When Spencer Long and Morgan Kulik got married in Powell in August, they decided it was the perfect opportunity to brand their first brand.
As part of their wedding at the Diamond View Ranch, the couple unveiled their new brand to family and friends, then used it on a cowhide they intend to hang in their home in Brookville, Pennsylvania.
Eventually, their goal is to start their own ranch where horses and cattle will bear their family’s brand.
“A brand is your name,” Long told Cowboy State Daily. “Whenever it comes to a business, it's your name you're putting on the line. We just got approved for our own brand, and we figured we would mark it down with our wedding day.”
Life And Love
Long and Kulik share a mutual love of agriculture and of each other.
“We both grew up in agriculture, showing in 4-H,” Long said. We have always wanted to have our own brand, so whenever we start raising our own animals, we will have something to signify our good bloodline.”
Having a wedding branding wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. It’s been a dream of Kulik’s for years.
“It was on my Pinterest board for a couple of years now as something to do at my wedding,” she said. “I thought it was cool to represent who we are in a brand.”
After the couple set their wedding date, they started the process of acquiring a brand to represent their life and love.
They submitted three designs to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which would choose one as the couple’s registered brand. A week and a half before their wedding, they got their brand.
“I had been gone for a couple of weeks hauling cattle,” Long said. As soon as I got back, I had to hurry up and weld the metal together to make the brand and get it to Wyoming.”
Diamond Of A View
Jamie Blankenship has been doing weddings at the Diamond View Ranch since 2022. What started as a great view with a horse-drawn carriage has grown into a venue with all the facilities needed for a full wedding and reception in northwest Wyoming.
“We've got a beautiful view of Heart Mountain and the Beartooths, the natural sagebrush smells so pretty, and we’re easy to get to,” Blankenship said. “We have three buildings on-site, including a hall and private suites with restrooms for the bride and groom.”
Long and Kulik were more interested in the landscape than the amenities, as nice as they were. Kuli said they wanted “a western venue” that reflected themselves and their love for the outdoors, agriculture, and tradition.
“We both really liked (Diamond View Ranch), and we liked Jamie,” she said. “She gave us a virtual tour and was being very flexible about working with us. And we both loved it. She was awesome, and the view was awesome. I don't think we could have had a better venue to describe either one of us.”
When Kulik mentioned that they wanted to do a branding at their wedding, over a year before they had their brand, Blankenship showed them the firepit. That clinched the deal.
“We had another couple do a branding here,” Blankenship said. “They saw my firepit and asked if they’d be able to do it, and I said, ‘Oh, absolutely. That would be super cute.’”
Bonds And Brands
After a perfectly picturesque Western wedding, Long and Kulik stuck their branding iron in the firepit and prepared their first brand.
“We bought the cowhides from Dandy Leather in Cody,” Long said.
Having changed out of their formal attire, the couple put on their work gloves and spread the cowhides out on a wooden cable spool. Then, together, they did their first brand with their brand.
“I enjoyed it,” Kulik said. “It was something different and always wanted to do.”
Blankenship enjoyed watching the newlyweds “create a memory that will last forever.”
“That brand will be passed on to their kids,” she said. “It’s another very special thing that ties them together on their special day, and it was very special to make that happen for them.”
On Brand
Long and Kulik built a home together in Brookville a few years ago. The cowhides bearing their brand are now decorating the interior.
Their eventual goal is to start raising cattle and horses that bear their brand. Long said it was their way of “staying on horseback.”
“People use dirt bikes and side-by-sides and everything all over now,” he said. “We feel like you've got to keep the traditional lifestyle alive, and that means staying on horseback. Whenever we get the property, that’s what we’ll do.”
Meanwhile, Blankenship is promoting branding as another reason to plan western weddings at Diamond View Ranch. Brands are on-brand for her venue.
“We love giving couples special ways to make their wedding day unique and unforgettable,” she said. “That brand is going to be on all their horse babies, and that will live on. It’s kind of like a last name. They’ll share that name and that brand for the rest of their lives.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
