Jackson Hole river rafting guide turned Napa wedding planner is a fit for Jackson Hole Weddings
Hi there! I'm Lindsey and I'm a wedding planner, and wedding business coach living in Napa + Sonoma, CA but it all actually started back in Jackson Hole, Wyom. I came to Jackson Hole right after college, like many people do, to be river rafting guide, backpacking instructor, ski bum and enjoy all the outdoor fun that Jackson Hole offers. One thing led to another, and after ten years I really wasn't skiing that much, because I was way to busy running my nonprofit consulting business and my wedding planning business. And, after ten years together with my boyfriend, we got married (yeah!!!). It was only five weeks after that that my husband had an opportunity out of the blue, to open up his own business in Napa, CA, so we took a chance and moved our lives after being married for only five months. Since moving was so unexpected, I already had weddings for the following year booked in Jackson Hole! It seemed like the natural progression, living in California, was to focus on expanding the wedding planning business and closing the nonprofit consulting business. So that's exactly what I did. I love Jackson Hole and I am so fortunate to be able to go back in the summer to work on weddings but I'll be honest, I don't miss the -20 degree winters or driving on black ice.
If we haven’t met yet, hi! I’m Lindsey Nickel and I’m a local Napa wedding planner and the owner of Lovely Day Events. My team and I have planned more than 140 destination weddings, so I can tell you firsthand that wine country weddings are something special. My clients want the ceremony to be outside, the food to be outstanding, and the dance parties to be epic. If this sounds like you, you’re in the right place.
Carrie Patterson Photography
Once we moved out to Napa + Sonoma, I was pleasantly surprised that it was so similar to Jackson Hole! Both locations are high end, cater to destination weddings, the most popular venues focus on the outdoors (ranches in Jackson Hole and wineries in Napa + Sonoma), rural and similar design styles (a touch of rustic, classic, natural, outdoors elements and farm tables just to mention a few). The vendors that live in both locations are also very similar as they are both very friendly, hardworking, driven and talented.
“Lindsey and her team are absolutely the best! From day one, she understood my vision and was very responsive to my unique needs and requests. (Planning from afar is not always the easiest!) She was always making suggestions based upon what she felt would make my day a success and I can’t imagine how it would have turned out without them! She is detailed but not overbearing, a perfect teammate... I never felt like she was just saying what I wanted to hear - she was realistic but never said anything was impossible. Her staff is friendly and accommodating, definitely people you WANT at your wedding! I couldn’t have done it without her.”
The other surprise about weddings in Napa + Sonoma was how much on the forefront of the wedding industry California as a whole is currently. I always knew California was popular for weddings but didn't realize that this is the source of so many ideas, best practices, and innovation. New ideas, tech tools, design trends and more come directly from California and make their way to Jackson Hole via social media, magazines and wedding planners bringing those concepts to their clients in the Rockies. There is so much to continually learn about running a wedding business, being a wedding planner and designing weddings. California gives me the opportunity to really have the pulse of the wedding industry, so that I can best serve my clients.
“I could not speak more highly of the team at Lovely Day Events... After doing a lot of shopping around, I felt so sure my husband and I made the right choice after speaking with Lindsey on the phone. There is no way that our wedding day could have run more smoothly...Lindsey and her team are insanely well connected in the area and are available for vendor recommendations and help throughout the whole process. I felt incredibly calm at our walk-through of the event on Friday evening, and on Saturday (THE BIG DAY!), everything flowed seamlessly. Do yourself a favor and hire a planner..and make sure it’s Lovely Day Events! ”
Year after year I am so fortunate to be able to return to Jackson Hole to work on these fantastic weddings, and I am always thrilled to be able to bring new ideas, trends, and design that I learn in California, to my clients in Jackson Hole. The combination of living in Jackson Hole for ten years with the overall industry knowledge of weddings from California is a one-of-a-kind combination that I am thrilled to share with my clients. This unique wedding planning career means that I bring my client's quick thinking solutions on event day, a calm and laid back planning approach and a beautiful wedding day filled with ideas and design that is fresh and innovative.
Ashley Merritt Photography
