Intimate Mountaintop Wedding | Becky & Jon | Tara Lilly Photography

One of Becky and Jon’s first dates was a 4×4 trip to the top of Jerry Mountain, in the snow on Valentine’s Day for a take-out sushi date. Years later, it served as the ceremony location for the most intimate mountaintop wedding.

After fighting the snow on Valentine’s day and sharing a good luck kiss to make it up the last steep section for their date, Becky and Jon have always referred to Jerry Mountain as ‘our mountain.’ They have continued to spend time there year round, but have made Valentine’s Day overlooking Penticton, sharing take-out sushi one of their favourite traditions. Once their relationship was serious and Jon proposed in Tofino, they started thinking about the logistics of having a mountaintop wedding looking down on Lake Okanagan and Penticton from where their relationship started.

“Originally we wanted everyone to come there with us… and told everyone about it when wedding stuff came up way before we were even engaged. Once we actually thought about it, we realized it was incredibly impractical to get that many people to the top, find space for them to park, and have the time to do everything else without having a super stressful day. We are both close to our extended family so there was no way we would be able to pick and choose who would be able to come with us to reduce the guest list. We weighed a few different options, just eloping with a witness and an officiant or forgetting the mountain top idea altogether. We really had our hearts set on getting married up there, and decided because in the end it was OUR day we should do what we wanted, and luckily the rest of the family was very understanding.”

In the end, Becky and Jon, their immediate family and closest friends (and their dog Storm) made the trip to the top of the mountain in a convoy of Jeeps and 4×4’s. Everyone pitched in to help with set-up and decorations while Becky and Jon put on their wedding outfits and did a shot of whiskey back-to-back without seeing each other before the ceremony.

I was the one that came up with the idea actually, and even though Jon went along with it, I’m pretty sure at first he thought it was totally crazy. I knew that I wanted to have a moment just the two of us before we walked down the aisle, once I was all dressed up. Even though Jon was going to see me all dolled up in my hair and makeup, I still didn’t want him to see me in my dress before hand, so the traditional first look idea was out. I didn’t really want us having many drinks beforehand because I wanted us both to be fully present (and sober) when we committed our lives to one another. I thought it would be nice to do one shot together to calm any nerves and to toast the next step. I knew I wanted to be able to sneak in one last kiss before everything started.

After the mountaintop wedding ceremony, we all headed back down to the house where there was a wonderful dinner, a beautiful sunset and first dances with string lights. When chatting with Becky after the wedding, it turned out to be some of the little things that were the most memorable.

My memorable things are kind of all random little details that aren’t super significant but I don’t want to forget. For some reason seeing my father in law drink out of a juice box like a child during our lunch break really makes me smile. Dancing and singing in the jeep with my siblings on the way up the mountain. When I gave Jon his fly boutonniere and how impressed he was by it. When I couldn’t get my vows open and he used his pocket knife to cut the tape. (the fact that the groom had a pocket knife on him in the first place!) Wiping away my dad’s tears at the end of our dance. Jon pulling me into a hallway and taking a moment to say how much he loved me, that i did such a great job with everything and how amazing our day was. And just coming back to a noisy, busy house full of the smells of a delicious meal and all the people we love just having a great time together in our honour.

It was truly an honour to witness Becky and Jon tying the knot at their mountaintop wedding, especially in a place that meant so much to them, surrounded by the love and support of their closest friends and family. They took me in as one of their own and made me feel like part of the family!

-T

Check out more Mountaintop 4×4 Inspiration on Whistler Elopements!