Britne Diane Gose and Michael Anderson Layton
March 5, 2011
Britne and Mike exchanged vows in an open meadow near the confluence of the Deshka and the Big Susitna rivers. The bride’s father escorted her down the aisle on a snowmachine and the bride’s mother officiated the ceremony. For wedding-day ambiance, Britne’s father “made beautiful ice candles by filling up five-gallon buckets, letting the ice freeze about an inch or more thick, then flipping the bucket over to release the ice,” she recalls. “He was then able to put candles inside the hollow ice. He even dyed them different colors. Dad put these candles everywhere.” Following the ceremony, the couple left on a snowmachine for an Alaska seafood dinner at the family cabin. The reception, on the following day, began as the first Iditarod dog teams passed by the family cabin. Guests were transported to the remote site by “snow taxi” from EagleQuest Lodge at the Deshka Landing. Other special aspects of the wedding included duct tape flowers that were made for the bouquet, boutonnières, hairpieces and table arrangements. An evening of dancing was capped off with a fireworks salute to the new couple. “The parties and dinners ended with a brunch the following Monday,” says Britne. “It was amazing to have the wedding activities last for an entire week.”