Some love stories begin with a grand romantic gesture, while others unfold over a casual trivia night and a well-timed swipe. For Jackie and Ian, fate (and a mutual friend) set them on a path that led from Boulder barstools to the wild rivers of Alaska, where Ian popped the question at Jackie’s favorite fishing spot. Their wedding at Camp Hale was a reflection of their love for adventure, the great outdoors, and meaningful moments shared with family and friends. With a rustic-elegant aesthetic, personalized details, and even a little fly-fishing on the big day, their celebration was as uniquely them as their love story
How did you meet?
We met through a mutual friend (and kind of Hinge)! Ian’s coworker was a gal who I had gone to middle school with. When she moved to Boulder, she had reached out to me to reconnect and invited me out to a trivia night with her and her coworkers. I sat across from Ian and we ended up chatting the entire time. There was definitely a ~vibe~. All of his coworkers, with the exception of our mutual friend, had left while we continued to talk. I thought for sure that he was going to ask for my phone number. Womp womp, he didn’t. I was so bummed! Luckily, Boulder, CO is a small town and we stumbled across each other on Hinge. After a few exchanges through the app and a few more group outings with our mutual friend and his coworkers, the rest is history!
What is your proposal story?
We had talked about getting engaged for a while but both Ian and I wanted everything else surrounding the proposal to be a surprise. Every summer for the past 16 years, my father and I have gone to Alaska to fly-fish; it’s something I grew up doing with him and it’s my favorite hobby. When Ian and I were getting serious in our relationship, my father invited Ian on the trip (something that clearly meant we were super duper serious and that my father approved of him). That trip went well and Ian loved fly-fishing! The following summer, the summer that we got engaged, Ian knew he wanted to propose in Alaska – I had a hunch it might happen there but I didn’t want to get my hopes up so I tried to let the thought go. We arrived to Enchanted Lake Lodge in Katmai National Park and Ian began coordinating the proposal logistics with my father and the guides (who have known me for a majority of my life). He chose my favorite lunch spot on my favorite river to pop the question. It was an extra windy day but it was our only planned day on that river so when we got to the spot, Ian asked me if I wanted to take a picture to send to our moms. Immediately, I thought “Okay, that’s weird! Is he going to propose?!” because Ian HATES taking pictures but he waved my dad in to the picture, we snapped the pic and then continued walking. Again, I immediately thought “Jackie, stop overthinking this. It’s not happening today.” A few seconds later, he squeezed my hand and pulled me towards him. Right then, I knew. He dropped to one knee and started saying the sweetest things to me. With fishing rods in my hands, I knelt with him, hugged him, and said a huge “YES!!!” It was an awesome day.
Tell us a little a bit about your wedding
First and foremost, we wanted it to feel like us. We wanted a rustic, simple, elegant, Colorado look and feel. I was really inspired by a lot of ranch weddings and outdoor weddings! After we selected our venue – the incredible Camp Hale – I knew we had to lean in to the beauty of the location. I didn’t want to add any really bright colors, instead I wanted to play off the hues of the areas: the greens, the browns, the neutrals, and a little hint of pink.
Tell us about your attire choices.
Ian’s suit was a navy blue Armani suit. He had purchased it a year prior for another wedding we were attending and when we decided that we wanted him and the groomsmen to wear navy suits for the wedding, he stuck with the one he had because it was tailored so well to fit his body! A special detail that Ian wore on the day of our wedding, were cufflinks that I had custom made for him. I always thought it was silly that the man is expected to get the woman a beautiful, extravagant ring that should be so perfectly “her” and that the woman didn’t get a chance to reciprocate with anything. Before we got engaged, I mentioned that I wanted to get him something too. So I got him a pair of cufflinks to represent a trip to Japan (where Ian has always wanted to go for skiing) that I got to give him the day we got engaged. One of the cufflink has the Boulder Flatirons on it, the other has the mountain in Japan that Ian has always wanted to visit. They also have the day that we met on them. Our Japan trip is planned for the beginning of 2025!
As for my attire, I knew I wanted it to be timeless and classic. I went to A&Bé bridal in Denver to try on some options and the very first dress I tried on ended up being the dress I walked out with! It is the Atlas dress by Vagabond Bridal. I loved the feminine cut and simplicity of the dress. I wanted a dramatic veil moment so I went with the Julianne Veil by Sara Gabriel. I loved the way the veil framed my face and body with its horsehair edging. That’s what I wore for the ceremony! After the ceremony (for the cocktail hour and the start of the reception), I took off my veil and added a light pink floral belt made of the decorative flowers from my mother’s wedding dress! It was such a special touch and a great way to tie in that hint of light pink that ran throughout our wedding. For the dancing portion of the night, I knew I wanted something completely different from my gown. I chose the A1012, a short beaded and feather-hemmed dress from Andrea and Leo Couture, for this and paired it with white rhinestone Betsey Johnson short cowgirl boots!
What was the most important to the two of you while planning? Was there anything that you chose to splurge on or skip?
In terms of the decor, everything was stunning and perfect. We had a vision for what we wanted but really trusted our vendors to bring that vision to life. We picked them for a reason and wanted to give them the space and opportunity to do what they do best! Plus, giving them more freedom with their craft, made some elements of the day a surprise for us which was so fun!
What were your favorite parts of the day?
In terms of a really special moment from the wedding day that stands out the most to us, was about 45 minutes before the ceremony with our wedding party. We were all in the girl’s “getting ready cabin” having one last drink together to calm the nerves when my step-brother, Séamus, began an impromptu sharing circle about what everyone’s favorite memory with us was or what quality they liked most about our relationship. All of the guys and gals went around sharing and it was truly a moment that Ian and I will cherish forever. So many of the sentimental parts of weddings these days feel forced or ultra planned, this was natural and beautiful. Our parents sat in the corners of the room, crying and not saying a peep because they didn’t want to interrupt the authenticity of the moment.
Another MAJOR highlight was fly-fishing on our wedding day! I was hell bent on catching a fish and we made it happen. It was a blast and really complimented our personalities, interests, and relationship history. Plus, I think most of the East Coasters who attended were very surprised by this wedding activity! It was fun to introduce non-Coloradans to that activity.
This memory wasn’t on our actual wedding day but the day before our wedding after our rehearsal. Ian and I off-roaded to the top of the mountain behind Camp Hale to exchange our personal vows. We had gone there en-route to the Fowler-Hilliard hut in January for Ian’s birthday hut trip. On that trip, we decided that that’s where we wanted to exchange our vows. So, after our rehearsal on Friday morning, Ian and I slipped away for an adventure. I had never been off-roading so that was scary as hell but oh my goodness, was it a blast! We cracked our favorite beers at the top, read our vows to one another, enjoyed the moment and eventually made our way back down to get ready for our welcome party. It was the best kick-off to the best weekend!
It’s so hard to pick other favorites because the reality is that the entire day was perfect and the best memory for us to keep for a lifetime.
Please describe any DIY, handmade, or personal details.
We had one DIY detail for the wedding! I had seen those memorial/”In memory of” tables at weddings when I was looking for inspiration and ideas. I really loved the idea of including family members who were no longer with us on our big day but it didn’t feel like “us” to have a table solely dedicated to those who had passed away. My mother is Swiss so many of our family members live abroad and could not make the journey to the middle of the United States for our wedding. So, I thought it would be fun to accumulate pictures of our family members from a variety of family weddings as a way to include those family members who had passed away but also those who simply could not be there because of other reasons! I gave our parents the task of gathering family wedding pictures throughout the years (from the early 1900s until just recently). I had one of my close friends who is a graphic designer collage all of the pictures together – blending Ian’s family pictures with mine which felt really symbolic of the big step we were taking in our life. I ordered wooden frames for them and voilà! We put a picture frame on each cocktail table and now we have those collages hanging in our house. They make us smile every time we pass them!
Do you have any advice for couples planning their weddings now?
It’s so cliché to say but try to let things roll off your back as much as possible once you’re actually at the wedding location and in wedding mode. That’s a time for you to enjoy all of the work that you’ve put in to planning this awesome event and yes, things went (or may go) awry but it’s all going to work out. Oh and put your foot down early-on with some of your boundaries. Everyone will want to have input or will have something to say about what you decide on but, you know what? IT’S NOT THEIR WEDDING!!!! Do what makes you and your future spouse happy and what feels right for the two of you.