A wedding doesn’t have to be chaotic and filled with other people’s opinions. In fact, if a much quieter, more relaxed feel is more your style, let Mackenzie and John’s elopement in the Italian Dolomites be your new biggest inspiration.

The result? Some of the most gorgeous, quietly beautiful wedding photographs we’ve ever seen! Because isn’t this what getting married is actually all about? Once the big party is over, all that’s left is the two of you and your relationship. Somehow that can get lost in the craziness of planning a big party and this wedding is a great reminder of what really matters.

They flew 4,500 miles from Ohio to get married with no guests and no fixed plan. The couple wanted space to focus on each other, nothing else. “Our wedding was non-traditional and free flowing”, they said. “We didn’t want to feel tied down by any particular theme but more or less had a mood/feeling in mind. The soul intent with everything we did was to so incredibly focused on each other with no distractions in site. Fun fact: we didn’t locate the place where we exchange our vows tell the day before!”

They also didn’t hire many suppliers, just their photographers, Eastlyn & Joshua, a place to stay, and a local florist who Mackenzie found a week before! Joshua also officiated the ceremony on the mountain.

Mackenzie made her own dress after struggling to find one that felt right. “It was very stressful to find a dress!” she explained. “I didn’t find one I even liked until two months before our wedding and in the end I actually ended up creating the dress myself.” She also handled her own hair and make-up.

Their ceremony took place in complete isolation. They read vows they had written that morning. When they finished, they realised their final lines were almost the same: “Tell the last breath in my lungs I have to give, I will love you. And then after, forever in eternity.”

They spent the rest of the day exploring the landscape and taking photos at Tre Cime, an hour’s drive away. They ate lunch in the car, talking through what had just happened. At the top, they opened bottles of Gingereno and fed each other macarons.

Although not planned, one of their favourite moments was accidently crashing another wedding! Mackenzie explained, “We had noticed in the morning while getting ready that there was a lot of commotion going on in the street below. A lot of honking. While not being familiar with the country we just figured road rage or something of that nature! But as we headed out of our AirBnB that morning, bags in tow, we discovered something very different. As it turns out, all the honking that was going on was from a car Caravan from a wedding party!”

“It’s tradition there to drive from town to town with the bride, groom, and wedding party, stopping and stepping out of the car, cracking champagne open and celebrating with the townspeople before loading back up in the car and repeating. We wanted to be respectful as this was just as much their special day as it was ours. So we were trying to inconspicuously make it to our car without making a scene. But as it just so happened, our cars were being blocked by the Caravan of cars in the road way.”

“We almost immediately had people coming up to us who spoke a bit of English asking if it was our wedding, too, to which we happily exclaimed “YES!” The whole wedding party was thrilled and so incredibly excited for us and welcoming. They all began kissing and hugging us like we were family and insisted that we stay for a bit and celebrate. Unbeknownst to us, there’s a Swiss German tradition were the bride and groom work together to saw a log in half. A wood cutting ceremony, if you will. And I believe it’s supposed to represent how well the couple will work together in marriage. Everyone said we must take part in this tradition!”

So, we both nervously headed over to the stand which held the log and began to work together to cut it. The whole time, the crowd surrounding us was cheering on and began to get louder and louder the closer we were to sawing completely through. Once the log fell to the ground, there was absolute exclamation of cheers, smiles, and fits bumps to the air! It felt like we were in a stadium and everyone was cheering for us. It was the most crazy, unexpected experience and we will forever cherish this memory. After which, they cracked open champagne, poured us a glass and we cheered and toasted in celebration.”

There was nothing they wished they had done differently. The planning and day itself stayed uncomplicated and all the decisions were personal. “It was just magical!” they concluded, “The most stunning dreamy location fully secluded and alone. Everything about it was perfect.”