This traditional wedding in Pendleton, Oregon, was a labor of love from a tight-knit community.
“I wanted to get married at home because it is the most important place to my family and it is so beautiful,” bride Katie — who is Nez Perce, Cayuse, Umatilla, and Karuk — says about marrying her real-life ranch and rodeo cowboy Jackson in a horse pasture on her family’s property. Everything about this celebration took help from their tight-knit community: her mother made the tipis and her father set them up, a neighbor assembled the ceremony arch, her aunts provided their famous frybread, and cousins, sisters, and friends helped with everything else. “People laughing and dancing and telling old stories is something that is printed in my mind, and I will always cherish that entire weekend,” Katie says. “It was so full of love and community.”
About The Veil
For her special day, Katie wore a traditional Plateau tribal wedding veil that she made herself. As a lifelong beadworker, she wanted to create one for her wedding that she could also pass down to her family. “It was made with Dentalium shells, which my people used as currency back in the day, and is also adorned with gold and bronze beads,” Katie says, adding that it took hours to make with the help of her sisters and was surprisingly heavy due to the thousands of beads and shells used. “I haven’t actually seen one of these veils except for the one on display at our local tribal museum and various veils from old photos in books at my parents’ house. I had seen a beautiful Umatilla woman in a photo wearing one pre-1900 and knew that that was exactly what I wanted to wear for my wedding.”
Find more of Katie’s beadwork at Harris Sisters Co., etsy.com/shop/harrissistersco
From our February/March 2022 issue
Photography: River & Wave, La Grande, Oregon, riverandwave.com
