A newlywed couple took the ultimate plunge into married life – by planning an adrenaline fueled-wedding which included jumping off a CLIFF EDGE.
Kristyn Gingrich, 35, and Dennis Gingrich, 67, from Lake Placid, Florida, first got to know each other around eight years ago, and both had very different visions of what their future might hold.
Dennis, who is widowed, didn’t see himself getting married again, while Kristyn had always envisioned a big, grand white wedding – but in the end, the couple did the exact opposite of those things.
The pair said after the pandemic, their priorities changed and talk of a wedding started – with their idea of a big day fitting into their love of traveling, rather than spending large sum of money on a big party.
They started planning, with Kristyn searching online for “fun places to elope in The States,” and discovering a company called Vows With Views, who are rebranding as GlampFire Travel.
Having looked through the company’s photos, Kristyn saw an image of a bride rappelling down a cliff in front of the stunning backdrop of Moab and decided that was the one.
Within 30 minutes they had scheduled a call with the company’s owner, Mallory, and after one conversation, the wheels were in motion for their big fewdays, starting on September 30, 2025.
For the ceremony itself, Kristyn and Dennis stayed off grid in Mallory’s Airstream caravan, before Kristyn’s mom officiated the ceremony during golden hour just off the Million Dollar Highway.
Then, the following morning, the adventure elements began.
On their first day as husband and wife, Kristy and Dennis took on Via Ferrata in Telluride, part-hike-part-climb, traversing the side of a mountain as Mallory and videographer, Michael Menjivar, filming.
The next day saw the couple climb Look Glass Rock, in Moab, with Dennis carrying Kristyn’s wedding dress in a backpack, before rappelling through a giant arch as Kristyn’s ten-foot veil flowed behind her.
Then, on the third day, came an activity that wasn’t initially on the itinerary, but Kristyn had planned after getting the feel for extreme sports.
Still in her dress, which a guide had to cut a hole in the back of to attach safety equipment, Kristyn and Dennis took part in a rope swing, jumping off a cliff edge.
Drone pilots at Moab Rope Swing captured spectacular video of the incredible moment.
The couple spent their final days in the area relaxing, before they headed back to their home and two pets stores they run in Florida.
Kristyn said: “I don’t know what most people do on their third day of marriage, but we jumped off a cliff – and I did it in a wedding dress!
“Some of the biggest decisions in life don’t have to be based on what you’re ‘supposed’ to do. On paper, Dennis and I probably aren’t what most people would picture as a conventional couple.
“He’s twice my age. He had already been married and widowed and was certain he’d never marry again while I’d never been married and grew up imagining the big traditional white wedding.
“Yet somehow our perfect wedding ended up being saying our vows on the side of a mountain with two guests, living off-grid in an Airstream, climbing mountains and jumping off cliffs in our wedding clothes.
“Once we stopped thinking about what a wedding was supposed to look like and started asking what would actually mean something to us, the answer became incredibly obvious.
“So, if there’s a message in our story, it’s this: build a life – and a wedding – that feels like yours.
“Don’t choose something simply because tradition, other people, or some imaginary rulebook says that’s how it’s supposed to be done.
“You don’t need to have an adventure elopement, you certainly don’t need to cut holes in your wedding dress and jump off a cliff.
“But whatever you do, make it something that when you look back years later, you can say, ‘Yep. That was so us.'”
