To Catch and To Keep

To Catch and To Keep

KENDALL & CRAIG

Craig and I met across the world, in the Maldives, while I was on a family vacation. 

Craig was my dad’s fishing guide. I thought he was cute, and I joked with my little brother about how he would be my future husband one day. So, when my dad and brother returned from their day on water and raved about how awesome their South African fishing guide was, I decided I’d take up fishing.

After a few long days spent cultivating my new hobby, I finally got up the courage to ask Craig to join me for a drink at the resort bar. He (thankfully) accepted, and we hit it off immediately. I learned—and was delighted to hear—he spent his summers stateside, in Idaho, as a fishing guide. So, needless to say, I spent the rest of my vacation out on the water with Craig and my dad. When it came time to say goodbye, neither of us wanted my vacation to end and we decided to keep in touch. 

I made it back to my tiny New York apartment, and, shortly after, we set up a FaceTime call and spent 12 hours on the phone together! 

I moved home to LA once COVID-19 hit, and Craig was able to catch the second-to-last flight out of South Africa before the country shut down, to join me. After that, we decided to take a road trip to Victor, Idaho, Craig’s favorite place in the world, as he was about to start his summer fishing season. I fell in love with the mountain lifestyle and quickly joined him in Idaho full-time. Next, we adopted our dog, Timber, continued fishing for trout, and built our life together.

Craig proposed to me in my hometown of Manhattan Beach, California, at sunset. He surprised me with an engagement party complete with all my friends and family. After that, I just knew we were going to get married in Jackson. Our life together started in the Tetons, and I wanted to celebrate our official beginning in that very same place. 

Craig reluctantly joined me on an outing to view our first venue choice, Split Creek Ranch. We immediately fell in love with it, and I was happy to see him so excited.

I wanted our wedding to embody us as a couple: laid-back and natural. I landed on the “boho mountain chic vibe” with elevated simplicity in the details. I didn’t want to take away from the surroundings of our venue—being tucked up next to the Grand Teton, with the leaves changing colors, really, could not be beat. Neutral colors and simple greenery tied our wedding day to the forest that surrounded us. We entertained our guests during cocktail hour with axe throwing and games, and a live band and DJ kept us all on the dancefloor until the wee hours. The weather was perfect for our fall wedding in Jackson. It was the best night of our lives (Our guests raved about it, too!) and we did not want it to end. I—100 percent—would do it all over again.

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ADVICE FOR COUPLES

The landscape is so stunning in Jackson that you don’t need to add a lot of extras to make your wedding beautiful—just look around! Hire a local planner and don’t overthink things. There were so many details I would have never considered when hosting an outdoor wedding in Jackson. Alison Kyle, our wedding planner, made sure we were not missing a beat. She’s a seasoned vet and absolute rockstar!

Also, I highly recommend creating a “sweetheart table” at the reception. This sacred space gave Craig and I more time alone together on our special day. We sat all of our family and our wedding party at separate tables close to us. So, if we wanted to talk, they were just a turn away. Being able to sit alone, for a majority of the night, really made a difference.