After getting engaged in Devon, England with a ring from G.Collins & Sons, Kelley and Gardner Vydra knew they wanted an “intimate party with a little tradition, many loved ones, and lots of fun.” The couple, currently residing in London, initially considered hosting their wedding in the English countryside or the Tuscan hills but ultimately landed on Jackson Hole—close to friends and family in Kelley’s home state of Wyoming.
For the ceremony, the couple booked the Chapel of the Sacred Heart in Grand Teton National Park for August 30th, 2019, which happens to be Kelley’s parents’ wedding anniversary. The reception followed at the Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis Club, and other events in the weekend included a rodeo, float on the Snake River, and rehearsal dinner at Glorietta Trattoria, so guests could get a full serving of what Jackson Hole offers. To help set the tone for the Wyoming weekend, they hired Xowyo Paper + Press to design their beautiful invitation suite.
Aesthetically, the couple “wanted Wyoming’s beauty to be the backdrop but opted not to include traditional mountain, rustic themes.” “We tried to infuse our individual backgrounds from Wyoming and Massachusetts and experiences living together in New York and London in details throughout the weekend,” the bride remarks. To help plan everything, the pair hired local coordinator Elizabeth Kelleher of In Any Event.
“Finding my wedding dress was such an unexpected and joyful memory that I shared with my mom!” Kelley explains. Going into an impromptu bridal appointment in America, the bride-to-be had it in her mind that she wanted a Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy-like sleeveless dress and wasn’t interested in lace, tulle, or ballgowns.
After a few unsuccessful pulls, Kelley spotted a lace Vera Wang gown with a full skirt and knew it had to be hers—it reminded her of her mother’s and grandmother’s dresses. And it was only after watching Meghan Markle walk down the aisle with a sweeping veil that Kelley decided to wear one in a lace that matched the details on her wedding dress. “My dear friend wore it as her something borrowed weeks later which was also very special,” the bride shares.
Just up the hill from Jackson Lake, the bride walked down the aisle with her father to meet Gardner in his custom, three-piece tuxedo made by the expert craftsmen at Henry Poole & Co, bespoke tailors of Savile Row. Kelley’s family priest, Father Beavers, who married her parents exactly 32 years prior, travelled especially to conduct the service.
Once the two were announced as husband and wife, they took off in the bed of their robin egg blue, vintage Ford getaway truck to take a few photos with their photographer, Devin—half of the duo photography team Stetten Wilson. Then back at the club, guests enjoyed cocktail hour until the sun reached the peak of the Tetons, signaling that dinner was about to be served under the Sperry tent.
The newlyweds had their first dance to “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” followed by the touching father-daughter and mother-son dances. When the band kicked off, Kelley made a quick change into a Sahroo look that she discovered through Instagram. “It was so fun, and it completely set the tone for how I wanted the night to be,” she says. “I couldn’t have loved it more.”
At the end of the evening, Kelley crowd-surfed over her loved ones, and the after-party immediately followed at the legendary Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. Following the wedding, the new Mr. and Mrs. jetted off to Big Sur and celebrated their honeymoon at Post Ranch Inn.
