Noel and Joe's 'Wild Romance' Epic Wyoming Wedding by Jenna Lee Pictures

Happy Thursday everyone and how are you this fine autumnal morning? I have the most gorgeous wedding for you today from this beautiful nature loving couple. Noel and Joe were married on 3rd June 2023 at Diamond Cross Ranch in Moran, Wyoming. Living for the outdoor life they wanted to incorporate their love of nature into their wedding and they did this by holding it in Grand Tetons National Park with the stunning mountains as their ceremony back drop. Throw in herd of horses just as they were saying I do and you have the most perfect nature loving wedding. Noel and Joe were lucky enough to have an adventure shoot with their photographer Jenna Lee Pictures the day after the wedding, bringing in yet more of the stunning scenery into their wedding memories.

From the photographer

This incredibly epic wedding took place during the INCREDIBLY short weddings Grand Tetons wedding season for 2023. There were SO many things that made this wedding spectacular and special. What makes this wedding submission unique is in addition to their GORGEOUS wedding day that took place with the GORGEOUS Grand Tetons looming in the distance, (not to mention the “running of the horses” during their first kiss – we also spent a day adventuring around Grand Tetons/Yellowstone where we encountered many breath-taking and incredible moments from Bison, to a SNOWBALL FIGHT (in June), to INSANE mountain reflections.

From the couple

‘We wanted our wedding day to have a majestic, whimsical feel, with the Grand Tetons and nature taking center stage along the bride/groom! Color palette was navy, sage and blush. The groom’s family is from Greece originally and the bride’s from Hawaii, and so we tried to incorporate elements from both. Honoring the bride’s culture, their cousin made and flew leis in from Hawaii for the wedding party and family to wear during the ceremony. To honour the groom’s Greek culture, his god-parents made baklava for the wedding reception and, in accordance with tradition, white Jordan almonds were placed at every place setting at the tables. The groom’s ring has a traditional Greek design.’

How they met
After growing up worlds apart on the beaches of Hawaii and in the mountains of Utah, Noel and Joe’s paths finally crossed in the deserts of Arizona when they met at work in 2018. Their families knew things were beginning to get serious when the mysterious “coworker” they had been hearing about was given a name and had become their daughter’s/son’s number one adventure partner, travel companion, and best friend. Fast-forwarding through a move to Austin, TX, getting their fur-baby, Nyxie, the global pandemic, and buying their first home, Joe finally made things official in the fall of 2021 when he proposed to Noel in the mountains outside of Telluride, Colorado. Jackson, Wyoming has always been a special place for Joe & Noel, with the Teton Mountains & greater Yellowstone-area being one of their favorite spots in the world. Having travelled there to hike, relax, and vacation with friends and family now every year since they met, they are thrilled to be hosting their special day on a ranch in the shadows of the Tetons and share this wonderful place with all those who have been a part of their journey.

Decoration
My sister, Samantha, hand made the table numbers. We shared National Parks that Joe and I have hiked and she looked the signs up online and replicated the signs for each table. Instead of a table number, each table was a national park we had visited together. The floral design/arch that is at the opening of tent, was the gateway to the party and wanted to have an opportunity for photos.

Flowers
We had a floral arrangement behind us for the ceremony (on the ground so that the Tetons were still the main background). We used flowers in bridal bouquets, centrepieces, as well as decoration on the outside of the tent. We wanted the bouquets to feature a lot of the wild flowers one would find walking through a field in the Jackson Hole area. The bride also wore a flower crown featuring the same wild flowers (a “haku lei”), again in accordance with her Hawaiian heritage and tradition. Overall, flowers played a very important part in the style of the wedding.

Outfits
We both wanted to wear cowboy boots. As far as guest attire, we wanted everyone to be respectful but comfortable, nothing super formal. On the invitations, we said “Mountain Cocktail Attire” Our main focus was for everyone to be comfortable and themselves – the bride’s father wore his favorite Hawaiian shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots and cowboy hat and it was perfect. The bride also chose to change into a second outfit for the reception and dancing. A dress that was lace with flowers that were represented in the bouquets.

Personal touches
The wedding day was personalized with the table signs (national park signs the bride’s sister made) and the cultural nods we mentioned. Some of our favorite parts of the wedding were the fact that the guests got to experience the natural beauty of the Tetons during the ceremony and reception. Nature is so important to both the bride and groom, it was really nice to be able to share that on our most special day with all of our friends and family. Other favorite parts of the wedding included getting to see all of our friends together in one place and intermingling with family. Getting to see both of our parents and families smiling and laughing together was one of the best parts of the day as well. Another personal touch was we featured our dog, Nyxie, all over (signature cocktails were named after her and her favorite hobby, Squirrel Chasing, along with illustrations at the cocktail tables). The groom’s cufflinks were also custom made replicas of Nyxie.

Special moments
The whole day was incredibly special and getting to watch each little detail come together was amazing. Our absolute favorite was getting to watch and take in each family member and guest smile, laugh, and all have such a great time in the same place. One really special thing we did that we absolutely loved was an adventure shoot with our photographer the day after the wedding – we got to put our outfits back on and spend the day in the national parks. It was the perfect day and really fun to reminisce and relive the fantastic day with each other again, in an incredibly intimate, fun, and perfect setting.

Advice for other couples
Make sure to take a step back and try your best to soak it all in while the wedding day is happening. It goes by incredibly fast but we are both thankful that we listened to friends and made sure to step back and watch all of our guests interact and have fun.