Real Wedding: Katelin Goings & Tony Newman

January 25, 2017

Trip over love, you can get up. Fall in love and you fall forever.
~Author Unknown~

THE COUPLE
Salt Lakers Katelin (an event planner) and Tony (a physical therapist) dated for two-and-a-half years before Tony proposed during their Thailand vacation. “Tony asked a beach goer to take our photo as the sun was setting over the ocean,” Katelin recalls.

THE WEDDING
After the surprise proposal, Katelin and Tony set their sights on a Southern Utah wedding. “We are both infatuated with the desert,” Katelin says. “Tony worked as a river guide in Moab and in the Grand Canyon. I vacationed regularly in Palm Desert growing up, and more recently I discovered my love for Southern Utah. We chose Zion because it was a place that could be ours.”

THE MOOD
A giant cottonwood tree canopied the couple and guests while Zion’s magnificent canyons reflected sunset hues. On a lush lawn, friend Jentry Miskin officiated the ceremony beside the Virgin River. The décor included rocks, geodes and crystals from several Zion rock shops. Hints of sky blue, sandstone pink, sage green and ivory mirrored the desert landscape.

THE FOOD
Springdale’s Wildcat Willies Ranch Grill and Saloon served Southwestern fare with menu items including Prickly Pear margaritas and Dutch-oven cobbler. Sweet Tooth Fairy offered guests chocolate cake and cake bites.

THE TUNES
The couple’s friends Tim Meyers, Nick Foster and Neil Olsen provided the musical entertainment. Sam Cooke’s “Cupid” ushered the newlyweds to center stage for their first dance. “Our wedding day just happened to fall on the night of the Super Moon,” Katelin recalls. “We danced under the gigantic moon and after the party was over, 20 of us sat on the riverbank basking in the moonlight, wading in the river and watching the moon set against the towering red rock cliffs.”

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT
“Walking down the aisle with my dad, towards my fiancé, surrounded by family and friends, the Virgin River and the Watchman Tower,” Katelin says. “The positivity, excitement and love was palpable.”