attempt one of his long-time running goals; to run the entire length of the Teton Crest Trail. This trail is a 40-mile run filled with stunning mountain views and jagged peaks, but it isn’t for the faint of heart.

The morning of his run through the Tetons, Nancy dropped him off at the starting point and he began his 10-hour journey. Nancy, having 10 hours to kill in Jackson Hole, decided that she would also go running. She chose to start at String Lake (the point where Ricky would finish his run) and run the 17-mile loop. She thought she had plenty of time before Ricky finished, but it wasn’t long before she realized she’d made a big mistake. No one knew where she was and she didn’t have any cell phone service. On top of that, there were bear tracks everywhere!!! She was determined to finish (and a little afraid to turn around) so she kept running and climbing to get out of the bear territory.

The trail soon became very technical making it hard for her to actually run it. She looked at her watch and realized she might actually run into Ricky on the trail! She took a break to refill her water and eat a snack and when she got back on the trail, there he was. About 30 miles into his, he was making his way up the crest she had just gone over when he saw her. He was shocked and delighted to see her and asked if she would turn around and finish the run with him. She said yes and agreed to go back into bear territory, but this time she wouldn’t be alone.

They ran the trail together through winding switchbacks surrounded by clear views of the Grand Tetons. At one point they stopped to take it all in and Ricky got down on one knee (to take a break Nancy thought.) He grabbed her hand and pulled out a ring from his bladder bag. “I was gonna propose at the finish line, and here I ran into you in the middle of nowhere! Nancy, will you marry me?” Of course, it was perfect and of course, she said yes! They celebrated for a few minutes before getting back on the trail to complete the run together.

how ricky & nancy planned a small summer wedding in grand teton national park

Ricky and Nancy’s intimate wedding took place at Schwabacher’s Landing in Grand Teton National Park. They had about 40 guests in attendance which was the perfect amount for this national park wedding.

Pro Tip – Schwabacher’s Landing is one of Grand Teton’s designated wedding ceremony sites and it is very popular. Couples who want to book this location should book early to get this site if they want to get married in Grand Teton!

For Special Use Permit information for Grand Teton National Park, click here!

After the ceremony, I drove with the bride and groom, and their best man and maid of honor to explore some of the park’s most beautiful sites. It was important to the couple to have enough time to see some of their favorite places and get photos on their wedding day so we made sure to prioritize this in their timeline. During their couple photos, Nancy also unveiled her 2nd wedding dress, a special wedding tradition in her family.

After we finished exploring the Grand Tetons and taking photos, we made our way back into town. Their dinner reception was held at the Wort Hotel followed by dancing at the bar next door.

This small summer wedding was such a beautiful day and so much fun to be a part of! For more Jackson Hole wedding inspiration, check out this wedding at Grand Targhee.