Mackay Bar Ranch, Idaho | Salmon River Wedding

When I was a kid, my dad worked for the US Forest Service in the mountains of Idaho. He carried around this battered book, "Idaho for the Curious." The cover was a beautiful photo of the Sawtooth mountains jutting above the forest. I always found that photograph so striking. Sometime last year I swiped the book off his shelf, promising to bring it back but only halfway meaning it. It's still sitting next to my gear bag (sorry pops). The book prompted a  summer of exploring Idaho's Salmon River country, from the Sawtooths to the Frank Church Wilderness of No Return. For me, destination weddings have more to do with the nostalgia of the place than just being a chance to get "epic photos."

But this wedding definitely provided plenty of opportunities for epic photos. I loved this wedding for a million reasons, but the biggest was they simply just did what makes them the most happy. Every year they run the Salmon River, so why not do exactly that for their wedding? A brief timeline of the weekend:

-Drove 9 hours to Riggins, Idaho from Salt Lake

-Drove one hour on a dirt road flanking the Salmon to a boat launch

-Took a jet boat 30+ miles deep into the Frank Church Wilderness of No Return (Grandma came in via a tiny airplane)

-Couple met us at Mackay Bar Ranch from further up the river (and continued down the river after their wedding)

The best part though? Turns out when your wedding is that remote (no cell service, wifi, or roads) you get to spend the entire weekend talking, hanging out, swimming, horseback riding and enjoying your closest friends and family. Uninterrupted. 

So if you love dogs at weddings (and in first dances), grandmas making floral arrangements, and good old fashioned fun, keep scrolling.

xx Haley