On May 27, 2018, at the top of Plattekill Mountain, in a cloud and a dream, we shared our vows and promised each other a life full of love, joy, and adventure.

(See the full photo album here. Photos by Kristina Zaidner: https://www.kzaiphoto.com/)

The Catskill Mountains is where our love truly blossomed: where we spoke to one another about love for the first time, where we’ve shared incredible adventures to fantastic and mystical places, and of course, where our passion lies, helping others discover the forests that are so special to us.

While we knew we wanted to get married in the Catskills, we had no idea how we could fulfill our dream of a summit wedding with all of our wedding guests in tow (not exactly Leave No Trace!). At Plattekill Mountain, we found this and so much more than we expected or could have hoped for: a wedding ceremony on a beautiful mountain surrounded by our friends and family, a charming, rustic venue that dressed up beautifully for our reception, supportive staff that felt like family by the day of a wedding, and a truly unique experience. 

Throughout the wedding planning process, we were blown away by Plattekill's can do attitude and professionalism. Every idea we had was met with a desire to make it happen, and I'm not sure we heard the word "no" once in response to one of our requests. As you might have guessed, the theme of our wedding was all things Catskills. Christy and her team were on hand every day of setup to help us lug cases of wine, hang flower pots, rearrange furniture, and make sure everything was perfectly in place for the wedding. We made almost all of our own decorations, mostly from local materials like birch bark and hemlock branches, so we were grateful to have the entire week to decorate. Plattekill was even finalizing our final decorations the morning of our wedding while we were off getting ready.

The morning started with rain, but being the obsessive guides that we are, we were watching the radar on repeat hoping the storm would clear. Plattekill was incredibly patient as we waited until the 11th hour to make a decision, and even worked with our caterer to push back the ceremony half an hour so we could still get married on the summit. Believe it or not, the rain stopped just as we stepped up to the ski lift and we ended up ascending the mountain in a cloud. It was truly surreal and beautiful.

Our ceremony took place in a cloud, literally. With elements from each of our friends and family, we lit a fire without matches to symbolize all the pieces of our lives that have come together to create the spark and fire of our love. Will Soter, our dear friend and partner, officiated the wedding.

While we were off getting married, Plattekill set up canopies on the lovely wraparound deck so our friends could enjoy appetizers and a cocktail hour outside looking out over the mountains despite the rain. Our wedding was catered by Mary’s Cookin Again, and the food was all local and spectacular: hanger steak, smoked salmon, spring salad, eggplant Parmesan… delicious. The flowers for the place settings, bouquets, corsages, and boutonnieres all came from Wildflowers in Margaritaville, all from local farms (and arranged by Jessica and Dave’s moms!).

We are still blown away by the love and joy that filled each and every moment of our wedding. The venue was perfect for the type of wedding we wanted: a chance to celebrate, laugh, and dance with our family and friends. We're grateful to the Catskills community for welcoming us with open ours. We are forever grateful to Plattekill, Christy, Danielle, Adam, and the rest of the staff who were with us every step of the way to help us have the wedding we wanted. Our friends and family loved the journey to the summit, the venue, the ceremony—as they said, it was completely unique, and completely us.

Thank you all for all of your love and support over the years. We believe that the love we share is something we bring to our guiding on each and every trip.

With Love,

David & Jessica