Catie Straut, a pediatric nurse practitioner, model, and former assistant features editor at Elle, and Zack Cable, the general manger of Americas at tech company Browserstack, met on a trip with mutual friends to Jackson Hole. Zack’s roommate from Dartmouth had just gotten engaged to one of Catie’s best friends from boarding school at Deerfield Academy, and they took a group of people skiing to celebrate. “We all went to a New Year’s Eve party at the Mangy Moose, Jackson Hole’s iconic après-ski spot, and Zack and I had our first kiss on the dance-floor, right at the stroke of midnight as everyone was cheering,” Catie remembers.
After they got on separate planes home, her to New York and him to San Francisco, they started their long-distance relationship, and after a year and a half, she made the move to the West Coast. Two years of living together later, and he got down on one knee in the gardens of Villa d’Este in Lake Como.
For her wedding day look, she wanted something timeless. “I always loved the idea that someone could look at our wedding photos and not necessarily be able to tell the date or decade,” Catie says. With Grace Kelly and Kate Middleton as her style crushes, the bride wanted an all-lace, long-sleeve gown, and found the one in Monique Lhuillier’s Majesty dress from the Spring 2019 collection. “It fit like a glove when I tried it on and the regal beauty, pearl details, and quality of the French lace, plus the open-back and shades of blush in the layers of tulle underlay really stood out to me.” Britt Davis took care of Catie’s makeup that day and only used high-quality, clean products to create her polished look.
The night before the ceremony, the bride wore an Alexis dress with Oscar de la Renta earrings, baby blue Portofino heels by Jacquemus from Moda Operandi, and a pink acrylic Cult Gaia bag. Meanwhile, the groom wore a custom tuxedo by Samuelsohn with an Eton piqué tuxedo shirt and Brooks Brothers bow tie and cummerbund to meet his wife at the altar.
Catie always knew she wanted to get married in Sun Valley, Idaho, where her family has been holidaying since the 1950s. “It’s where I took my first steps,” she says. Her dream was to say “I do” at Trail Creek Cabin, where Ernest Hemingway used to frequent, along a river and surrounded by lush fields covered with wildflowers and Aspen trees. They drew their color palette from the beautiful natural environment and wanted it to feel like an elegant, summer mountain wedding with a touch of rustic romance. To bring their vision to life, they hired Taylor Rossi of Taylor’d Events. And Catie’s friend, Ashley Begley of Ashley D. Studio, created their custom wedding crest, invitation suite, tri-fold map for guests, ceremony order, and menus.
With views of Bald Mountain, the evening (but still very sunny) Episcopalian ceremony started with Catie walking with her father down the aisle to “What a Wonderful World.” Once announced as husband and wife, guests moved to the cocktail hour on the lawn beside the cabin.
In an adjacent tent, dinner and dancing kicked off. Floral arrangements made up of bells of Ireland, raspberry foliage, clematis, scabiosa, gooseneck, blue thistle, white phlox, blush dahlias, and tweediea decorated the space.
The couple flew in Sol Fusion, a 16-piece band from the brides hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, who kept everyone on the dance floor. The newlyweds had their first dance to “You Send Me” by Aretha Franklin, and the bride danced with her father to “The Way You Look Tonight” by Frank Sinatra. “Couldn’t resist having a Father of the Bride moment,” she says.
After a while, the bride made an outfit change into a Tadashi Shoji fringe dress that she found on FarFetch and gold Stuart Weitzman stilettos, perfect for dancing and doing the limbo. Near the end of the evening, a custom, vintage shot-ski made an appearance as well as angus sliders, mini grilled cheeses, and fries.
To end the night, remaining guests headed to local bar Whiskey Jacques, where coincidentally, Southern hip-hop group Nappy Roots was playing a concert. “It was a random, funny, and rowdy after-party!”
