On February 11th at about 5:30 pm on the frozen banks of the Yukon River, I exchanged vows with the man I love, George Bahm. We were joined by my sons, one of George's nieces, and George's cousin. Our friend, Kate White married us and our friend Erik Pinkerton photographed us. I wore a rare blue lynx for warmth and as my "something blue". The bouquet I made using swan feathers I'd collected during my time in Iceland, raven feathers from neighbourhood walks, cotton blossoms and teeny lights because who doesn't love things that light up?!
It was -15 so we definitely kept our parkas on and while we're definitely bundled up, I still felt glamorous and beautiful. One of the things that I loved about that day was the fact that they grey wool wrap dress I wore was what I wore at work all day so technically, I wore my wedding dress to work which I think is very awesome.
We haven't exchanged rings yet. We're having them made by a friend and immensely talented Tlingit artist, Mark Preston. We'll have some kind of gathering in the summer (hopefully) as long as we can find a date that will allow as many of our family members to be there as possible.
Nobody knew we were planning this save for the folks mentioned above. It was the hardest secret to keep but it has been tremendously fun telling our many friends about our sneaky elopement. It was small, it was quiet. It was perfect.
Immediately following the marriage ceremony, I participated in the Yukon Trappers Course to become a certified Wild Fur Harvester in the Yukon. I will be given an assistant trapper's license to harvest furs on a portion of the trapline that I already work on with George each winter. I learned a few things I didn't already know in the course and was able to share knowledge as a business person working with furs so all in all, it was a very rewarding experience. However, it did require me to close the store for a few days. That's never easy as an entrepreneur, especially one without staff!
The day after concluding the Trapper's Course, George and I were up at 3am and heading to the airport for our honeymoon. We were in Mexico - a week in Playa del Carmen and then nine days of wild camping, fishing, and exploring all over East Mexcio via camper van. We are now home, tired and happy. The laundry is being washed, emails are being answered, groceries definitely need to be bought and the store reopens on Tuesday, March 10th at 10am. We are glad to be home and fully recharged for another busy spring and summer!