Rachel and Jada had already booked their venue and started planning their spring 2026 wedding when the political climate in the US began to change. As a lesbian couple in Utah, waiting another year and a half to become legally married began to feel like a risk. “We weren’t sure what would happen before our wedding or if we’d still be able to be legally married,” Rachel explained.

Their solution was to move the legal part forward. They booked a hotel room, rented vintage white dresses and invited a handful of their people to an intimate elopement. Then, safely and officially married, they carried on planning the full celebration at Memorial House in Salt Lake City for April 25th.

They poured themselves into every detail of the day. Every single piece of décor was either from their home, made by the couple or bought second-hand. They collected vintage napkins, vases, candleholders and brooches for the important men in their lives. The tables held dried flowers they had given each other over the years alongside candles and napkins previously used while hosting friends and family.

Jada also designed and applied henna for more than 20 people the day before the wedding. Rachel and her dad built a heart-shaped ceremony backdrop with a cut-out centre. After the vows, it became a photo booth where guests could pose inside the heart like figures on an oversized Valentine’s card.

As two brides, Rachel and Jada had to examine wedding traditions one by one and decide which still worked for them. Their ceremony was kept to close family and the wedding party, with only the couple and Rachel’s brother, who officiated, standing at the front. “During the lead-up to the ceremony we instructed our DJ and a saxophonist play 60s era love songs”, they said. “We remained in the reception hall and were able to have a private moment together which was so special and really helped to calm our nerves.”

“When it was time, we walked down the aisle to an instrumental version of New Years Day by Taylor Swift. We met in the middle at our heart shaped altar and made sure to stop to give our flowers to our mums and give them a hug. Rachel’s brother shared a special speech about our love, which he was very careful that we did not read it before hand, followed by our vows. We both shared parts from our elopement vows and then some more things we had learned from being married for the short time that we had been. It was so special.”

More people then joined them for the reception where the couple went straight into their first dance to Paul Simon’s Still Crazy After All These Years with the live saxophonist performing the song’s solo. They then both delivered the evening’s main toast themselves. They thanked the friends and relatives who had supported them, along with the LGBTQ+ people whose bravery had made their marriage possible.

Dinner came with a particularly effective conversation starter: every table had its own cake! “One of my favourite details was the centrepieces”, Rachel said. “Growing up with a baker for a mum, I had seen a lot of weddings – weddings where the cake didn’t get eaten because it wasn’t cut in time, or weddings where there was so much cake left over because people didn’t like the flavour. I decided that would not happen at my wedding! Instead of having flowers on the tables, we had a different flavour cake at each table, each decorated in its own unique style with the table number as the cake topper. It was a hit! People were walking around mingling and exchanging cake slices so they could try all the flavours.”

Another big hit was the favours. They had vintage bubblegum machines filled with their favourite sweets and guests could turn the dial and receive a selection to try.

Although they loved wedding planning, particularly dress shopping which they did together, it still brought regular reminders of how firmly the industry centres straight couples. “Everything is so heteronormative!” they said. “Sifting through so many vendors where the booking form asks for bride and groom name, venues with a bride and groom suite (or only one bride suite!) it can get a little exhausting!”

The vendors they worked with were amazing though, they were thrilled with their choices. “We have to give a special shout out to Kaitlynn Faith Photo“, they said. “She made us feel like the centre of the universe and we knew we could put my full trust in her to capture everything throughout the day and she had fun doing it! Also for the queer couples out there – you don’t need to worry about her posing you like boy and girl, she truly knows how to capture you as the couple you are!”

“I know every bride says their wedding day is the perfect day, but our wedding day truly was the perfect day”, Rachel concluded. “And not because nothing went wrong, because there are always things bound to go wrong, but because we were married and were able to celebrate with our closest friends and family.”