Beautiful & Heartfelt Summer Wedding at the Tracy Aviary at Liberty Park
Tracy Aviary - Liberty Park
Located in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City, Liberty Park houses 80 acres of green grass, sports facilities, water features and a stunning Aviary. On the weekends Tracy Aviary is not only a large zoo featuring a wide array of different avian species from around the world, it is also a wedding venue. Built in 1852, and located inside the Tracy Aviary, Chase Mill is the oldest industrial building in Utah featuring a beautiful below-ground circular amphitheater and surrounded by luscious gardens perfect for a summer wedding.
On the day of this particular wedding, there was not a cloud in the sky-setting the stage for a beautiful and fun wedding day. The bride & groom opted to do a first look in the gardens next to a creek flanking Chase Mill. It was such a nice moment to capture the groom’s reaction and after they both had a private moment just for them.
As guests started to arrive, everyone got into positions. Being at the tail-end of summer, it was quite warm outside but luckily the bride & groom supplied their guests with white umbrellas. The wedding ceremony itself was very lighthearted and genuine. After the main two said “I do” all of the guests made haste to get a group photo as the summer sun was bearing down on all of us. Utah may be known for its skiing but it is still considered the high desert!
After the wedding ceremony everyone mixed & mingled for cocktail hour (prospective couples: this is the perfect time to take a beat during your big day and get to see everyone. It also allows me to capture some great candids - especially of guests whose circles you’d never would’ve thought crossed!)
Next was dinner (don’t forget to feed your wedding photographer!) where the bride & groom made a speech thanking everyone. I was able to get the bride & groom to walk away and take some personal portraits in the gardens during golden hour. We got such a great sunset.
When we got back to the rest of the group, the wedding party was ready to give heartfelt speeches. This is one of my favorite moments of any wedding day to capture the emotion of family members & best friends.
After speeches, it was time to hit the dance floor! The mother/son & father/daughter dances were really nice but what took the show was the bride & groom’s first dance! They decided to surprise everyone with a choreographed dance they learned from the popular Netflix show Bridgerton. They absolutely killed it!
After the bride & groom surprised everyone with their dance, everyone joined in and danced the night away in the Chase Mill building. Overall it was a beautiful wedding day filled with laughs, birds, dancing and an amazing sparkler exit. outside of the Aviary
