Husky GoPro Wedding Film: Ryder Shoots a Snowy Roan Mountain Ceremony

When Addie and Marshall Burnette married on top of Roan Mountain, Tennessee, on 2 November 2014, the ground was covered in about two feet of early snow and their wedding videographer had four legs. They strapped a GoPro to Ryder, their female Siberian husky, and let her wander through the ceremony. The result, “GoPro: Our Snowy Wedding”, charmed millions of viewers.

A husky with a GoPro films the ceremony

Ryder’s camera rides at dog height, and that changes everything. Guests loom into the frame and lean down to greet her, the bride and groom approach the lens, a furry ear drifts into the corner, and snow-laden spruce trunks tower overhead. The film runs about two minutes and shows the day from a viewpoint no human camera operator would choose.

Marshall described the day as “cold and magical”, and joked in the video notes that Ryder “took awhile to edit the footage” but did a great job. In practice the couple went through hours of her footage to cut the final film.

The video goes viral in 2015

Marshall uploaded the film on 4 November 2015, a year after the wedding. Within weeks it was picked up by Fox stations across the United States, Quartz, Laughing Squid and photography sites around the world, and by late November 2015 it had been viewed nearly 3.5 million times on YouTube. Part of the appeal was the setting: Roan Mountain is where the couple had their first date about a decade before.

Roan Mountain: a wedding setting on the Tennessee–North Carolina line

Roan Mountain rises on the border between Carter County, Tennessee, and Mitchell County, North Carolina, with the state line crossing its summit. Its highest point, Roan High Knob, reaches 6,277 feet (1,913 m), the highest point in Tennessee outside the Great Smoky Mountains.

• Spruce-fir forest: dense Southern Appalachian spruce and Fraser fir woods cover the high slopes; the Roan Highlands hold the best remaining Fraser fir forest in the tree’s range.
• Grassy balds: the Grassy Ridge, about 7 miles long, is the longest stretch of grassy bald in the Appalachians.
• Rhododendron gardens: Tollhouse Gap holds what is often called the world’s largest natural rhododendron garden.
• Appalachian Trail: the trail follows most of the crest, and Roan High Knob Shelter is the highest backcountry shelter on the entire AT.

The easiest access is Carvers Gap, where TN 143 and NC 261 cross the crest and a small parking area serves the trail. Snow can arrive early at this height, as the Burnettes discovered in November.

Tips for including a dog in your wedding film

A pet camera works best as one extra angle alongside a regular photographer, and the dog’s comfort comes first. Use a lightweight harness made for dogs, let your pet get used to it on walks before the day, and have a trusted friend keep the lead and take over if the dog tires or gets cold. Short clips at key moments, such as the walk down the aisle, the vows and the first greeting afterwards, are easier to edit than hours of continuous footage.

For more weddings shaped by landscape, see Jeremy and Rachelle’s Iceland wedding story and Ashley and James’s Everest Base Camp wedding.

Related reading

• Jeremy and Rachelle’s Iceland Wedding Journey, Photographed by Troy Moth
• Crystalapse in Iceland: A Landscape Film with a Personal Ending

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