At This Wedding at Amangiri, Dinner Unfolded at a Curved Reception Table in a Canyon

One evening in 2019, Kristina Simmons was wrapping up at a biotech event when her former coworker, Adrian Fenty (who was also once the mayor of Washington, D.C.), convinced her to grab another drink. On the way, though, they made a pitstop to pick up his friend, McLain Southworth. Before the night was over, McLain asked Kristina for her number, and he texted her to ask her out before she even made it home. Two years later, he surprised her with a roadtrip to Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur where they had an intimate dinner and McLain popped the question. In April of 2022, they walked down the aisle.

Kristina and McLain went into wedding planning mode almost immediately. After living on a ranch during the pandemic, the couple knew they wanted to incorporate their outdoorsy experience into the wedding weekend. “We wanted to bring life to the desert,” says Kristina, noting that the vibe was “romantic, intimate, adventurous, and glamorous, yet understated and natural.” The couple entrusted Mae&Co Creative, a wedding planning agency that specializes in romantic and unique celebrations, to bring their big day to life. The vision was an intimate celebration with only immediate family and a handful of friends. With the pandemic still looming, the couple invited just 32 guests to Camp Sarika at Amangiri, a luxury Western-themed resort nestled within a canyon in Utah. For the weekend, “all guests stayed at Camp Sarika,” the bride says. “It felt like adult summer camp and was very special. We had horseback riding and yoga. The day of the wedding, bridesmaids did a bootcamp workout at 6:30 a.m.!” 

Making sure their wedding felt authentic to them was a must, which is why many of their wedding weekend's details were a nod to their priorities and interests as a couple. At their Thursday evening rehearsal dinner, for example, they had a desert-chic meets Wild West dinner as an homage to their love of the great outdoors. Their Saturday reception featured speeches from family and friends (something their small guest list readily allowed) and custom cocktails and wine pairings they hand-picked for the celebration.

It’s hard to believe given the event’s level of detail, but the planning process—a collaborative experience between the couple, the planners, and the venue—lasted just shy of three months. “We had a clear vision of what we wanted and Manda from Mae&Co Creative helped us to bring this to life. Most of it was done over email since the planning timeline was short, yet sweet,” adds Kristina. “The team at Amangiri was also fantastic and helped us with a lot of the process from menus to guest arrangements.” See how the team's hard work came to life ahead in these photos captured by Abby & Lauren.

Maintaining the less-is-more vibe of the occasion, the wedding party dressed in simple but elegant attire. The bridesmaids wore nude slip dresses with pinned up hairstyles, and McLain’s groomsmen donned classic black suits with socks that had his late father’s face on them. “They all loved him and it was a way he could be a part of the ceremony,” the groom said. 

Kristina knew she wanted to look simple, elegant, and classy for her big day. Shortly after beginning her wedding dress hunt, she realized that Oscar de la Renta was “the right designer” for her. She picked an ivory-colored A-line gown with a deep V-neckline, tulle skirt, and hand-painted flowers and paired the look with a matching tulle veil, Jimmy Choo shoes, and earrings that both her mom and grandma wore on their own wedding days. 

Her beauty choices were just as straightforward. “I wanted something simple and my hair down,” she says. She invested in facials before the nuptials and did masks with her bridesmaids the morning of the wedding. She praises Supergoop sunscreen for protecting her skin in the desert heat and Merit Beauty eye concealer for her soft, simple glam.

Kristina and McLain went for minimalist and charming décor that brought life to the picturesque landscape. “We wanted to keep the colors neutral to complement the location,” says Manda of Mae&Co, noting that the palette was intentionally subtle, soft, and romantic. “We brought in colors inspired by the landscape such as gray, cream, taupe, and shell and then enhanced that palette by including pops of blush, yellow, and some lavender.”

Their ceremony was held in the camp’s rock formation amphitheater, where the aisle was adorned with intricate florals. “We created a lush, free-standing floral arrangement in the Sarika Amphitheater for the ceremony with unique and wild arrangements lining the organically constructed aisle,” says Manda.

Kim Weston Music played the violin and guitar on top of a rock formation as the procession began. The flower girls, the couple’s nieces, were sent down the aisle to Adele’s “Make You Feel My Love” in champagne-colored dresses that had a similar silhouette to the bride before the wedding party strolled in to Canon in D by Pachelbel. Kristina made her big debut on her dad’s arm to “Can't Help Falling In Love” by Elvis Presley. Her nephews were charged with carrying Kristina’s train—a difficult task due to the rocky terrain, she says. 

The couple's nuptials were a family affair—and a group effort. Ahead of the ceremony, a windstorm blew through the desert. So while McLain’s mom officiated the duo's ceremony and led them through vows they wrote themselves, other family members stepped in to hold the floral arches in place. Things worked out beautifully though; Kristina’s veil flew up dramatically into the sky during the pair's vow exchange.

The spacious resort acted as a continuous adventure for Kristina and McLain’s guests; new parts of the rocky venue were revealed as the evening progressed. After the ceremony, which was held in a natural rock alcove at the bottom of the resort’s mesa, guests hiked through the canyon to reach the reception. “For dinner, guests had to climb up to an intimate setting up in the rocks at a venue called the Raven’s Nest,” says Kristina. As everyone made their way through the candle lit path, they were greeted by a single curved table in between the rock formations. “Pictures could only begin to capture how magical it was,” she adds.

The tablescape’s décor was consistent with Kristina and McLain’s neutral garden theme and color palette. “I kept our linens natural and raw feeling, but elevated the overall design by incorporating delicate and lush floral arrangements,” says Manda. “We wanted a unique statement piece to the dinner so we created individual floral arches over each table with votives floating above the table. It was simple yet so romantic.” Candles were lit around the table and small lights hung from the floral arch. 

During dinner, the couple served winter kale and roasted squash salad, black oak grilled churrasco, cedar plank steelhead, wood roasted romanesco, and grilled eggplant—a full gluten-free menu to accommodate the bride. The newlyweds took time to go around the table during the meal to chat with all of their guests.

Though wine was the main dinner drink, the duo also offered several signature cocktails throughout the weekend; they served an assortment of prickly pear margaritas, old fashioneds, and a cucumber gin drink. Good wine, paired with the intimate dinner in the cozy canyon, set the scene for heartfelt speeches from the bride’s father, the groom’s sisters, the best man, and the maid of honor.

More flowers were incorporated into the duo’s three-tier wedding cake, a chocolate flavored confection with white frosting provided by Amangiri. They also served late-night bites like mini slider burgers, gluten-free pizza, and BBQ wings. Before they broke out those snacks, though, the couple shared their first dance to “You are the Joy of My Life” by Chris Stapleton.

Now on the other side of their intimate, minimal-fuss wedding weekend that truly reflected who they are as a couple, Kristina and McLain know that a small wedding was perfect for them. “We have a lot of friends and family, and knew our wedding would be 350-plus people unless we kept it very small,” says Kristina. “With COVID, we felt that wasn’t the safest route and we wanted our special day to be more intimate.”

When it comes to the planning process, Kristina and McLain advise couples to focus on what works for them. “Make it your own and don’t overthink the process. This was the best advice we received—which was essentially don’t spend a year or two planning, just do it," notes the bride.