At the 2012 World Series, two-time Stanley Cup winner Jarret Stoll sent a text to his friend, NFL alum and morning TV host Michael Strahan. It read: “Can you set me up with Erin Andrews?” One text lead to another. Strahan texted Erin, “My friend Jarret Stoll wants to take you to dinner.” Erin wasn’t interested—she wanted to wrap up her work covering the World Series.

It was at the Tigers/Giants game in San Francisco that Jarret figured he’d try to make a move in person, walking past two security guards and bending over a railing to get to the dugout that Erin was reporting from. Impressed by his sly ability to trick security just to be able to introduce himself, Erin decided to give him a chance. After the World Series, the two went to dinner in Hollywood. The rest, as they say, is history.

Erin’s childhood in Tampa meant season passes to Disney, so she was excited to share her fond memories of Disney parks with Jarret on a holiday visit in 2016. She was looking forward to showing him around, walking through the Magic Kingdom, taking in the Christmas decor and visiting Club 33 for dinner. The two decided to ride a few of the attractions before dinner, where Jarret had planned to propose. He hid the ring in his jacket pocket, and didn’t realize that certain rides would result in a few close calls of Erin just missing the ring box as she grabbed for his jacket during some of the rides’ twists and turns. When they arrived to Club 33 and ordered dinner and drinks, Jarret could not seem to sit still—he was running off to coordinate his proposal with the wait staff, even getting himself kicked out of the kitchen by the head chef in an attempt to make sure the proposal was perfect.

For dessert, Jarret suggested they head out to the balcony where a single candle-lit table awaited with flowers, champagne and sweets. He got down on one knee and popped the question to a resounding yes. “I wondered if this was why I hadn’t heard from my [closest] girlfriend all day long—it’s because she can’t keep a secret. We drank champagne, took pictures…and cried.” The two ran outside the restaurant post-proposal for front-row seats to the Christmas fireworks.

Erin and Jarret turned to celebrity wedding planners Yifat Oren & Carolyn Hedge of Oren Co. for their wedding in the mountains, at the Yellowstone Club, a private residential community in the Rocky Mountains, in Big Sky, Montana. “We love being outdoors, it was so picturesque, and totally our style,” Erin says. The two landed on Jarret’s 35th birthday, June 24th, as their wedding date and set out to plan a low-key yet luxe, intimate wedding with sweeping views of the lush landscapes surrounding their venue.

An intimate welcome dinner kicked off the couple’s wedding weekend, at the club’s golf clubhouse. Family and friends gathered for a fun yet casual night of dinner and drinks, and tables were decorated with herbs rather than flowers, and long, slowly melting taper candles. The couple made a welcome toast, thanking their guests for sharing in the weekend–appropriately, to shots of Jameson rather than traditional coups or flutes of Champagne. The couple also asked some of their friends to speak–including Michael Strahan, who was involved in their initial introduction, before the groom took matters into his own hands.

“I wear dresses every Monday night on Dancing With the Stars. We needed to find a way to make this special and different for me,” Erin explained. The bride turned to her styling team and brands she knew and trusted for her big day: Carolina Herrera. The designer collaborated with Andrews on a simple and sleek off-the-shoulder gown with a fit-to-flare silhouette. “The dress was perfect for me,” says Erin. “It was exactly what I wanted. There were two touches that Mrs. Herrera did herself which really made the dress for me. She said she wanted the buttons to go from my back to the end of my train, so 156 hand sewn buttons were placed down the back…and were to die for. Mrs. Herrera also decided that she wanted the veil to be very dramatic–and go past my train. She added a small white trim along the end of it—gorgeous and perfection.”

Accessories for a look this elegant and understated needed to be simple, yet chic. Erin’s stylist (and BAZAAR.com contributor), Anita Patrickson, turned to Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo for Andrews’ day-of shoes, and also tapped Edie Parker for a custom clutch to help commemorate the day. As a something blue and a sentimental touch, Mrs. Herrera sewed her signature blue bow into the lining of Erin’s gown, along with the bride’s monogram in lace. Erin’s style team also pulled a selection of elegant earrings and rings from Neil Lane to complement, but not overshadow, her engagement ring. Jarrett wore a Brooks Brothers suit, accessorized with heirloom cufflinks gifted to him by his grandmother the morning of the wedding.

A mountain-top first-look and ceremony proved challenging for the bride’s dramatic veil. “When I came out to meet Jarret for our first look before the ceremony, the wind was out of control,” says Erin. “Literally the veil was pulling out of my head and standing up in the air. We had no idea if during the ceremony my veil would even work out.” Hairstylist Kylee Heath “sat in the party bus on the way to the helipad pinning the heck out of my head. When it was time to walk down the aisle with my dad, the wind stopped and the veil was perfect. And, as Jarret and I walked down as husband and wife, my veil stayed on my head and flowed perfectly…no doubt, it was a moment. Even Jarret said, I’m so glad you wore it.”

Says the couple of the ceremony, “the whole thing felt so intimate. Yifat transformed the club’s helipad into a wildflower field. The mountains were the backdrop—there was no need to upstage nature. Yifat and her team left an old, rustic wooden fence at the perimeter of the setting, which made it all feel so rustic. There was an E+J monogrammed flag where the helipad wind socks were originally flying, and the flag flailed in the wind as guests were dropped off for the ceremony.” The bride and groom worked carefully with Oren & Co. to ensure all the details were on point for their intimate ceremony in the sky. “Yifat suggested we hire fiddlers to play the music for our processional and recessional, and they ended up being the perfect touch,” said Erin. “Gin and Lace played our favorite country songs as everyone walked down the aisle, and they played ‘In My Life’ when my father and I walked down the aisle. My dad is a huge Beatles fan, so I adored this touch, as did he.”

The couple’s best friend, Matt Alvarez, officiated the ceremony. “He made it so personal, funny and even had everyone sing Happy Birthday to Jarret. Matt’s daughter and son got up and talked about what love meant to them, and everyone teared up. His other daughter was our flower girl.”

After the ceremony, “Moscow mules were [our] wedding drink—we were sure everyone had one in hand.” The cocktail hour followed soon after, at the Yellowstone Club’s tree bar. “It’s one of our favorite parts of the club. It’s a bar within a small tree grove and there is a huge fireplace inside which was roaring throughout cocktail hour,” said Erin. The fiddlers entertained the guests with some upbeat bluegrass as they sipped on cocktails in a “cozy forest setting–everything from the cocktail napkins to the drink stirrers had those little Yifat [Oren] touches. One of the pieces that greeted arriving guests to the cocktail hour was a vintage truck. Oren Co. dressed it up with bales of hay and a ‘Just Married’ sign—naturally it became the best photo op of the night!”

The wedding reception palette featured a variety of neutral organic colors: nudes, ivories, tans, and peaches, complemented with soft pink; while the ceremony flowers for the bridal party had an emphasis on purple, lilac, burgundy and rust tones. “Yifat had the idea to erect three teepees as our reception tent, she kept telling us how it should feel cozy, and it did!

Our florist, Julio Freitas of The Flower Hat, was a dream; he was master at making the evening feel so magical. Our favorite creation was the floral chandeliers, they were the centerpieces of the night. I wanted to steal one and take it back to LA with us, but that wasn’t happening,” said Erin.”The tables and place settings were simple, mountain modern and elegant. We loved the colors, the style, and the personal touches.”

For the reception, Erin shed her elegant gown and opted for more of a party look. “My goal was to be able to ‘get down’ with my friends at the reception. I knew at some point I wanted to wear a jumpsuit. They are my favorite kind of ‘look,’ and I feel so comfortable in pants. [My stylist] Anita kept telling me that my jumpsuit could really be a moment at the wedding…it could [prove] that brides don’t always have to do a dress at the reception and that you can add your own flair.” After trying several kinds of jumpsuits, Erin called upon designer Daniel Wingate for help. “Coming up with a sketch was hard for me,” the bride recalled.

“Daniel came up with several sketches and ideas for the top…and I loved his idea for a slit in the pants to jazz it up. Then, when we were working with the jumpsuit back in California, Anita decided to have the pants be shorter and with more of a cigarette look. It came out perfect—I could dance, party, and feel comfortable in it, all while looking chic at the same time; I wouldn’t change a thing about it.” As a third look, the bride changed into a more glitzy, halter-necked and palazzo-panted jumpsuit by Galia Lahav for dancing and late-night drinks.

“It was important to us to have comfort food, BBQ and nothing too fussy. We love it, and know our guests do too. The meal came out family style and it was the best; the big favorite was the cornbread with honey butter, YUM!” Don Julio provided a very popular tequila bar outside one of the lounge areas of the teepees with bottles engraved with the couple’s E&J monogram. Per the rehearsal dinner, shots of Jameson were handed out for toasts during dinner.

“Our dessert bar was very important to us, because Jarrett can’t get enough of it,” Erin said. “The cake was gorgeous and displayed in the center of the teepees. We loved the idea of doing a simple, naked cake and Elle’s Bellesmade the exact version of what we wanted,” recalled the bride. The cake was decorated with wildflowers and surrounded by mini versions of some of Erin and Jarrets’ favorite dessert dishes, like milkshakes and mini mason-jars of strawberry shortcake and banana cream pie. To top off the dessert selection, a fully stocked Mars candy bar was stationed next to a coffee bar outside the teepees, where guests could enjoy personalized E + J M&Ms, Snickers, Mars Bars, Twix and more—or stock up for later. After midnight, the dancing didn’t stop, and guests were served late-night snacks, like breakfast burritos, sliders and fries.

To keep celebrations going, a fun birthday celebration surprised Jarret towards the end of the reception. A cake with sparklers was brought out as well as some fun bear heads and paws for guests to put on. “It kind of turned into a crazy club scene… or a bear disco if you will,” said Erin. “We had hockey stick shot-skis made for Jarret with all his favorite sayings on them. Guests enjoyed fireball shots for the rest of the night.”

“We kept the wedding very small and intimate,” added Erin. “That was very important to us. It paid off—our group all got along, danced together and laughed all night. It was exactly what we wanted–with the people we wanted there. Most of the wedding guests are on a text chain talking about how they want to do it all over again!” When asked what makes them click, Erin thoughtfully responded, “for us, it’s all about loyalty, trust and moving forward together. When he’s serious, I’m silly; when I am upset and frustrated, he puts it all in perspective. We push each other when needed.” After their wedding weekend, Erin and Jarret set out for a honeymoon in Greece and Spain, to Santorini, Mykonos, Mallorca and Barcelona.

The. End.

From: Harper’s BAZAAR US