An Intimate Utah Wedding Filled with Sweet Details

September 23, 2015
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Credit: Rachel Thurston Photography

After meeting through reality TV, the 2013 Survivor winner and his fiancé said "I do" in front of just 40 guests.

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Rachel Foulger and Tyson Apostol

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Rachel Foulger and Tyson Apostol owe some thanks to reality television for their marriage. Tyson, a former professional bicyclist who starred in three seasons of Survivor and won the prize during Survivor: Blood vs. Water in 2013 met Rachel through a mutual friend. Seven years later, they appeared on "Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars 2" where Tyson (now a bike shop owner in Utah) officially proposed to Rachel on the series' finale and took home another prime time win—a fiancée. 

The pair wed on February 8, 2015, at the historic Washington Schoolhouse in Park City, Utah. Only 40 immediate family members attended the small and simple ceremony, which featured 12 flower girls, a neutral color palette, and lots of love all around. 

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The Venue

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After getting engaged, Rachel and Tyson considered all wedding size and location options, and they even talked about eloping. However, after they saw the Washington Schoolhouse—a 126-year-old historic schoolhouse turned boutique hotel in Park City—they knew they had found their ideal venue.

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The Location

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Park City is located only 40 minutes north of the couple's home in Provo and houses two beautiful ski resorts. 

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The Look

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The Washington Schoolhouse has a clean style and a touch of old-school vintage charm, which manifests itself in the neutral-colored décor. 

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The Details

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Large wreaths of foliage were mounted on the entrance and exit doors of the schoolhouse.

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The Guests

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Since the venue suited a small wedding, Rachel and Tyson invited 40 immediate family members—20 adults and 20 children. The pair chose not to send out invitations, but instead emailed their guests about the event and let them know the wedding's color palette of white, taupe, and gray, and dusty mauve. "I thought for sure there would be at least one person in a bright green outfit or something way off, but everyone looked perfect!" says Rachel. The bride's sister was her maid of honor, and Tyson's brother served as best man. 

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The Style

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Rachel loved the simplicity of her wrap-style Joanna August dress with sheer cap sleeves, which she paired with nude heels from Nordstrom and the veil worn by her mom on her wedding day. 

Tyson looked dapper in a Jos A. Bank suit and shoes. 

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The Bouquet

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Sarah Winward of Honey of a Thousand Flowers used the mauve-champagne and taupe textiles in the Washington Schoolhouse as inspiration for Rachel's bouquet, which included hellebores, ranunculus, sweet pea, pieris, spirea, poppies, and champagne roses. 

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The Boutonniere

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Tyson's boutonniere featured hellebore and spirea. 

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The Ring

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Michael M. crafted Rachel's engagement ring, made of diamonds and white gold. The groom opted for a gold lion's head ring with a black diamond in its mouth. 

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The Flower Girls

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Rachel's 12 nieces—who made up more than one-fourth of the guests at the wedding—shared the duties of a flower girl. "The flower girls were one of the best parts of the wedding," says Rachel. "They all constantly wanted to hold my hand and were so excited for us to be married. Their excitement made me so happy." The girls wore neutral-colored dresses from Dillard's.

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The Processional

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"I'm in Love" by Wilson Pickett played as Tyson, the groomsmen, and the flower girls entered the 3 p.m. ceremony. The music switched to "Stay Alive" by José González when Rachel and her father descended a wooden staircase and then walked down the aisle. 

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The Furry Guest

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Rachel's dog, Sampson, made a quick appearance in a pint-sized tuxedo.

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The Vibe

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The small, cozy service was held in the main room of the hotel, which was simply decorated with flower arrangements on the end tables and in window nooks. The couple stood in front of a fireplace and mantle adorned with a gathering of vines and white blooms.  

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The Ceremony

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Stephen Fishbach, a friend of the couple who Tyson first met on Survivor, officiated the ceremony, which included vows and the lighting of a unity candle. "The ceremony was both serious and humorous as Stephen shared funny stories of our relationship and also talked about the significance of being married," says Rachel. 

The ceremony concluded with a Navajo blessing before the newlyweds recessed up the aisle to "All You Need is Love" by the Beatles. 

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The First Kiss

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Tyson loved seeing Rachel looking so happy and couldn't resist planting a kiss on her cheek at the end of the ceremony.

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The Stolen Moment

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After the ceremony, Rachel and Tyson had a special moment alone filled with "tears of happiness and hugs," says Rachel.  

The pair then took pictures with photographer Rachel Thurston while guests attended cocktail hour, where they were served charcuterie, nuts, popcorn, fruit-infused water, lemonade, tea, sparkling cider, and hot chocolate.

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The Wedding Parade

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The newlyweds and their guests then walked along Main Street to Grappa, an Italian restaurant, for dinner. 

Figuring that female guests might get chilly during the march, Rachel ordered white pashminas from Amazon; however, the boys ended up loving the cozy pieces as well, and some actually wore them as capes. The couple also bought playful wands from RibbonPersonalized for the kids to wave. 

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The Dinner

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At Grappa, adults sat at two eight-foot tables and children sat at one large table. Lots of candles and touches of light greenery lined the white linens.

The meal kicked off with fondue and followed with family-style salad, fish, pasta, and steak.

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The Place Settings

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Sarah Winward made bundled sprigs of greenery to pair with name cards and napkins as place settings.  

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The Cake

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After dinner, everyone returned to the hotel for dessert and dancing (followed by s'mores and hot tubbing outside). Rachel and Tyson served a chocolate cake from Park City Cakes & Confections, which was topped with foliage and placed on a simple cake stand. 

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A Vintage Topper

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The cake was crowned with Rachel's grandparent's vintage topper, which was also used by Rachel's siblings on their own wedding days.

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The Desserts

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Washington Schoolhouse supplied the cookies and pastries. 

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Sources

Credit: Rachel Thurston Photography

Photography: Rachel Thurston 

Location and Catering: The Washington Schoolhouse 

Catering: Grappa

Flowers: Sarah Winward of Honey of a Thousand Flowers 

Videography: Rhett and Burke Lewis of Atomic City

Cake: Park City Cakes & Confections 

Makeup: Jessica Grambeau 

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