The Making of a Circus Wedding

The day was December 25, 2016. We were in the 4-runner, driving away from the ranch where Jeff had just proposed to me.

In a daze, we started talking about how we imagined our wedding should be.

“It should be a circus.” I said. “Black and white.”

“And red. Red is a good color.” Jeff said. “And there should be horses. Horses are important to you.”

Just like that, the image of our wedding started to form in our minds. We agreed immediately that it should take place outdoors, in nature. Neither of us are a fan of being in the city.

We looked at a few locations, but none were as perfect as the first: Lee Canyon Ski Resort. When we first contacted this location, it was available to tour, but we could not book it because they were doing some construction and they had not finalized the completion date. However, we were captivated by this location, which had exactly what we wanted with no need for extras. We loved the trees, the mountain view, and especially the wild horses which roamed the mountainside.

We put off booking another location, procrastinated planning, and one day, I got an email that Lee Canyon was ready to book weddings again. It was decided: We would get married September 1, 2018.

The details began to fall into place, and our day turned out remarkably similar to what we had originally pictured. One of my favorite parts was the natural aisle where the processional and recessional took place.

The natural landscape also made for a perfect “first look” location.

From the moment we toured this location, I was hoping we would get to do our portraits with the wild horses, but there was no guarantee if the horses would be around when the hour arrived. However, this guy seemed to know what we wanted and showed up right on time for his photo appointment and didn’t move a muscle until we were done.

Our wonderful wedding coordinator at Lee Canyon offered to decorate the ceremony area for us, but we preferred its natural look.

The hardest part of planning was finding time and energy to rehearse this duo trapeze act, but our “first dance” in the air was perfect.

Jeff and the guys celebrated with an improvised act on trampwall.

The team at Lee Canyon made sure everything was perfect for us.

And it FLEW by! It was time to go before we knew it!

For anyone looking to plan an amazing wedding in the Las Vegas area, I must HIGHLY recommend Caitlyn Kelly and the team at Lee Canyon. Caitlyn is an absolute badass who made our day run smoothly and even took a stand for me when two of my vendors (not listed) did not stand up to their promises. Something WILL go wrong on your wedding day, so make sure you have someone who will advocate for you!

I also want to thank Mackenzie of Mackenzie Stewart Weddings for being amazing on our wedding day. Not only did all of our photos exceed our expectations, but she and her husband are pros at making the day run on schedule and not missing a shot. Some brides don’t realize how much your photographer matters on your wedding day… make sure you hire a talented one like Mackenzie!