Sneak Peak of a Rainy Wedding in Grand Teton National Park

Venues - White Buffalo Club, Schwabacher Landing, Mormon Row, Glacier View Turnout, and Gather

Couple - Jocelyn + James

Flowers - Briar Rose

Cake - Windy Woman Cakes

Jocelyn + James’ wedding was one of the most interesting and challenging ones I’ve ever worked. If you’re interested in seeing Mormon Row and Schwabacher Landing at their best, this is not the gallery. What we got instead was much more dramatic and unique than anything golden hour can deliver.

What was forecasted to be the classic 3PM scattered showers turned into a brutally cold and constant rain. We were able to pivot plans slightly, but this was the kind of day where even your backup plans fall through and you have to find backups to your backups. Praise local photographers!

I started by meeting Jocelyn at the White Buffalo Club.

Then, we met James at Schwabacher Landing for some incredibly moody but beautiful images. The fall foliage is perfect in late September and it made for a hell of a backdrop against the foggy mountains.

We took a brief moment to hide from the rain on our way to Mormon Row. It didn’t lighten up, so eventually they decided to throw on their matching rain jackets.

The radar had shown the rain ending shortly after 5pm, so we were hopeful that the ceremony could continue as planned. After waiting for over 30 minutes, it was clear that the rain was not going to stop. Their ordainer + bff gave an abbreviated version of his speech (skipping the references to beautiful mountain views and golden hour lol) and we headed into a covered location I knew in town for the family photos and reception at Gather.

There rain lasted all day Monday as well, but Jocelyn and James were able to stop at Oxbow Bend on their way to Yellowstone on Tuesday. I live at Colter Bay, so I knew it would be a great spot to catch the beautiful fall colors in the northern part of the park.

We even saw a grizzly bear swim across the river! I’ve seen wolverines and boreal owls and other rare things, but a grizzly swimming across the river isn’t something I’ve seen in my many years in the park.