A Design-Ahead Desert Marriage ceremony in Zion Nationwide Park

For the reason that very starting, Olivia Pei and Graham Keggi’s relationship has been outlined by journey—snowboarding, climbing, exploring, cooking, and creating. It’s how they met, how they received engaged, and naturally, how they received married. 

“We met by means of mutual mates in Tahoe whereas snowboarding in January 2015,” Olivia recollects. “Graham and his buddy cooked for me and my buddy, and that was the start of a really foodie relationship.” Virtually precisely 5 years later, in January 2020, Graham received down on one knee. “He proposed atop a mountain in Banff whereas we have been snowboarding; he has some aptitude for the sentimental in that means,” Olivia says. “It was very thrilling as a result of proper afterward we received to ski down the mountain.” 

From the snowy mountains to the scorching desert, the duo deliberate a marriage in Virgin, Utah, for 125 friends. The distinctive location was a canyon resort, Below Canvas Zion, smack dab in the course of Zion Nationwide Park. “We needed a spot the place we may deliver all of our household and mates collectively for the entire weekend; having everybody keep in the identical place was actually necessary to us,” Olivia says of the planning course of. “We love the outside and are notably drawn to abandon landscapes, so this glamping venue was good to symbolize us as a pair and accommodate all of our friends—who might or might not be outdoorsy.”

The couple additionally loves internet hosting dinner events, in order that was the vibe. “We needed the weekend to mainly really feel like one large ceremonial dinner. Along with bringing in our favourite folks, good meals was crucial. We needed the marriage to be enjoyable, easygoing, and festive—one to be remembered.”

As for the style, the selection was apparent. “I’m so fortunate as a result of Vera Wang is an expensive household buddy, which made the dress-shopping expertise very straightforward,” she says.

It definitely was. Learn on to see all of the stylish particulars from their June 6, 2021, wedding ceremony, deliberate by Emmily Jones of Gatherist, and photographed by SoCal Customary.

Their imaginative and prescient for the day was fashionable and design-forward, incorporating the pure textures and tones of the Utah desert and pops of vibrant coloration. Planner Emmily Jones and floral designer Jenevieve Hubbard of Wild Flora helped deliver the imaginative and prescient to life, starting with the bouquet. Utilizing tender desert floral and wild foraged textures, Hubbard created an association for the bride and tied it with a single wrap of plant-dyed gentle blue ribbon. “It was in-built minimalist kind with an emphasis on form, motion, and unfavorable area,” Olivia says.

Groom Graham donned a white linen Hawes & Curtis swimsuit with a traditional match, splendid for the local weather. “We knew it was going to be a scorching day within the desert and needed one thing easy and never overly formal,” he shares. “The relaxed look and funky cloth was good for the event.” He accented it with footwear in a deep blue shade to herald some coloration. 

With the assistance and recommendation of Vera Wang, Olivia chosen a tender crepe uneven bias robe with crisscrossing again straps and cowl one-shoulder element, accented with a single draped sleeve.

“I used to be searching for one thing easy, elegant, and understated. And once I noticed that again I believed, ‘That is the right quantity of particular,’” the bride shares. She paired the robe with bracelets sourced from Etsy and minimalistic earrings. “As a result of gravel and mud all around the venue, in addition to the recent climate, I opted for essentially the most comfy wedges I may discover, the Idelle footwear by L’Amour Des Pieds,” says Olivia of her alternative of footwear.

“[Our planner] Emmily had this imaginative and prescient of a monolith-like wood arch with a blue inside,” Olivia remembers when discussing the ceremony décor. “It was in no way what we have been initially pondering, however as soon as she introduced it up we mentioned, ‘Certain, let’s do it!’”

“We’re so glad we did, as a result of it offered such a cool juxtaposition with the desert backdrop. As a result of the arch was such an imposing piece of artwork, we determined towards having the rest aside from white chairs for our friends.” Glowing water, followers, sunscreen, and bug spray have been offered on the entrance to the ceremony.

The bride’s nephew Liam led the procession as ring bearer in a white shorts and light-weight blue suspenders. “Liam was very grumpy proper earlier than strolling down the aisle—‘It’s too scorching! I don’t like these flowers!’” Olivia recollects with amusing. “However as quickly as he noticed everybody him, he instantly realized he was doing one thing necessary and cheered up, taking his function very significantly,” Then got here the couple, every coming into the ceremony accompanied by their mother and father.

Parasols have been offered to assist friends block the solar through the ceremony. In fact, in addition they appeared significantly stylish in pictures. 

“Graham’s greatest buddy, Joonsuk Lee, was our officiant,” Olivia says. The duo wrote their very own vows, and curated a sequence of readings from “Mountain Ideas” by John Muir, Mastering the Artwork of French Cooking by Julia Baby, and “The Grasp Velocity” by Robert Frost. “These have been meant to symbolize a couple of issues which can be necessary to us: the outside, cooking, and mastering our particular person endeavors,” Olivia says.

After “I do,” the couple recessed out to the tune of “Solely Wanna Be With You” by Hootie and the Blowfish.

“It was so windy proper earlier than the ceremony! That big arch truly fell over, and every little thing that was set on the reception tables began flying away,” Olivia remembers. “Emmily and her group by some means made all of it work, but it surely was actually intense!” Although on the time it was a stressor, the wind made for some stunning pictures of the bride’s veil. “I used to be not planning on sporting a veil, however throughout one among my costume fittings, Vera informed me that I ought to get one, and so I received one,” Olivia says. “I’m very glad I did, as a result of it actually put the entire outfit collectively. I opted for an additional lengthy and slim veil, which blew within the wind like loopy!”

“Our coloration scheme targeted on colours complementary to these discovered within the desert,” Olivia says of the pure inspiration. “By including complementary pops of coloration in design-forward methods, we created a contemporary tackle the desert wedding ceremony. The colour focus was blushes, sage inexperienced, sky blue, mustard yellow, and cobalt blue. We aimed for a contemporary and design-forward idea.”

The couple’s recommendation to different to-be-weds? “Every part occurred so rapidly,” they share. “Ensure you doc every little thing very well within the type of pictures, recordings, movies—no matter floats your boat!”

Although there was a small bridal social gathering, they opted for non-traditional apparel. Graham’s brothers served as groomsmen and wore fits from their very own respective weddings. Bridesmaids selected their very own apparel, too. “My mom is French, and in France, there is no such thing as a such factor as bridesmaids’ clothes or bridesmaids, actually. There are solely witnesses,” Olivia says. “I needed my two greatest mates to put on what they needed—one thing comfy that they might be comfortable to put on over and over.” The one steering they got? “Desert stylish.” 

The reception came about beneath a hovering wood construction that resides completely on the glamping venue, with epic views of sandstone cliffs and purple rock within the background. There have been distinctive actions for friends to partake in earlier than dinner. “We had canvases with paint-filled balloons that our mates may throw darts at, made by Bougie Balloons,” Olivia says. “Now we now have a triptych at residence hanging proudly above our sofa that reminds us of what a blast the marriage was.”

“As a result of we have been going for that dinner-party really feel, we had linen material,” the bride says. “Our favourite have been the striped napkins, which simply felt so congenial!” Olivia handcrafted the colourful ceramic bowls—she and Graham collectively personal Craftd Items, a small enterprise for ceramic tablewares and granola. “It was a really enjoyable winter of taking part in with completely different clay our bodies and mixing glazes to get the precise colours to match the marriage coloration palette,” she says. And it made for a really private contact day-of.”

“Jenevieve Hubbard of Wild Flora turned them into masterpieces together with her minimalist and wild floral preparations,” Olivia says. “We sought tender earthen tones in regionally sourced and sustainably organized florals to reflect the desert sand, desert blooms, and purple rock.”

She provides, “The entire paper design was by Camila from Carta Plena. We aimed for a daring and colourful design that may actually stand out on the tables. Our friends’ names have been meant to be outsized and really feel like they have been stumbling off the place playing cards. The menu was a daring mustard yellow with a cobalt blue textual content.”

In a shock efficiency, Olivia serenaded her new husband with the tune “Your Love Is My House” by The Gentle The Warmth. “I really like planning surprises, large and small, for Graham, and so this felt like one thing that was, regardless of being in entrance of everybody, only for us. As a result of I needed it to be a real shock for Graham, I solely received to rehearse it by listening to it with headphones—no singing out loud—so I made plenty of errors once I carried out the tune. However based on Graham, it made it that rather more endearing and memorable.” 

“There have been plenty of little particulars that we inserted into the marriage to essentially make it ours,” the couple shares. “Along with incorporating our personal Craftd Items ceramics and granola, we designed a bingo recreation to encourage folks from the completely different levels of our life to fulfill one another. Moreover, we supplied Regular Ice Cream through the reception; dessert earlier than dinner highlighted the easygoing nature of the weekend, and the way we did not stick with conference when it got here to the marriage.”

Friends sipped two signature cocktails, one other private contact. “The Runner’s Rye was a rye-based cocktail with tepache, lemon, and ginger; the Singer’s Soother was a tequila-based cocktail with aloe liqueur and honeydew,” Olivia says. “Each have been very refreshing and have been meant to symbolize every of our major actions, Graham as a runner, and me as a singer.”

“Choosing our caterer was the best a part of planning,” Olivia recollects. “We organized a tasting with Chef Evan Francois of Saltd Catering Co. on the final minute, so he didn’t actually get the prospect to get the overview from our wedding ceremony planner about what we have been searching for. But by some means, his tasting was spot-on, precisely what we have been searching for. We care so much about meals, and we have been blown away.” They aimed for a family-style meal that felt like an intimate ceremonial dinner, full with wine bottles on the desk. “We’re avid cooks ourselves and have all the time gravitated in the direction of vegetable-forward meals. We additionally needed the produce to be seasonal and colourful.”

There was extra dessert after dinner. “We determined to have s’mores as the first dessert, as a substitute of cake,” Olivia says. “Flour & Flourish made gourmand vanilla and chocolate marshmallows, pizzelles, and graham crackers. We did have a scrumptious Samoa cake—just like the Ladies Scouts cookie taste—obtainable on the desk as properly.”

The newlyweds took their first flip across the dance flooring to “California” by The Lagoons.

The bride danced together with her father to “Je l’aime à mourir” by French singer Francis Cabrel—after which the social gathering was on. “DJ Chu was the most effective,” Olivia says. “He saved the social gathering going all night time and all of our friends beloved him. We principally had tunes from the ’00s, since that’s once we have been in highschool and faculty.”

After a magical night, friends left with favors from the couple’s firm, Craftd Items, together with baggage of granola with customized labels. Whereas the newlyweds made visits to Lake Powell and Moab on the drive residence, the adventures are simply starting for the daring couple. “We’re ready till the world (hopefully) will get again to regular earlier than we begin planning a honeymoon,” they share. “There are many locations we predict we are going to need to go to as quickly as we will.”