My Best Friend's Wedding at This is the Place Heritage Park || Salt Lake City, Utah

McKinnah & Teigen first laid eyes on each other at the ripe old age of eight! He was the new kid in their third grade class and McKinnah found herself forming a little crush early on. Being as shy as she was, all she could do was adore from afar. Their story picks up again in high school when they were seated next to each other in sophomore English class. McKinnah remembered Teigen from elementary school and some serious flirting ensued. At the end of the school year, she summoned all of her courage to stop him in the hall and wrote her phone number in his yearbook. They spent the next year texting back and forth and greeting each other in the halls until Junior Prom came around. Teigen asked McKinnah to the dance which ended up being their very first date. After that night, their “together” began.

I met McKinnah on our first day of college when we became roommates and ultimately best friends. It was two days after Teigen left to serve an LDS mission. It was abundantly clear that she was head-over-heels for this guy and was missing him terribly. After two long years of writing letters back and forth, the long-awaited day arrived when McKinnah & Teigen would be together again. Their reunion was at the very romantic Salt Lake City International Airport, and the two embraced as if no time had passed.

Teigen proposed at the local Smith’s store where he and McKinnah shared ice cream after Junior Prom. They spent a lot of time there during their dating days getting ingredients to cook dinner together or trying some new, fun treat. The store manager at that location plays the trumpet for his customers and he serenaded the couple while Teigen got down on one knee. You can see a video from their adorable Smith’s proposal here!

This wedding was very special for me in particular because I got to celebrate my best friend becoming a wife to the man she had waited so long for! My friendship with McKinnah was truly the highlight of my freshman year of college with countless shake runs, singing loudly out the sunroof of my car, and binge-watching Netflix. I was so honored to be one of her bridesmaids as well as their wedding photographer.

McKinnah & Teigen were married in the Oquirrh Mountain LDS Temple on a lovely day in June. Afterward, friends and family joined them at a beautiful dinner held at This is The Place Heritage Park in Salt Lake City. Teigen’s mom spent countless hours creating the prettiest decorations and putting together every detail that made the day so meaningful. The bride’s sweet grandmother spent hours making homemade jam for each guest only to realize the day before that she had used the wrong ingredient! She rushed to make a whole new batch just in time for the wedding. What a sweet, dedicated lady!

McKinnah shared a heartfelt dance with her father and then invited all of the other fathers and daughters to join them on the dance floor. Teigen did the same when he shared a special dance with his mother. I just love this wedding tradition! As the sun went down that evening, the wedding party moved outside to welcome more guests, play games and ride the train around This is The Place. The venue has the most amazing views of the Salt Lake Valley complete with some pretty spectacular sunsets!

Countless people doubted that these two would work out – a high school relationship with a two year gap and only letters for communication. I am so happy to say these two made it and never have to be apart again! The wait was well worth it! I truly could not be happier for the most deserving couple to finally be Mr. & Mrs. Judd!

You can view the photos from McKinnah & Teigen’s desert engagement session at the stunning Horseshoe Bend in Page, Arizona here!