Our wedding day! Clear and sunny, not a cloud in this beautiful South Dakota sky. We could not have asked for better weather. Getting ready that morning, in the background, of all things, Life After People was on TV, and ironically covered several of the stops on our upcoming honeymoon, including Yellowstone, the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. Great! 🙂
We approached the outdoor stone chapel next to the lodge, our pastor arrived, our friends arrived, and our 11am ceremony went just as planned. Focusing on Bill the whole time, I didn’t cry until the end. This was truly the best day of my life.
After pictures, we then made our way to the White Buffalo room for our lunch reception. What I hadn’t realized was there was a really cool stream down below just beyond the deck of the Buffalo Room. The view was just gorgeous.
After our party dissolved, we rode into Custer to the courthouse to file our marriage documents, and then met up with some friends who were staying at the Sylvan Lake Lodge, a few miles away within the park. The six of us rode through the park together to soak up the rest of the day taking in the scenery. Not a buffalo to be seen, but I was glad, as we had a pretty close encounter with several the year before.
In the morning we were off to Cody, Wyoming and then on to Yellowstone National Park. This day, which we’d been waiting for, had come to a close. I was glad the anxious part was over, the planning, the checklists, it was all behind us. We now had eleven days to look forward to, and had the trip of a lifetime waiting.