Real Weddings: Tropical Paradise in Idaho

Photo by Haley Sierra

The first time I saw Howard, I knew he was the one. We’re both avid outdoorsmen, and we spent our first date together wake surfing, paddle boarding, and laughing beneath the aurora borealis at Lake Pend Oreille. When Howard proposed less than two years later in Valdez, Alaska, the northern lights again graced us with their presence: we were curled up in our sleeping bags watching waves of green and purple dance across the sky when he asked me to be his wife.

As soon as we returned from Alaska, Howard and I started planning. We knew that we wanted an outdoor venue, and we liked the idea of having our wedding in a tropical setting, like Hawaii or the Caribbean. But being surrounded by family and friends was equally important to us, so I proposed we have our wedding at home on the lake where we’d shared our first date. It didn’t take much convincing to get Howard on board; our next challenge was transforming the forested northern Idaho setting into our own tropical paradise.

See how Kimberly and Howard’s day turned out at Etsy Weddings!

All photographs by Haley Sierra.

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Kimberly is a full-time Etsian who makes leather handbags for her company 14xBags. She enjoys traveling with her husband Howard as much as possible, and spoiling their two beautiful golden retrievers.