Amanda and Lanier reached out to me at the beginning of November about a wonderful winter wonderland elopement. Being from Memphis they didn’t have much experience with snow or our mountainous landscapes, but were so excited to experience something so new and beautiful for their special day!
We went through multiple different plans, at one point we were trying to find a sleigh company that could take them to a wonderful fun location, but it just didn’t work out. So finally we landed on a first look at the Strater Hotel and then driving up to Lime Creek Road area for a beautiful mountain backdrop during this intimate ceremony.
Amanda looked beautiful in her lace sleeved gown, Emily Schmidt did an amazing job on her hair and makeup, and Lanier was looking so sharp in his striking blue suit! And the Strater was the perfect location for their first look and first portraits, besides just being inside away from the cold they weren’t so used to, there were just beautiful photo ops all over the place! We did their first look coming down the staircase, and a worker at the hotel even let us into a beautiful room to take some photos. We did a little gift exchange in the beautifully lit hallway that housed the ice machine, a few dips in front of the entrance, and then we were off!
Up in the mountains we met Jaime Becktel of Southwest Ceremony for Amanda and Lanier’s intimate ceremony. There were snowy clouds that turned the mountains almost the same color as Lanier’s suit, it was perfect! And even though they blocked the sun that may have provided some warmth, it definitely gave the beautiful mountain scenery and even more cozy wintery feel.
There were children laughing and playing on a hill in the background, little trills of child laughter and squeals were bubbling up throughout their beautiful ceremony, which was fitting as Jaime shared how much family and children were important to the pair.
Jaime tried to keep the ceremony short due to the cold, but just had so many beautiful words to share about Amanda and Lanier. Then we got to their personal vows for each other and they were such a great combination of beautiful sweet words, and funny little jabs, between the love and the laughter you could tell how perfect these two were together.
When all the official things were done, vows said, rings exchanged, kisses kissed and licenses signed. We let the couple warm up in the car while I shot the rings. We did some fun playing in the snow, throwing snow in the air, kicking snow with our boots, twirling and walking and laughing and then our collective tolerance for the cold ran out.
Amanda and Lanier parted ways with us, taking advantage of the clever covid accommodations at the Strater (they started seating people in their own rooms and delivering food from their restaurant to the now “dining rooms”), they needed to head back into town for a private Mahogany dinner in one of the Strater’s beautiful cozy rooms.
The day was perfect, beautiful, intimate, fun, adventurous, perfection. Congratulations Amanda and Lanier for braving the cold and the snow to start your life journey together!
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