Julia & Connor
Snowpine Lodge, Alta Ski Area, August 21
Photography by Camilla Binks
THE COUPLE
Though Connor and Julia grew up just three miles from one another in South Jordan, it wasn’t until high school that they met. Sort of. One evening while working her high school job at Cold Stone Creamery, Julia’s co-worker and friend encouraged her to send Connor a Facebook friend invitation. Connor accepted and the two messaged back and forth on Facebook and via text for what turned into several years. Connor finally worked up the courage to ask Julia out seven years after Julia sent her initial friend request. The day of their first date, Connor sent Julia flowers with a note that read, “7 years later…see you at 8.” That evening “we just clicked,” Julia says. “He was everything I was looking for in a partner.”
THE PROPOSAL
Connor likewise fell hard for Julia within days of their first date, and after they’d been together just six months, purchased an engagement ring for her. “My gut told me I was going to marry her, and I wasn’t nervous about it at all,” he says. With the help of Julia’s parents, Connor lured Julia to the airport where, on the one-year anniversary of their first date, he asked her to spend the rest of her life with him. After she said yes, the two left for another surprise Connor had arranged—a vacation to Monterey, Calif.
THE VENUE
Since most of Julia and Connor’s families are from Utah, they wanted to choose a wedding venue location where everyone could stay together and enjoy the mountains. Once they toured the newly renovated Snowpine Lodge, it became the obvious choice. Following the rehearsal, Julia’s bridesmaids threw her a bachelorette party in the hotel’s Snowpine Suite; and on the morning of the wedding, the women practiced yoga and relaxed by the pool and inside the hotel’s Stillwater Spa.
THE WEDDING
With 120 guests present, Julia and Connor exchanged their personally written vows on the Snowpine’s lawn under an arch flocked with pastel-hued roses, greenery and billowy white cloth. “I wanted our wedding to be very romantic and with neutral colors,” Julia says. “The Snowpine is so beautiful that I did not want to take away from what it had to offer, so we went with simple elegance.” Brandon Taylor officiated the ceremony, which included tying of three cords—one each to represent Julia and Connor and a third to represent God. The couple was attended by six bridesmaids, four groomsmen, two flower girls and one ring bearer. Following the ceremony, guests were served passed appetizers and drinks on the hotel’s lawn to the music of a string quartet. A seated dinner was served in the Snowpine Ballroom; the menu included a spinach radicchio salad and choice of braised short ribs, marsala stuffed chicken, pan-fried sustainable salmon or roasted cauliflower steak. The dessert course included a stone fruit crisp, Cold Stone Creamery ice cream and lemon wedding cake with raspberry filling. The couple’s first dance was to “More of You” by Magic. A DJ led the ensuing dance party. The bride, groom and several guests jumped into the pool at the end of the night just before the couple’s exit in a vintage Aston Martin.
SIGNATURE DETAIL
The couple served Cold Stone Creamery ice cream because it not only helped bring them together, but “it was also served in loving memory of my aunt and uncle, who owned the Draper Cold Stone Creamery location and passed away a few years ago,” Julia says. “They had always promised that they would serve Cold Stone at my wedding and I made sure to keep that promise.”
THE HONEYMOON
Julia and Connor went to Turks and Caicos, where they rode horses on the beach, snorkeled along the second largest barrier reef in the world, took a sunset sailing cruise and, most importantly, “relaxed and celebrated the start of our lives together.”
THE PLAYERS
WEDDING PLANNING & DESIGN: Kate Elizabeth Events
PHOTOGRAPHY: Camilla Binks
CATERING: Snowpine Catering, Cold Stone Creamery
FLOWERS: Mille Fleur Design
VIDEOGRAPHY: Lokeni Productions
WEDDING DRESS: Allure, Fantasy Bridal
BRIDE’S SHOES: Dillard’s
BRIDEMAIDS DRESSES: Show Me Your Mumu Weddings, Called to Surf
BRIDEMAIDS ROBES: Harperland Design
GROOM’S & GROOMSMEN SUITS: Michael Kors, Malmrose Bridal
BRIDE’S SEND-OFF DRESS: Adrianna Papell Tuxedo Sheath Dress, Macy’s
MAKEUP: Makeup by Cherisa
HAIR: Sarah Schorr
STRING QUARTET: Green Light Booking
RECEPTION MUSIC: DJ Pauly
CAKE: Whitney’s Sweets
RENTALS & DECOR: Diamond Rental
TRANSPORTATION: Something Vintage, Something Blue
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