This story is such a special one to me. Kirsten and I met back in 2018 when I lived in Hutchinson. We became good friends pretty quickly after only knowing each other through my now husband, Cody. Kirsten and I both moved away and in separate directions. She moved to Houston, MN where she met the love of her life, Carter.

Their story begins here:

When Kirsten moved down to Houston she told all her friends and family "I can not have a boyfriend within the first year of being down here. I need to focus on work (a promotion brought her to Houston) and master that before I start anything. Everyone needs to hold me to that."

Well, within the first few weeks of Kirsten being down there, her friend Carly and her went to the Legion in town to get drinks. A group of 6-8 guys walked in the back door and out of all of them Kirsten noticed Carter. She immediately looked over at Carly and said "I am going to marry that man someday". A few moments later, Carter walked up behind some girl and gave her a hug while she was sitting at the bar and Carly goes "See, he has a girl." Kirsten then looked at her dead in the eyes and said "I will marry him. Period."

About a month passes by and they were out for the town days and Carter tried dancing with Kirsten most of the night but she was getting bumped all over the floor and never noticed. Towards bar time Carter sneakily walked up by her and stood next to Kirsten. Kirsten being Kirsten, she had looked over at him and said "Hi Carter" and the look on his face made her think he was going to pass out. He looked so nervous. The two stood around and talked a little bit and at last call, Carter looks at her and goes "welp, have a good night" and Kirsten had to ask him for his SnapChat.
 
After talking for about a 2 weeks, Carter asked her out. Kirsten initially said yes, and then texted him later that night once he got home and told him that she didn't think she was ready. They kept talking and 2 more weeks passed, and on our way home from getting haircuts in La Crosse, I asked Carter if he wanted to be my boyfriend and he said "I bet this is another one of your jokes." It was in fact, not.

The Proposal:

It was a Monday evening, and Kirsten was in our spare bedroom changing and Carter came in and got down on one knee.  

When reminiscing, Kirsten thinks the best part about the story is he was on one knee and she had said yes, then he stood up and handed her the ring still inside the box instead of putting the ring on her finger.

The Wedding Day:

It was a gloomy morning followed by low hanging clouds and on and off rain showers. The temperature was hovering 43 degrees all day. Kirsten and Carter ate breakfast with their grandparents and went separate directions when getting ready. Kirsten got ready in the honeymoon suite with her best girls, grandma and mom. 

Kirsten had a first look with her mom, grandma, bridesmaids, dad and Carter. Carter and Kirsten shared personal letters with one another and shed a few tears reading them. The bridal portraits were in the Teton National Park at their ceremony site, Mormon Row. We then headed over to a lookout spot for more couple portraits and ended them where we met the bridal party at Schwabacher landing. 

After portraits, we met the family and guests at Mormon Row around 4:15pm. The wind had picked up, the rain was pouring and it had dropped down to a low 30- something degrees. With umbrellas, heavy coats and a few hats covering their guests and bridal party, Kirsten started making her way down the aisle towards Carter. They joined hands and had one of the most breathtaking views behind them that I have ever gotten the blessing of capturing. The officiant did a wonderful job of honoring the two of them as a couple and made it very personal to who they are as people.

Within a few moments of the ceremony ending, the clouds starts to pass, the sun was doing its best to peek out. Carter and Kirsten finished their time at Mormon Row with sharing their first dances inside a circle made around them with their closest family and friends.

After the ceremony, the new Chiglos and their guests headed to dinner at The Gather in Jackson Hole. Delicious food and great company followed. Speeches were made and laughs and stories were shared throughout the night. 

Before my time was up for the day, we ran into the street in downtown Jackson Hole and took some fun photos of them dancing, running and giggling together. 

Truly was a trip and wedding of a lifetime.