Mary and Samuel’s Adventure Wedding at Alyeska Resort

“It’s our story, our way, our adventure” – Mary

Mary and Samuel

Mary and Samuel are a fun-loving, adventurous couple who find joy in everything that they do. They also have big hearts and are very close with their families. These were their biggest priorities when planning how their wedding day would look and feel. They knew they wanted their closest family members to be a part of their day, but they also wanted something meaningful and adventurous, so a big traditional wedding was not right for them. Although they currently live in North Carolina, Samuel was born in Anchorage, so Alaska felt like the perfect combination of adventure and home.

Pie and Ice Cream

They met during the covid pandemic, at a mutual friend’s small get together, becoming acquaintances and friends first. At one point, Samual mentioned that his usual lunch was pie and ice cream, which caught Mary’s attention. A few days later, he texted Mary with one sentence that changed it all… “Pie and ice cream?”. How could a girl say no to that?

Aviation

Aviation is also a big part of their lives in many ways, so they knew they needed to incorporate a helicopter flight into their wedding day. Part of Samuel’s family owns a flight-seeing charter company in Wrangell, and Samuel himself works in aircraft sales, has his pilot license, and holds some impressive aviation achievements (though when brought up, he’ll humbly downplay them). In 2023 he led a demo tour for a new experimental aircraft, being one of the few people in the world signed off to fly it.

Even the story of how they got engaged has ties to aviation. Mary was ready to move back to Ohio to be closer to family, and she was flying to Cleveland for her god-daughter’s birthday. What Mary didn’t know, was that (by her dad’s advice) he flew in a small airplane to Cleveland to surprise her. He met her at baggage claim, where he got down on one knee and popped the question. Her mom, who Mary considers to be her best friend, was there to pick her up and got to witness the whole thing.

Alyeska Resort

The Alyeska Ski Resort is located in Girdwood, a charming and quirky little mountain town nestled in a valley of the Chugach Mountains, near the end of the Turnagain Arm. Girdwood is a unique wedding and elopement destination for many adventurous couples, as the scenery is incredible and there are so many outdoor activities available such as skiing, hiking, fishing, biking, camping, and more. The Alyeska Resort itself adds an element of luxury for those who want to spend their days exploring and their afternoons relaxing. Alyeska not only has award winning skiing, but it also has a nordic spa, fine dining, and hosts films and live music throughout the year..

Getting Ready

A foggy morning

The wedding day started in a suite at the Alyeska resort. The weather was a little foggy and rainy, but was nothing compared to the anxiety-inducing downpour the day before. Nerves were high because of the forecast, but being the adventurous and laid-back couple that they are, they decided to embrace whatever weather mother nature had to throw at them.

Getting Ready

Mary’s mother and sister-in-law were helping her get ready. Her sister-in-law did her makeup and they both helped button her into her dress, which was adorned with pearl details to match her grandmother’s pearls, which she also wore. Her mother attached her vail, and in return Mary gave her mother a corsage that matched her bouquet. I adored capturing these tender mother-daughter moments. Before leaving the suite, Mary wrote a letter to Samuel, who was set to get ready in the room next. She left it on the bed next to his ring, his boutineer, and a gift for him: a pair of socks with helicopters on them.

The First Look

At first, the two did not want to do a first look, they wanted to wait until the ceremony to see each other for the first time. At the last minute however they changed their mind, and decided to do a first look by the elevators. Then, they would ride the elevator down to the lobby, where their families would see both of them together. I could tell Mary was anxious with anticipation, while Samual waited by the elevators, cool as a cucumber. When he saw her for the first time, his face lit up and he kept telling her how beautiful she looked.

Ceremony in the clouds

On the way to the tram, Mary’s dad passed out tickets and umbrellas to everybody. We ascended up the mountain and into the clouds with the entire wedding party squeezed into one tram car. The excitement and energy was was high, and then a rainbow appeared!

The family settled into place to form a U-shape around where Mary and Samuel would end up saying their vows. The ceremony spot had rocky mountain ridges on one side, a view of the valley and turnagain arm below, with the towering tram lift poles above. Samuel’s uncle officated and both of their moms took turns sharing words for the couple. During the ceremony, the fog truly rolled in. For a few minutes, the fog was so thick that it engulfed them and their loved ones in a dreamy world all their own.

The Adventure

The Moose

During the ride down the tram, they spotted a moose under the ski lift, and dubbed it “The marriage moose”. I consider that to be a sign of good luck. The Moose. • Detail the tram ride back down and the serendipitous sighting of a moose, which the couple took as a sign of good fortune. They were even able to get close enough (but not too close) for some pictures.

The Helicopter Ride

After the ceremony, the family headed to Alpine Air to see the couple off on their own version of the traditional wedding day ‘getaway car’. Despite the wind and rain, the ride was incredibly smooth and the pilot did a great job of navigating the peaks and valleys to show us Girdwood’s unique and moody beauty, including tundra, estuaries and waterfall. We saw the Turnagain Arm, famous for it’s bore tide, one of the biggest in the world. Then we approached the Spencer Glacier.

Spencer Glacier

I’m no stranger to glaciers. I was born and raised in Juneau, famous for the Mendenhall Glacier. I’ve photographed many glacier weddings on various glaciers, I’ve explored glacier ice caves on three different occasions, I even licked a glacier on a field trip in 3rd grade. But the views from the Spencer Glacier glacier are breathtaking, with the bluest ice pools I’ve ever seen.

The five of us (Mary, Samuel, the pilot, the videographer, and I) were the only living souls on that ancient and massive glacier as far as I could tell, which is a very humbling feeling, making you realize just how small you are in the grand scheme of things. They popped champagne and drank glacier water straight from a glacier stream (if you ever get the chance, I highly recommend trying this). We ventured downward toward a bright blue ice pool, and then upward toward a towering tributary glacier (a small glacier that flows into a larger glacier). Then I gave them some space while they walked toward the edge known as the ablation zone, where they held each other close and soaked in the moment.

After we left the glacier and said goodbye, they ment their family at Jack Sprat for a celebratory dinner. They plan to follow up their intimate wedding adventure with a big reception in North Carolina with the rest of their family and friends. Being there for Mary and Samuel’s intimate, adventurous, and beautiful Alyeska resort wedding was an absolute honor. To quote Mary, “It’s our story, our way, our adventure”, and I think their wedding day truly exemplified that.

Vendors

Venue: Alyeska Ski Resort

Helicopter Company: Alpine Air

Florals: The Teal Door

Dress: BHLDN, Anthropologie

Videographer: Sorril Media

Helicopter Socks: Amazon

Hair and Makeup: Hair by Donna Allen

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