The Wedding Outfit
Gabriella Rose Schiavino
Gabby is the daughter of Jerry and Pam Schiavino and sister to her twin brother Anthony and big brother Jerry. She was born and raised in Baltimore County, Maryland, when crop, dairy and horse farms still populated a decent portion of the landscape. In fact, Gabby's first job was working for her neighbors on their dairy farm.
Gabby attended the same prep school for 12 years before attending college in upstate New York, where she earned a degree in English with a focus in creative writing.
During a round of group edits in one of her writing classes, a classmate read her tale of spending the summer working on a dude ranch. Gabby's mind was blown. Her prep school had never suggested to her that she could go out West to work on a ranch. Inspired, Gabby booked herself a vacation on a Colorado guest ranch, the Bar Lazy J, and she was offered a job for the following summer.
Though Gabby lacked (and continues to lack) the natural desire to rise early and make hay, she thrived in the saddle. Transitioning from English riding to Western culture provided plenty of learning opportunities, and the more Gabby learned, the deeper her love grew.
Adventures and misadventures alike formed the next many years until Gabby eventually found herself at the crossroads of her writing talents and a passion for the American West when she was hired onto the editorial staff at American Cowboy magazine. Like her transition from English to Western, her time with AC allowed for another introduction into the world of working ranches.
A decade later, Gabby's editorial career has evolved into the roping and rodeo space, but life with Chris keeps her grounded and navigating the lessons of a-soon-to-be-ranch-wife.
“Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable.”
― Mary Oliver
Christopher Thomas Farthing
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Chris is the oldest son of Charlie and Carol Farthing and has two younger brothers, Tom and Ryan. His entire childhood was informed by the daily needs of the Farthing Ranch in Iron Mountain, Wyoming, a place he emphatically calls God's Country.
Like his father and now like his nieces and nephew, Chris attended a one-room schoolhouse throughout his grade school years before graduating to taking a one-hour bus ride into town for school, but he has fond memories of the times he and his brothers were treated to town trips to see a movie in the theater or even the Cheyenne Symphony.
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The Bride & Groom
GR Schiavino
Flying M Photography
Gabby is the daughter of Jerry and Pam Schiavino. Along with her twin brother, Anthony, and big brother Jerry, Gabby grew up in Maryland. At the time, the area still boasted a lot of farm country, and Gabby happily dug into her rural-ish roots, often to the complete bewilderment of her Baltimore born-and-raised parents.
Today, it seems sort of fitting that as Gabby and Chris begin the rest of their lives together, they do so in Montana, where rural opportunities are as limitless as its big sky.
"Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable."
― Mary Oliver, "Evidence"
Chris Farthing
Nichole Chirico Photography
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Chris is the oldest, funniest and best looking of three sons by Charlie and Carol Farthing. He grew up with his two brothers, Tom and Ryan, on the family ranch in Iron Mountain, Wyoming, about an hour from the state capital in Cheyenne.
Chris' true passion in life is ranching and improving his cow herd. He is so happy and blessed to have found Gabby, who has already taken to the lifestyle that he loves so much.
"And the right thing's never easy
And the good don't always win
But it's the memories of days like this
That you cherish in the end."
— Brenn Hill, "Into the Wind"
The Wedding Party
Lexy Apostolou-Pierce — Team Bride
Lexy and Gabby met in the high school choir and have been best friends ever since, despite Lexy's love of vibrant New York City life and Gabby's penchant for rural living.
No matter, they've traveled to Italy, Greece and Puerto Rico together, always in search of a little adventure, a little luxury, clear waters and exceptional food. They plan to keep at it until someone takes their picture at a rooftop Mediterranean cafe and makes a meme about two lifelong besties drinking vino together and living their best old lady lives.
If the husbands (Lexy's actual husband, Justin, and Gabby's soon-to-be husband Chris) are invited, they will probably be subjected to playing the board game Taboo against the besties ... and they will lose.
"Time doesn't take away from friendship, nor does separation."
― Tennessee Williams
TC Berry — Team Groom
TC and Chris have been friends for as long as Chris can remember. TC, who also grew up on a family ranch near Cheyenne, became a schoolmate and permanent fixture in Chris' life. From the branding pen to the school room to whatever else teenage and 20-something boys do, TC has been there.
Along with his wife Kim, TC is running their family ranch with his own two teenage boys now and maybe a gray hair or two because, as they say, "Turnabout is fair play."
And if "turnabout" is indeed fair, then it's only fitting that because Chris was TC's best man at his wedding, it's now TC's turn to stand up and give the speech.
"I want to saddle up old paint and just ride him out across the hills
I belong in old Wyoming and I reckon that I always will."
— Chris Ledoux, "Take Me Back to Old Wyoming"
Lindsey Eby, DVM — Team Bride
Lindsey rented a room to Gabby when she decided to take journalism classes at Colorado State University.
"This is like a little slice of cowgirl heaven," Gabby said when she first walked into the house—a modest doublewide that Lindsey had utterly transformed, with a backyard full of horses, dogs, chickens, and sometimes lambs and calves that Lindsey brought home from her vet school rotations.
In short time, Lindsey became Gabby's first real cowgirl pal, and they've gone on some great adventures together, including pack trips into Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park and Montana's Bob Marshall Wilderness, not to mention riding the coastal California beaches just a few hours from Lindsey's home in the Central Valley, where she's raising her twin boys and running her veterinary businesses.
“Cowgirl is an attitude, really, a pioneer spirit, a special American brand of courage.”
— Dale Evans
Stevie Knox — Team Groom
Chris first got to know Stevie in high school in Cheyenne. Right off the bat, Chris didn't like him. He thought Stevie was cocky and standoff-ish. After Chris got to know Stevie, that changed—as it turns out, you should get to know someone before you pass judgment—and Stevie became a lifelong, treasured friend.
Through high school to rooming together in college, Stevie has remained a constant in Chris' life, calling often to check in, always with good advice and conversation.
As an artist, Stevie's fame grows and grows, but he's as grounded and humble as ever, and Chris is extremely blessed to have him as a friend.
"To him, all good things—trout as well as eternal salvation—come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy."
— Norman Maclean, "A River Runs Through It"
Delaney Dahlby — Team Bride
Delaney and Gabby met through a mutual friend who offered Gabby a place to stay while she was in between her Colorado lease ending and the beginning of a months-long road trip. To say that Delaney was unhappy to suddenly be sharing the space he was renting with a freeloader would be an understatement, but it wasn't long before the fellow Marylanders were gladly pal-ing around.
Gabby's eventual return to Colorado led to the pair putting a real relationship to the test but, ultimately, they realized they weren't meant to be partners. Instead, they are happily each other's people.
"A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you."
— Elbert Hubbard
Dawson MacLennan — Officiant
Dawson and Chris first met at the University of Wyoming. Dawson, who had grown up ranching in Eastern Colorado, quickly became one of Chris' dearest friends. In those college days, it wasn't uncommon for the two of them to stay up to the wee hours of the morning discussing everything from horses to family to ambitions over a nice, cold delicious can of ... tea.
After college, they stayed close and would often help each other with ranch duties.
For a long time, Chris has considered Dawson one of the best cowboys he knows, but also one of the most genuine, kind-hearted and spiritual people he knows, so he considers it a great honor that Dawson accepted his request to officiate the wedding ceremony.
"Living was a horse between your legs and a carbine under one leg and a hill and a valley and a stream with trees along it and the far side of the valley and the hills beyond.”
— Ernest Hemingway, "For Whom the Bell Tolls"
The Families
The Schiavinos — Team Bride
Left to Right: Jerry Sr., Gabby, Anthony, Pam and Jerry II.
“The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, lies in its loyalty to each other.”
― Mario Puzo
The Farthings — Team Groom
Left to right: Rita, Rylie, Ryan, Carson, Charlie, Brinley, Carol, Tom and Sara.