Inside an Irish pub in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, Hannah Keogh and Teddy Gates met in 2014. After years of dating later, the two ended up purchasing a home together in Chicago, just minutes away from the pub where they first met.
In 2019, Teddy surprised Hannah with a trip to Carmel, California, to celebrate her upcoming graduation from business school. This wasn’t the only surprise Teddy had in store. He would use the vacation to propose, but by the first night, every plan was going awry. His nerves were running so high, he accidentally left his phone in the Uber on the way to dinner. A high-speed chase ensued to retrieve his phone, and the couple showed up to their own reservation two hours late. With his hopes for a beachside proposal dashed, he ultimately popped the question that night in the hotel room.
Hannah grew up going on family trips to the Rocky Mountains town of Telluride, and the destination has been a special place to her ever since. “Breathtaking scenery aside, Telluride is authentic and adventurous,” Hannah shares. “I couldn’t imagine marrying the love of my life anywhere else.”
Wendy Hampton of Soiree Telluride was the amazing producer and designer of the wedding—selecting each of the vendors for the event. “Soiree Telluride expertly produced and designed our mountain wedding weekend, not overlooking a single detail,” Hannah says. “Wendy guided and supported us through the tumultuous process of postponing our wedding due to the COVID in a way that somehow put Teddy and I at true ease.”
Thanks to Soiree Telluride’s exclusivity with Golden Ledge, Hannah and Teddy’s classic yet modern-styled ceremony featured a color palette of white and blue with an accent of forest green that complemented the beautiful mountainside venue perfectly. The New Leaf created refined florals that not only complemented the grandness of the surrounding mountains but also accentuated the grandeur.
Kate Loscalzo of Something White Styling brought Hannah’s bridal style dreams to life. The dress code for the rehearsal dinner and welcome party at Gorrono Ranch was apropos “mountain chic.” Hannah was bedecked in a white jumpsuit, Officine Creative boots, her great-grandmother’s opal ring, and a fringe-trim suede jacket. “It would have been a crime not to sport some Ralph Lauren this night,” Hannah notes. Her groom-to-be sported a braided bolo tie.
For her wedding dress, Hannah was drawn to a Jane Hill gown with impeccable pearl embroidery and floral appliqué. “Once I tried on this dress, I could perfectly envision walking through that aspen grove to marry Teddy,” she confides. Ultimately, she paired the piece with white Stuart Weitzman heels and Dana Rebecca earrings, a sparkling ode to Chicago. Hannah’s “something blue” was the array of midnight navy jumpsuits that her bridesmaids wore. Carmen Wolcott applied the bride’s flawless makeup, and YX Salon arranged her hair with loose curls.
For the reception, Hannah changed into a mini halter neck fringe dress by Sophie et Voilà, paired with statement crystal fringe earrings by Venna.
Teddy kept his look sharp and sophisticated with an Ermenegildo Zegna satin lapel tuxedo and a Rolex watch gifted to him by Hannah’s father. Teddy’s groomsmen donned black tuxedos along with monogrammed cufflinks, a day-of present from Teddy himself.
On June 26, 2021, exactly one year after their civil ceremony nuptials, Hannah and Teddy married atop Golden Ledge. Guests found their seats, while the Telluride String Trio played the couple’s favorite tunes like The Rolling Stones’s “Wild Horses” and Talking Heads’s “This Must Be the Place.”
Teddy’s best friend delivered a perfect ceremony. “Having postponed our original date due to COVID, he had almost two years to prepare,” Hannah notes. “With no exaggeration, he knocked it out of the park. He spoke of our past that made us the couple that we are and how this wedding is an affirmation of who we are in this moment in time, as well as who we want to become, individually and as husband and wife.” Then, the couple’s cousins delivered two poems, “The Art of Marriage” by Wilferd Arlan Peterson and “I Carry Your Heart with Me” by E. E. Cummings.
The reception followed with a dinner catered by 221 South and napkins featuring a custom logo by Chair8design. After the meal, Hannah and Teddy cut into their cake baked by Fig and Bloom Cakes. Photographer Eric Kelley captured the joy with his camera.
The newlyweds shared their first dance to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons’s “Can’t Keep My Eyes Off of You.” They flew The Social, a 12-piece band, from Miami for the occasion, and the musicians did not disappoint. The band blasted their horns and closed with Beyoncé’s “Love on Top,” swiftly signifying the end of the reception—and the beginning of the after-party. In the next tent, the DJ spun tracks all night long.
The avid tennis fans spent their honeymoon checking off Wimbledon in London before venturing to Portugal and Morocco. Over The Moon’s head stylist, Anny Choi, curated Hannah’s looks for the trip, while The Travel Siblings handled all of the planning and logistics.
