Wedding bells rang this offseason for Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe and his fiancée, Hannah Lewis.
The couple swapped vows last Wednesday in an intimate Montana ceremony, where they were joined by 30 guests, according to The Knot, as the 25-year-old Zappe readies for a critical training camp.
“We both have very small circles, and we aren’t huge partiers,” Lewis told The Knot of the wedding planning. “It just didn’t fit our style. We sat down and talked to each other and said, ‘Let’s just elope with our family.’”
Fans of the TV drama “Yellowstone,” Zappe and Lewis — who announced their engagement in May 2023 — celebrated their nuptials in a cabin with loved ones before enjoying a long weekend filled with hiking, fishing and fireworks.
“It was such a great way to blend our families,” the newlyweds told the outlet.
With a mini-moon to Walt Disney World in Florida on deck, Zappe is also preparing for his third NFL season with the Patriots, who selected him in the fourth round (No. 137 overall) in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Zappe entered the 2023 season as starter Mac Jones’ backup and later took the reins for the former first-round pick following ugly showings and in-game benchings.
The Patriots finished in the basement of the AFC East at 4-13.
Longtime coach Bill Belichick departed the franchise in January after 24 seasons with former Patriots linebacker-turned-coach Jerod Mayo named as his successor.
New England then overhauled its quarterbacks room in March, sending Jones to the Jaguars for a sixth-round pick.
The team also signed veteran Jacoby Brissett in free agency before adding North Carolina product Drake Maye with the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Patriots later drafted Tennessee’s Joe Milton III in the sixth round.
Although Mayo “absolutely” intends to bring all four quarterbacks into training camp, it remains to be seen if Zappe will make the final roster.
Despite the awkward situation, Zappe intends to make the most of the opportunity.
“They’ve told all of us that this was going to be a competition,” Zappe said in late May, according to the Boston Herald. “Everybody’s going to have an opportunity to go out there and prove that they can be that guy. All four of us are going to do our best to do that, and then whoever gets that job, the other three of us are going to help that guy do whatever he can on the field to win games.”
The Patriots open training camp later this month and will host the Panthers in their first preseason game on Aug. 8.