JESSICA & JEREMY
JUNE 27, 2021
Photography by Chugach Peaks Photography
Bride’s name: Jessica Rowley
Groom’s name: Jeremy van Wulven
How they met: “We met at a skydive event held in Alaska. Jeremy came up from California with some mutual friends to work at the event. We spent an entire week together and two months later, Jeremy moved up here.”
Number of guests: 12 plus two wedding crashers at the wedding; about 80 at the wedding reception.
Unique and special aspects of the day: “Well, for starters, we jumped out of a DC3 airplane to land at our wedding destination. Jeremy arranged to surprise me by having my dad flown in to walk me down the ‘aisle.’ We weren’t planning to have our parents present for the ceremony due to the remote location and most of the guests skydiving in.”
Most memorable moment...
For her: "There’s so much that it’s hard to pick what stands out most! The surprise of my dad showing up is high on the list. And walking down the gravel walkway to my husband with the most beautiful background (Knik Glacier) behind him. It was like a dream!"
For him: "The part that sticks out most to me is the surprised look on Jessica’s face when her dad walked up behind her to surprise her and walk her down the aisle. At that point, I knew that all our preparations for the skydive and the day had paid off."
Funniest moment: "There were two pilots that happened to be out in the location we skydived into that asked if they could watch what we were doing. They ended up in a couple of our group photos and I had no idea until I received the photos days later. Alaska being such a small community, I was able to track down who they were and sent them a framed group photo including them and the DC3 flying above us. Also, we ‘trashed the dress’ at the Russian River after the ceremony. At one point, Jeremy accidentally knocked me over while reeling in a fish. I couldn’t move very fast in my dress. Then, he tried to help me up and spilled a beer down the front of my dress. We really did a good job at trashing the dress!"
Three words that best describe their day: "Epic, Alaskan, unique.”
If they had the chance to do it again, what they would do differently: "Nothing! The day was amazing!"
Best advice for a couple planning their wedding: "Plan ahead. Set aside money as you book things. Don’t stress the small stuff. Hire a wedding planner to take care of setting up and breaking down the reception."
