Wyoming, United States
Jackson HoleWedding photography
A backdrop no venue can buy: the Tetons, rising straight off a flat valley floor.
We photograph elopements and weddings in Jackson Hole — the valley floor at first light, working ranches with the range on the western horizon, private lodges in the aspens, and permitted locations inside Grand Teton National Park. Elopements from $6,500; a wedding with guests from $14,000.
The Tetons have no foothills. They come off a flat valley in one move and rise seven thousand feet, so from almost anywhere you have the entire range uninterrupted. There is no equivalent in North America.
The Tetons are unusual among mountain ranges in having no foothills. They come off the valley floor in one move, twisting seven thousand feet up from flat sagebrush, and the result is that from almost anywhere in the valley you have an uninterrupted view of the entire range. There is no equivalent in North America, and it is the whole reason to be married here.
It is also the reason the photography is simpler than it looks. There is no hunting for a vantage: the mountains are west, the light comes from behind you in the morning and behind them in the evening, and a sunrise portrait session on the valley floor in June is about as reliable as landscape photography gets.
What the place demands in return is respect for the fact that most of it is a national park with rules, that the weather in the mountains changes faster than the forecast, and that in every month of the year it is colder at six in the morning than anyone planning from a city believes.
The light
When to marry in Jackson Hole.
The part a visitor cannot look up, and the reason this page exists rather than a list of packages.
June
Snow still high on the peaks, green valley, wildflowers beginning, and the longest days of the year. Cold mornings regardless.
July to August
Warm days, afternoon thunderstorms in the range, and clear golden evenings after they clear.
September
Cottonwoods turning yellow along the Snake River, elk audible at dusk, cold clear mornings and the sharpest air of the year.
The venues
Where to be married in Jackson Hole.
The rooms this market is built on, and what each one does to a photograph. Listed as places rather than as partnerships — we have no preferred-supplier arrangement with any of them.
Schwabacher Landing
Beaver ponds, Grand Teton NP
Still water with the range reflected in it, facing east into first light. Permitted ground with capped numbers, and busy with photographers at dawn.
Chapel of the Transfiguration
Log chapel, Grand Teton NP
A window behind the altar framing the Cathedral Group. Tiny, booked far ahead and the single most requested ceremony site in the valley.
Amangani
Clifftop resort, East Gros Ventre Butte
On the butte above the valley looking west at the range, so the mountains are the backdrop from the terrace without anyone driving anywhere.
Diamond Cross Ranch
Working ranch, Moose
Barns, corrals and horses with the range filling the western horizon. Ranch weddings sit outside the park boundary, which removes the permit question entirely.
Snake River Overlook
Park overlook, permitted ground
The Ansel Adams view, from a roadside pullout. Capped numbers and a permit, and worth arriving for before the light reaches the valley floor.
The kind of place
- Working ranches with barns, corrals and the range filling the western horizon
- National park chapels and overlooks, all of which are permitted ground
- Private lodges in the aspens, timber and glass and firelight
- The valley floor itself at sunrise, which needs nothing built on it at all
What a Jackson Hole wedding plans around
- Ceremonies and organised photography within Grand Teton National Park require a permit, obtained in advance, at specified locations with capped numbers. This is the first thing to establish, not the last.
- Sunrise is the serious hour here. It is also, in June, before half past five in the morning.
- Wildlife is genuinely present and genuinely wild. Park guidance on distance is not advisory.
- Mountain weather turns faster than the valley forecast suggests. We build a second window into every elopement plan.
Frames
From Jackson Hole.
The commission
Photographing a wedding in Jackson Hole.
An elopement here is one photographer for three to six hours, from $6,500, including location planning and the park permit research and application. A wedding with guests is a full day with two photographers from $14,000.
Sunrise is the serious hour, and in June that means being dressed at half past four in the morning. The range faces east; first light hits the peaks several minutes before it reaches the sagebrush you are standing in, and for a short while the mountains are lit and you are not. Every couple we have brought out at that hour has said the same thing about it afterwards.
The permit comes first because it decides where the rest of the morning happens: ceremonies and organised photography inside the park require one, obtained in advance, at specified locations with capped numbers, and the list changes. Complete set within four weeks for an elopement, eight for a wedding.
- Elopement & Private Ceremony, from
- $6,500
- Photographers
- One
- Preview
- 7 days
- Full delivery
- 4 weeks
Wedding photography commissions in Jackson Hole
Every commission on this site is available in Jackson Hole. See all seven.
Jackson Hole wedding photography — questions
How much is a Jackson Hole elopement photographer?
From $6,500 for one photographer and three to six hours, including the location planning and the park permit research and application. A wedding with guests starts at $14,000 for a full day with two photographers.
Can we be married inside the national park?
At permitted locations, with a permit applied for in advance and a cap on guest numbers. The list of locations and the caps change, so it is checked fresh for your date rather than assumed. We handle the research and, if you would like, the application.
Is sunrise really worth it?
Here, more than anywhere else we work. The range faces east, the valley is empty at that hour, and the first light hits the peaks before it reaches the floor. It means being dressed at half past four in June, and nobody has regretted it.
Which month?
June for snow still high on the peaks, a green valley and the longest days. September for cottonwoods turning yellow along the Snake, elk audible at dusk and the sharpest air of the year.
What about the wildlife?
Genuinely present and genuinely wild. Park guidance on distance is not advisory, and it occasionally decides where a session can happen on a given morning. We plan an alternative for exactly that.
How reliable is the weather?
Mountain weather turns faster than the valley forecast suggests, so we build a second window into every elopement plan. It is rarely needed and it is the difference between a contingency and a hope.
Nearby
Married in Jackson Hole?
Tell us the date and what you are planning. We reply personally, usually within two business days.