BE OUR GUEST
BE OUR GUEST
Entertaining, local-style
Be prepared: When people receive an invitation to a wedding in the Tetons, they rarely decline. With so much natural beauty and so many activities to experience, can you blame them? Help your guests by offering a list of local outings that are sure to impress. While you are at it, make sure to join in the fun!
Resort Excitement
While we know the snow activities here are world-class, each of the three Teton ski resorts offers unique “no-snow” entertainment opportunities for you and your wedding guests. Scenic chairlift, gondola, and tram rides; high-elevation dining; horseback riding; disc golf; ropes courses and zip lines; gravity-assisted “roller coasters” and slides; bungee trampolines; gemstone mining; paragliding; and mini-golf—along with the hiking and mountain biking you’d expect—are all opportunities to add excitement to your wedding week.
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort
The Grand Adventure Pass gets you unlimited rides on the Bridger Gondola, Aerial Tram, and Teewinot Chairlift, along with access to the ropes course, Drop Tower, bungee trampoline, and more. jacksonhole.com
Snow King Mountain Resort
The Big King Pass gives you one tour on the Treetop Adventure ropes course and unlimited access to the Alpine Slide, Cowboy Coaster, mini-golf, and chairlift. snowkingmountain.com
Grand Targhee Resort
Adults can purchase tickets for the bike park, pool, chairlift, EuroBungy, climbing wall, and more. The Grand Targhee Activity Pass offers kids twelve and under a climbing wall and EuroBungy session, all-day access to the scenic chairlift, and a prospector’s gemstone mining kit. grandtarghee.com
Artsy Fun
Both sides of the Tetons have options for those interested in getting artsy with their wedding parties. Want to send your wedding party home with a beautiful canvas of the Tetons? Arrange for them to paint it themselves at a Sip and Paint at Roam Mercantile & Makery in Jackson, or at a Wine and Palettes at The Local Galleria in Driggs, Idaho. Choose an image you want to create and an instructor will lead your group, regardless of artistic experience, through painting it on canvas. Interested in having your friends help you prepare for the wedding? Work with the ladies at Roam or The Local Galleria to design a workshop that best fits your needs. Whether it is designing jewelry or flower crowns, let your imagination and creative vision be the inspiration.
Roam Mercantile & Makery: roamjh.com
The Local Galleria: tetonvalleylocalart.com
Western Action and Excitement
Give your guests the true western experience with a chance to ride a bull or shoot a vintage rifle. Contact the folks at A&B Productions and reserve their mechanical bull for your yard or reception venue. Guests forty-eight inches and taller receive instruction from a professional before they compete against each other to see who can ride the bull the longest. Don’t worry about getting bruised up: A&B has the safest bull on the market, and your fall is cushioned by a plush inflatable pad.
The Multi-Gun Rifle & Pistol Package at the Jackson Hole Shooting Experience might be just what your group of up to twenty guests needs. After a safety briefing, participants hone their shooting skills with a variety of .22-caliber rifles and handguns. Finally, crack into the larger-caliber handguns, rifles, and vintage firearms. Shotgun clays and archery are other options available for your group.
A&B Productions: abpdjs.com
The Jackson Hole Shooting Experience: shootinjh.com
Dress the Part
If you aren’t up for shooting guns but still want to handle them, set up a session with the photographers at Jackson Hole’s Old Time Photos. Your bridal party can dress up like saloon girls, while the groomsmen dress the part of outlaws and gamblers. Photo sessions can be scheduled at the downtown studio or a location of your choosing.
Jackson Hole’s Old Time Photos: jholdtimephotos.com
Take a Breath of Fresh Air
Breathing at more than 6,000 feet above sea level can be a bit trying for some of your lowland guests. Reserve the Air Pocket Oxygen Bar by Backcountry Baby for your prewedding gathering. Ninety-five percent pure oxygen, paired with a therapy aroma, is pumped through disposable nose hoses for your guests to inhale. Six people at a time can sit back and socialize while increasing their energy and decreasing any headaches or hangovers.
Backcountry Baby: backcountry-baby.com
Break Out of Your Comfort Zone
Jackson’s local improv comedy troupe, The Laff Staff, will help you plan a prewedding improv workshop or act targeted specifically for your wedding. What could be more hilarious than watching actors re-enact your first date, that awkward moment when you met, or perhaps the proposal, and so much more—all inspired by your suggestions. Schedule a performance during your rehearsal dinner or welcome banquet, and sit back with family and friends to enjoy the many laughs.
Laff Staff Special Events: Nick Staron, 307-200-9827, nickstaron@hotmail.com
Get Your Groove On
From the end of June through the middle of August, both Teton Valley, Idaho, and Jackson host free or low-cost outdoor music concert series. Meet your guests (all ages) for a little boogying, and enjoy the wide array of food and beverage options available. Music ranges from rock to folk to blues and a lot in between. Lineups and dates are typically announced in late spring.
Music On Main: Victor City Park – Thursday nights throughout summer; tetonvalleyfoundation.org/music-on-main
JacksonHoleLive: Snow King Ball Park – evenings vary; jacksonholelivemusic.com
This activity collection is the tip of the iceberg and is meant simply to get your creative planning started. Water sports, bike rentals, rock climbing, luncheons, bar crawls, volunteer opportunities, spa days, and private exercise classes are just a few more ideas. Flip through the pages of this magazine and talk with your wedding planner. With a little forethought, you and your guests can enjoy the wedding adventure of a lifetime. °
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Mel Paradis, a native of Chicago, now lives in Tetonia, Idaho, with her husband, daughter, son, and dog. In addition to writing, she serves hungry and thirsty people, teaches kids, and makes a fool of herself performing with Jackson’s improv troupe, The Laff Staff. Mel wishes that the mechanical bull would have been available for her own Teton wedding seven years ago; her one hundred rowdy, out-of-town guests would have loved it.
