Justin + Lena | Snowy, Adventurous Ironwood Elopement

Justin + Lena

Ironwood, MI Elopement

December 20, 2019

Lena and Justin drove to the Gogebic County courthouse on snowy, late December morning. Their fat tire bikes were loaded in the back of their truck, and their two pups, Debo and Chico, waited with tails wagging in the backseat. For Lena and Justin, eloping was an easy decision for them - partly romantic, but also partly logistics. With Lena being a teacher, Christmas vacation was the perfect time to elope and to escape on a little getaway together.

As many couples I’ve worked with before can relate, it’s not always easy or comfortable to have so much attention directly on you when it comes to your big day. Part of the reason Lena and Justin eloped as well was to make their day about THEM. Trying to satisfy the needs of other people can be exhausting when the real focus is meant to be on the marriage between two souls! Spending thousands of dollars to throw a party wasn’t in their vision. Instead, they wanted their wedding day to be about what they live for: being outside and active with their dogs!

“Eloping seemed like it took 97% of the stress out of the wedding and we got to really think about our marriage and did not have to worry about anything else.” - Lena, bride

They exchanged vows with both of their mothers present, as well as Lena’s sister. Being a small town, Justin and Lena knew the court representative, Mary, who married them! Mary’s husband regularly skis and volunteers with Justin!

Before leaving the courthouse, we took a few formal family photos and the couple hugged their mothers goodbye. Side note - Lena is so awesome and chill! She literally wore her jeans under dress so she’d be ready to brave the winter weather after.

After they wed, they took off with their pups to the Wolverine Trails outside of Ironwood. Both Justin and Lena are big fans of winter! Justin is a dedicated skate skier and Lena would pick winter over summer, 10/10. There’s a purity she feels in the green of evergreen trees against a fresh snowfall. Debo and Chico came along for the snowshoe adventure as well. Once they reached a denser patch of evergreens, the two exchanged their handwritten vows while donning locally made Stormy Kromer caps. Afterwards, they shared cups of hot cocoa on a blanket with their pups.

While warming up over their mugs, Lena told me about the story behind adopting Chico (the fluffier of the pups wearing the green garment). Working with so many people who have an insane love for their beloved furry friends, Lena and Chico’s story is one I can’t pass up sharing!

“Chico is my rock. I moved to Guatemala a few years ago and although I had lived abroad previously for awhile in Asia, there was something about Guatemala I could not explain. I felt unsafe a lot of the time, and although so much closer than Asia to home, it felt more lonely. I saw Chico on a Facebook post of street dogs people wanted to save and I instantly drove to Antigua to get him. He was covered in flees and ticks and scared of everything. He wouldn't walk on the sidewalk, stairs, elevator and tried to attack everyone. As you could see, he's quite the opposite now. I felt like he saved me those two years of Guatemala. We were inseparable, going to coffee shops, breweries and walks around the clock. I was so scared he would not like winter here this year and it's the opposite, he adores it. He snowshoes, skis, mountain and fat bikes and even kayaks. He's my adventure dog that gives so much love and just wants endless love.” - Lena

Once back to their truck, they ventured on to Black River Harbor. Justin works for the Ottawa National Forest as their transportation/civil engineer with his main focus on creating bridges throughout the area. According to Lena, he's curious about bridges everywhere they go and admires them. Especially loving timber bridges, Black River Harbor area was the place to be.

In these last shots, Lena wore a shawl that was given to her as a gift from a Filipino/Japanese mom while she taught in Asia. It not only serves as a reminder of her life abroad, but more importantly reminds her of just how genuinely kind the people were to her that made her feel like she was part of a big family away from home.

Upon parting from Black River Harbor, Justin and Lena took off on a road trip getaway to Jackson, Wyoming.

“We both are activity junkies. [W]e probably need a beach vacation next, but I know that will never happen with the two of us, so we jam packed Jackson Hole with things to do - fat biking, cross country skiing & snowboarding. Neither of us are expert snowboarders but we hit up Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, one of the steepest and most challenging places in the US and we survived.” - Lena, bride

While adventuring, they also crossed the mountains into Idaho to snowboard at Grand Targhee, which Lena argues is even more beautiful with less people. They ate Thai, sushi, wood pizza and found a brewery they loved. Through their adventure, they saw elk, moose, buffalo and deer.

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Thanks for having me play a part in documenting the adventurous lives you lead, Justin and Lena!