Since the introduction of weddings following strict standards of procedure, as a result of the outbreak of Covid-19, couples have devised creative ways of tying the knot.
An adventurous couple from Colorado, USA got the Internet talking after they got married in the unusual way where they hiked to a Colorado mountain top to tie the knot.
The couple identified as Dr Monifa Seawell, and Wyatt Jefferies hiked the mountain in their wedding gear and married each other without guests or an officiating minister.
According to Dr Seawell, the law in Colorado permits couples to marry each other without a minister or officiant.
Dr Seawell took to her Twitter timeline to share photos of her mountain top wedding. She said that they scaled up the mountain at 4am amid 30-degree weather in their wedding gear.
The psychiatrist wrote, “Oh hey don’t mind me, it’s me & my hubs on our wedding day on a mountain 12,000 ft above sea level eloping & what not in a pandemic & yes we hiked this mountain at 4 am in 30 degree weather in our wedding gear and married our damn selves.”
The couples’ photos were shot by an event photographer Sheena Shahangian who captured every bit of the breathtaking ceremony.
In one of them, Dr Seawell and her husband are seen reciting their vows with stunning mountain views behind them.
The bride looked lovely in a full-skirted gown with hiking boots, while her husband wore a grey suit with a dapper hat.
According to Women’s Health.com, Dr Seawell revealed that in order to stay warm she wore white thermal leggings under her wedding dress, thick socks, insulated Columbia hiking boots, and a fabulous faux fur coat over the whole ensemble.
The psychiatrist further said she and Jefferies actually purchased that coat during their first ever vacation together to Chicago in 2018.
“The fact that I got to wear it on my wedding day was just so special and meaningful to me,” she adds. “….I also think I was able to stay comfortable in the cold because I was filled with adrenaline, and I was just so dang happy to be marrying my best friend in the most beautiful location I had ever seen!”
Why the mountaintop
About her whole hiking experience she wrote on twitter, “Lemme tell you hiking in your wedding clothes is nooo joke! My dress was heavy, plus we each had a hiking backpack. Hubs hiked in his suit but he had hiking shoes on that he changed out of once we got to the top.”
Dr Seawell further revealed that they chose to tie the knot on a mountaintop because of their shared hobby of exploring nature.
“Getting married on a mountaintop, surrounded by wildflowers and breathtaking views, just really resonated with us and our love of the outdoors. We are also an adventurous couple, and we love taking on new challenges and creating new memories together,” Dr Seawell shared. “We have done some hiking locally, but neither of us has ever hiked at 12,000-ft elevation. Wyatt and I both thought that it would just be so lovely to start our marriage off with a new, challenging, and exciting adventure!”
Dr Seawell says they also decided to get married on a mountaintop because they wanted to do something so non–traditional which gives them both an incredible sense of freedom.
“Much of our experience as black folks in this country is one of feeling confined and marginalized. We wanted to start our lives together elevated from all the noise with the understanding that we only wanted to go higher in our lives from that point,” she adds. “That mountaintop, and marrying ourselves without an officiant or witnesses, felt like the freest, dopest, blackest, most revolutionary thing that we could do. And we were right… once we got the top of that mountain we just felt so free!”
Dr Seawell says they had initially planned to have a small traditional wedding post Covid-19.
“We had picked a wedding date, hired a wedding planner, booked the venue, purchased my dress and then… COVID-19 hit the U.S.A,” She reveals. “We knew that we could not, in good conscience, ask our loved ones to risk their health and attend a wedding in the middle of a pandemic, so we decided to elope instead!”
“Eloping turned out to be such an amazing and intimate experience and was so much more special and beautiful than any traditional wedding we could have ever planned,” Seawellfurther revealed.
She says their family and friends were supportive of their decision to elope as well.
“They know that we are quirky and adventurous pair and that eloping on a mountain at sunrise fits who we are as a couple,” Dr Seawell explained.
Source: My Wedding