The Diamond in the Rough–A Backyard Wyoming Wedding

Brooke & Brannic

July 14th, 2018

The Smothers Home, Casper, Wyoming

“Brannic was my birthday gift.” They were just a couple of college kids hanging out at the dorms through mutual friends. Brooke + Brannic started hanging out, and pretty soon they were falling in love. “Once Brannic told me he was going to marry me someday, but I didn’t believe him.” They’d both been through hurtful relationships in the past, but this was the diamond in the rough.

Their wedding day arrived; a sunny, hot Wyoming afternoon, in Brooke’s backayard at her family home. Basically everything was done by her family–a personal + simple touch graced on everything.

 

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Instead of going into the mushy details of their love story, Brooke + Brannic just started walking through everything they’ve learned together, and what their relationship has added to their stories so far. It was beautiful. And their wisdom extends universally.

“Bran dove head first into my brokenness + I went into his–we learned to communicate + be vulnerable with each other. We loved on each other’s families. He was there when my sister accepted Jesus, and he was with my family when my Grandma went to Heaven. He has shown me forgiveness over + over again, and I’ve gotten to extend the same grace to him. He continued telling me he knew he was going to marry me, even when I tried to end it. And I saw he was actually someone who was going to stay in my life.  We should’ve broken up so many times, but the Lord has worked through that + made us grow through our brokenness from past relationships.”

  

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After all Brooke’s girlfriends used their gifts to pamper the bride, she headed out to see her groom in the backyard. There’s not a sweeter man–he wept every time he looked at her. All the days he knew he was going to marry her + fought for their relationship brought him to this moment, meeting his bride in her backyard.

“We’ve had a lot of trust broken from previous relationships. Even Brooke’s dad had seen a change in her once our relationship started opening her up. It’s been really cool to see Brooke start to not hold anything back. So many times we almost broke up, but I was so sure I was created for Brooke that I pushed for us to work through those struggles, and we chose each other over whatever we were going through. We’ve done it over + over + over again, and that’s a mirror image of what the rest of our lives are supposed to look like.”

We’ve learned that love isn’t just an emotion. That’s what we experienced at the beginning, but once time goes on, we get up every morning + choose to love each other. It’s been so cool to learn that through different people + experiences. I’ve always heard people say that a relationship is one of the hardest things you’ll ever experience. I had a preconceived notion of what that would look like, but it’s been so much different in that the joys have been way better than I could’ve ever imagined. And instead of the struggles detracting from our relationship, they’ve just made us better. ”

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“When people say, ‘you know when you know’, it’s actually in such a different way than I thought. There’s been so many other people that weren’t it, and so we just broke up. But if there’s something holding you there, that’s love + that’s when you know.”

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After the first look, they read letters of sweetness to each other.

   

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Brooke + Bran spent the hour before the wedding having wine + cocktails with family, relishing in time together with everyone they rarely see. Then, their loved ones surrounded them with joy-tears + prayer, praising the days to come.

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Once everyone was seated, they walked down the aisle + recited traditional vows, just like their parents had on their wedding days.

 

They washed each other’s feet as a symbol of the ways they will lay down their lives for each other.

 

And once they had their kiss, it was time to party the night away with tacos + cake pops.

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After their honeymoon, Brooke + Bran are going to live out their wild spirits by road-tripping around the country for three months, sleeping in a roof-top tent. It’s pretty magical.

VENDORS:

COORDINATOR: Julie Voorhies

BRIDAL GOWN: A&be Bridal

FLORIST: Lisa | Marvel Floral

CAKE ARTIST: Marcia | Piece a Cake

BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES: Lulu’s

TUXES: LaNaige