To the Tetons and Back

Last week we drove to the Tetons for a "destination wedding" of friends of ours, Beth and Barney.



Avid mountain climbers, they decided that, since so many people would have to travel regardless of where they held their wedding, they would get married in a place special to them that they could share with their friends and family. (Run on, sure; but true.)



We stayed at the beautiful Spring Creek Ranch, a resort of a series of individual villas containing two to four spaces each, with one of the top five rated destination spas in the U.S. The view of the Tetons is spectacular.



We drove for two days, stopping for the night in Boise, and arriving on Friday in time to attend the rehearsal dinner. About the time the wedding rehearsal itself was scheduled (we weren't at it), the skies opened up with torrential rain and hail. It cleared up in time for the outdoor barbecue that evening, where we had prime rib and made s'mores.



Saturday was the wedding day. In the morning we spent a little time in Jackson, Wyoming before dressing and getting our shuttle van to the wedding, on the property of the Snake River Ranch near Teton Village. They chose to have the wedding in a field surrounded by groves of trees; the reception in an open field with the Tetons as a backdrop.



The wedding coordinator provided white umbrellas for the guests, which were used frequently before the wedding began as showers and sun alternated. Then, as the wedding began, the showers began in earnest. The groomsmen and the groom and officiant (the groom's cousin) shared umbrellas; the bridesmaids came down the aisle, shepherding flower girls with baskets of rose petals, carrying umbrellas. The sun came out, and the bride started down the "aisle" with her parents. Halfway up the rain began again to fall through the sunshine, and the umbrellas popped up again like so many mushrooms. The rain continued for the first five minutes of the ceremony; the sun stayed out, the rain stopped, the umbrellas came down, and there wasn't rain again until after sundown when everyone was safely ensconced in the reception tent.



This wedding could easily have been very high-end; the bride and groom could easily have afforded an elaborate wedding. Instead it was understated, with great food, the wedding party doing some of the decorating, and a parting gift of English gingerbread cookies, a British tradition.

It was cold at night; the forecast predicted snow in the slightly higher elevations. We didn't see it, but there were warm baths and a fire in the fireplace when we returned from the reception

We spent one day enjoying Teton National Park, and boated (briefly) on Lake Washington. The drive home was uneventful, but interesting. We stopped at Craters of the Moon National Monument for a couple of hours, and enjoyed driving highways instead of interstate. We drove through lovely little towns, and only encountered a car or two an hour. We stayed in the same room in Boise, and finished our trip the last day in time to pick up our dog, so we could return home all together.

It's been a week since the wedding, the newlyweds are on their honeymoon, and we are back to our daily lives.

But the Tetons still loom large in our memories, and mention of them elicits oohs and appreciative comments from family and friends. And those few days of crisp, cold mornings, and frosty nights made me eager for autumn to fall.