Alaska Wedding at Briarwood Farm

A Traditional wedding at the endlessly beautiful Briarwood Farm

Alaska is truly the land of the midnight sun, which makes summer weddings here ideal. Briarwood Farm is one of my favorite wedding venues in the Palmer area with its sprawling fields and mountain views to its access to Granite Creek- this place has it all and is a top choice for an outdoor wedding in Alaska.

Being surrounded by wildflowers and sprawling hayfiends with mountain views off in the distance make this place a little slice of Alaskan heaven. The owners are very accommodating offering side by side rides down to granite creek which also has the most incredible mountain views. Everytime I shoot here I want to move to Sutton- It is just that gorgeous.

I shot this wedding 12 days after giving birth to my sweet daughter and I am so thankful for my second photographers!

MIKAYLAY & JEREMY: A forever type of thing

How did you meet?

Jeremy and I met when we were in elementary school. My older brother and him played MYFA football together and I would play with Jeremy’s younger sister during their practices and games. We had sleepovers at each other houses and went to each other birthday parties, we weren’t super close back then but about 10 years later we reconnected, dated for 4 years and now we’re married! 

Tell me the proposal story!

My favorite holiday is Christmas. I’m actually a bit obsessed with Christmas time and Jeremy is well aware of this. I always told Jeremy I wanted a super intimate proposal with no one else around, so that exactly what he did. On Christmas eve 2021, he told me he was grabbing my Christmas present to open early and he got down on one knee and proposed! 

What was your favorite thing about your venue?

My favorite thing about our venue is how beautiful it is. Briarwood farm has such beautiful views so I knew it would be great for pictures and perfect for our wedding day. I always wanted an outdoor wedding so this venue was perfect for that.

What was your favorite moment from the day? It was an amazing day, so give me a top three if you want!

I have so many favorites from our wedding day!! I loved getting ready with my bridesmaids and flower girl. I loved our ceremony, we released butterflies for my mom who has passed and it was so beautiful. We also left the venue for an hour after the ceremony for pictures. We drove away in a pioneer with a “just married” sign on it which was so cute. The photographers rode in one pioneer and Jeremy and I drove the another and we were just filled with excitement since we were just married and we got to drive around and take a bunch of pictures which was just such a fun experience! 

A REVIEW:

Chelsa is AMAZING! She did my sisters senior photos a few years ago and I was so in love with how they turned out that when I got engaged a few months later I knew I wanted her to do our engagement shoot and wedding. I didn’t even talk to any other photographers because after I met with Chelsa I knew I wanted to book with her! She is so amazing at what she does and makes the whole experience so fun! She makes you feel so comfortable and gives the best photo prompts! Our engagement pictures turned out so beautiful. I also booked a boudoir shoot with her which I was so nervous for but the experience ended up being so fun and comfortable and the pictures turned out so lovely! I am so in love with our wedding photos! I still look at them all the time because I am so in awe with how beautiful they turned out. Chelsa really went above and beyond! I can’t wait to have another excuse to get our photos taken because I will definitely book with Chelsa again! I highly recommend Chelsa for any and all of your photographer needs!

Vendors:

Venue: Briarwood Farm

DJ: Alaska Professional Entertainment

Food: Pioneer Peak Pretzel

Dress: Anderson’s Bride

Photography: Chelsa Jay

Second Photographers: Bore Tide Photography & Brittney Ray Photography

Planning: Wild Heart Events

Florals: The Teal Door

Chelsa Jay

Chelsa Jay is a wedding and elopement photographer based in Palmer, Alaska. Servicing the local areas of Anchorage, Palmer and the surrounding areas of Sutton and Glacier View from North of the Matanuska Valley to Seward, Homer and everywhere in-between. Often providing services for weddings across the U.S. and worldwide. Chelsa Jay Specializes in capturing artistic and editorial portraits paired with a photojournalistic approach to produce beautiful, emotional wedding photography.