White
A Mountain Wedding Adventure in Beaver Creek, Colorado
From the bride, Valerie: We were fortunate to have a beautiful Colorado bluebird day as all of our festivities were outdoors. The day was a roller coaster of emotions, anxiety and excitement.
Our ceremony was comical, right from the beginning there were laughs. My veil got stuck on the stone steps of the wedding deck as I was walking down the aisle. I couldn’t get Sergios’ ring on his finger and just before our “I do’s” my veil took flight and my MoH had to jump up in the air to catch it.
My favorite moment was our “I Do’s” and kissing my husband for the first time. We had been together for 9 years through lots of ups and downs and it just felt so good to become husband and wife. I know it sounds corny, but I felt an instantaneous gravity shift. He’s my partner for life and it’s us vs anything that comes our way.
Apart from the ceremony, my favorite moment was walking into our cocktail hour. The day was so sunny, the sky was that deep, deep blue you only get in the mountains of Colorado, our jazz band was playing beautiful swing music and to see all our guests playing lawn games and socializing was just breathtaking.
Since we live in NJ, our animals were not able to be with us so we created a photo of our 2 cats and our 9 month old puppy to accompany the guest book. The animals were not pleased about being forced to pose for the picture so it came out with very stern expressions on them all. It was cracking me up every time I looked at it during the reception.
We had beautiful, long log centerpieces with moss, succulents and mixed white flowers in mercury glass atop chevron table runners in grey and white.
Our travels and ethnic backgrounds influenced our menu. We wanted to share foods we loved and snippets from our travels with our guests.
Our pets were featured on our “dia de los muertos” wedding cake topper. The wedding topper inspiration came from our trip to Mexico, where we got engaged on top of the Sun pyramid at Teotiuhuacan (which my husband likes to joke, where people were once decapitated) and was a nod to my heritage on my mother’s side.
I loved our first dance. Sergio had an amazing smile on his face and twirling around alternating views of the mountains and the beautiful facade of the Ritz was surreal.
Looking back, the reception was over so quickly. The whole day passed in the blink of the eye.
My advice: Enjoy the engagement and keep focused on the end game, i.e. being a family with your husband. Certainly pay attention to the details and make the day your own. Recognize that things will go wrong, but in hindsight they’ll be minor. Don’t ruin your mood or your fiancé’s in the months leading up to the wedding or the day of by stressing over little things. Talk to someone who got married recently for guidance. If you don’t know someone in your immediate circle, crowd source it. People love talking about their weddings and I’d be happy to talk for an hour if I could save anyone some stress in their wedding planning process.
THE WEDDIG TEAM
Photographer: Casie Zalud Photography & Alison Vagnini Photography | Reception Site & Caterer: Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch | Event Design, Flowers & Favors: Bella Lu Floral| Event Design: Lighting & Design by Scott| Ceremony Site: Beaver Creek Wedding Deck| Tent Rental: Alpine Party Rentals| Invitations: Tasha Rae Designs
You Are My Sunshine
From the bride, Beverly:
My mom had been vacationing in Cashiers for 20+ years. My mom passed away suddenly from cancer three years ago and I wanted to feel close to her spirit. There is nothing prettier than the vistas and backdrops of being in the mountains. Just being outside in the mountains with God’s creation puts me in a good mood.
In lieu of bridesmaids (other than my two daughters), I elected to have my seven closest friends “randomly” stand up from their seats and recite the LOVE verses from I Cor 13. It brought the audience into the ceremony and felt like my friends were speaking words of scripture directly to us.
Ray and I decided not only would I walk down, but we would leave as husband and wife, to “You Are My Sunshine” – a song my mom sang to my girls when they were babies and we discovered Ray’s mom had done the same with him.
I loved that Ray and I, with my girls, led the procession of our guests from the ceremony site along a streamer lined gravel path to the barn, where the reception was held.
My advice: ENJOY this time as an engaged couple and planning of the wedding together, as a couple. Then choose a well experienced and local wedding planning to coordinate your ideas.
Beverly & Raymond’s
RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Venue: Canyon Kitchen at Lonesome Valley. The best natural setting around the area.
Event Planner/Designer: Elizabeth Fletcher, I DO Events Atlanta. She is so much more than your typical wedding coordinator…..she is a creative planner that can help you bring all your ideas into a singular event. Plus, having the been in so many aspects of wedding planning, she has a myriad of contacts for absolutely anything you may need.
Photographer: Marisu Wehrenberg and Shannah Montgomery of Zoomworks Photography. They were fantastic to work with…..loved having two there the entire day, as they got great angles.
Band: The Boomers. Vaughn and David rocked, literally, and even lent their Christian song writing and acoustic voices for our ceremony.
Lighting: Get Lit Special Event Lighting. Dave Watson was fabulous.
Florist: Rooms in Bloom Flowers. Paul was beyond wonderful to work with, and I just loved the finished product.
Wedding Gown Designer: Monique Lhuillier…adored my dress…..best splurge ever!
Hair Stylist: Joel Jacovino, Salon Muse.
Honeymoon Location: Oia, Santorini, Greece…..BEST location for a honeymoon….so romantic.
A Lake Tahoe Winter Wedding Soiree
From the bride, Kaleolani:
I knew I wanted a mountainous winter wedding. After checking out a few venues in Northern California, I decided to stop in Tahoe to see a few more. I immediately fell in love with everything. The view, the hotels, the skiing, the activities, the lake, the location to the airport, everything!
I chose a color palette of the dark greens of a forest or mountain, the white of the ski runs, and the golden glitter when the sun sets over the lake. I wanted the mountain cabin feel but at the 5 star resort level. 
Our ceremony was short and sweet and perfect. 
We nailed a wooden wine box shut. The box had a bottle of wine, love letters to each other, and advice cards from all the guests inside. The box is not to be opened for 10 years.
I hated how fast the night went by! And how Jose and I hardly had a moment to sit back and enjoy! Everyone wanted to take a picture, talk to us, sit with us, dance with us, drink with us! I wish it could have lasted longer.
Jose and I had been practicing a Viennese Waltz for almost a year. We were excited to finally perform! It was perfect and a surprise for most of the guests. 
My advice: Hire a wedding planner. My planner made my day perfect.
RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Photographer: BTW Photography // Venue, Caterer, Lodging: Hyatt Regency Incline Village // Event Planner: Blue Sky Events // Band: The Mixx // Flowers & Linens: Thrans Flowers // Lighting: Celadon Events // Officiant: Dave Beronio // Favors: Howe House, custom Christmas bulbs // Hair & Makeup: Studio 89 Salon
A Winter Wedding in Beaver Creek, Colorado
From the bride, Kristin:
My wedding day felt magical- it snowed! And since I’m from Alabama (and had a destination wedding at Beaver Creek)- that made it so special. Christmas time is my favorite time of year- it has always been magical for me- so I couldn’t imagine getting married at any other time. All our guests were greeted with a gift bag that included: a CD with our favorite Christmas music, gourmet hot chocolate, peppermint swizzlers, salted caramels, and a Christmas ornament. I wore a Jenny Packham bolero and red Valentino pumps with my white dress and I had a piece of lace from my mom’s wedding dress wrapped around my bouquet. Jonathan & I snowboarded down the mountain in our wedding attire.
We had a champagne bar with fresh strawberries, raspberries and chocolate. 
We did the quickstep to a Deadmau5 song, “Alone with You”.
Kristin & Jonathan’s RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Photographer: Britney Kay Photography // Event Design, Planning & Floras: Alexan Events // Ceremony: Beaver Creek Chapel // Reception Venue: The Osprey Hotel // Cake: Kelley Kakes
A Vail Mountain Wedding
From the bride, Molly:
We wanted to bring in the rustic, woodsy elements of the great outdoors of Colorado yet still have the elegance of a wedding.
We personalized the day by bringing in elements to represent where we are both from. Both Nick and I are from Wisconsin, so we wanted to bring in quiet reminders of our home state. We decided to do a Green Bay Packers Cheesehead grooms cake, our escort card holders were little Wisconsin-shaped wood cuts, and our late night snack consisted of brats and cheese curds (to pay homage to some Wisconsin favorites!). We also brought our foam cheese heads to add to the photo booth prop table.
Our wedding ceremony encompassed a mix of cultures and history. We were inspired to do this because my grandparents suddenly passed away two years ago. They were primarily Scottish and English and had a passion for the Native American culture, so we encompassed these cultures and traditions into our wedding ceremony.
Throughout the entire ceremony, a hawk was flying above us, which is the sign of your ancestors in the Native America culture, so we took this as my grandparents were looking down on us. It was a very special moment!
We had late night dessert cups which were little s’more and strawberry shortcake desserts in tall glass shot glasses.
My advice: Enjoy the engagement period and don’t get too stressed out about wedding planning. Remember that the wedding is about you and your groom and you should do what makes both of you happy. Also, on the day of your wedding, don’t forget to stop and take in moments of the day together. It will help you remember the day and slow it down a bit. It goes by way too fast!
Molly’s RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Ceremony Site: Vail Mountain Wedding Deck.
Reception Site: Donovan Pavilion. It is a great reception venue because not only is it gorgeous and highlight the beautiful Colorado outdoors with floor to ceiling windows and wood beams, but it is a blank canvas which allows you to bring in whatever you want to personalize the space to your liking.
Photographer: Elevate Photography. I would highly recommend Elevate Photography to anyone looking for a wedding photographer. They were fabulous to work with and provided us with some absolutely amazing photos and memories of our wedding day.
Florist: Plum Sage. I would highly recommend Plum Sage. They are a great florist with amazing ideas and cost saving solutions. They were attentive and helpful on the day. They also made the planning process very easy for us and took the ideas we brought to them and made them come to life.
Caterer: Caterers of Vail. We are extremely happy that we chose Caterers of Vail because the food and service was wonderful. We received many compliments from our guests on how great certain appetizers and dishes were as well as how seamless the service was throughout the night. I would highly recommend Caterers of Vail to anyone looking to hire a caterer for an event.
Cake: Cornerstone Chocolates. Their lemon poppyseed cake is amazing! Felicia is very creative and was willing to work with our many ideas and our budget.
Invitations: Cloud 9. We created custom wedding invitations with Ann. She was very easy to work with and got the vision we were trying to create right away. She made the process very easy and she was very responsive throughout the entire time we worked with her. I would highly recommend her for helping you create standard or custom wedding invitations. She’s full of great ideas and will work with any budget.
Escort Cards: Paper Guppy. We created these using our invitation artwork. Maura was very easy to work with and had a very fast turnaround.
Videographer: 1321 Studios. Jeff was extremely easy to work with and was very much in the background throughout the entire day. His team was very friendly.
Chairs, tables, linens: Colorado Party Rental // Transportation: The Turtle Bus // Celebrant: Leon “Littlebird” Joseph // Gown Designer: Justin Alexander // Bridesmaid Dresses: B2 by Jasmine (Style # B2078) in Platinum // Men’s Wear: Jos. A. Bank
Honeymoon Location: Bora Bora and Moorea in the Tahitian Islands
A Shabby Chic Wedding in North Carolina
From the bride, Kate:
Asheville & nature was the inspiration for our wedding day. The mountains are a sacred place that produces an energy that is so vibrant and positive. We tried to let the natural beauty of the mountains remain the focus.
My wedding dress was the same dress that my mother wore. I had the dress re-made to look more updated and to fit me perfectly. I found myself really missing my maternal grandmother on that day and somehow wearing the dress that she had bought for my mom made me feel like she was there with me.
The save the dates and invitations featured a tree of life. We used the same tree on the programs and in some of the reception decor.
The ceremony was customized to speak to our exact beliefs. We wrote our vows and a good friend read a poem that we picked out.
We served local southern dishes such as fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese. We used mason jars to serve beer which came from local breweries.
We decided not to have a dance floor. This was the groom’s choosing and I was hesitant. It turned out to be the best decision we made! All guests ended up taking off their shoes and having a great time dancing in the cool grass! The music was so much fun and truly catered to all ages.
My advice: It will be your perfect day no matter what! You are marrying the love of your life. Enjoy it!
Katie’s RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Photographer: Whitmeyer Photography // Venue & Lodging: Lake Eden Events // Florist: Flora // Caterer: Saffron Fine Foods // Bakery: Short Street Cakes // Officiant: Howard Hanger // Tent & Rentals: Classic Event Rentals // Hair: Lola Salon // Musicians: Snake Oil Medicine Show
Honeymoon Location: Costa Rica
Intimate Winter Wedding in Banff
Caroline & Jordan | February 15th | Banff, Alberta, Canada
From the photographer, Kim Payant:
Caroline and Jordan decided to have only their closest family and friends attend their intimate wedding at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. The pastor, a friend of the family, did an amazing job and the ceremony was truly touching and you could really feel the love during the celebration. After the vows, Caroline, Jordan and I went for a drive around town to capture the beauty of the Rockies. I just loved everything about Caroline’s dress, it fitted her perfectly and her winter cape with the fur was the perfect accessory for their amazing winter wedding!
Photography by Kim Payant Photography for Bonner Photography
A Peony Surprise in Vail Village
Morgan & Casey | July 30th | Vail, Colorado
From the bride:
We chose Vail because we both grew up skiing in Colorado and have always loved the way we felt when we were in the mountains. When we were first engaged we decided it would be perfect to get married in the mountains of Colorado.
Planning a wedding from Dallas, I relinquished a lot of the decision making to our vendors who I trusted would make it beautiful no matter what. So honestly, the whole look and feel of the wedding was some what of a surprise to me.
My favorite flowers are peonies. A few weeks before the wedding we found out that no florist from Dallas to Colorado could find peonies for our wedding day. We chose a different flower last minute, but this was the one thing that went “wrong” during our planning process. A few days before our wedding my mom and mother-in-law were walking around Vail and saw one bush full of beautiful white peonies! They went and knocked on the homeowners door and asked if there was any chance they could have a few for my bouquet. The homeowners were honored to be asked and graciously gave us as many as we wanted! In the end, my bouquet was made of the freshly picked Vail peonies.
My favorite color is white so all of the flowers for the ceremony and reception were white with accent colors of gold. The only pop of color was the sapphire blue bridesmaids dresses. When you chose a place like Vail for your wedding, the beauty of the town is pretty much the focal point! 
Memorable Moment: Saying our vows. I have envisioned that moment sine I was a little girl and it was so surreal to be standing with all of our friends and family watching us, finally say those vows to one another. Casey actually tried to kiss me during the ceremony before we were pronounced as man and wife, so I had to dodge his attempt which led the crowd to burst out laughing.
The reception was filled with candles, white flowers, a wall of floating candles, freshly cut Aspen trees, ice sculptures, and dancing people!
Our wedding day turned out just how I imagined it. It wasn’t just the wedding day that made our wedding so special, it was the entire wedding weekend.
I will say the entire day and night was such a blur that I am so thankful we had a videographer! We have not seen the footage yet but I look forward to reliving every moment!
RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Photographer: Jamee Photography // Event Planner: Jane Floyd and Associates // Ceremony Site: Vail Interfaith Chapel // Reception Site, Caterer, Lodging: Sonnenalp Resort of Vail // Wedding Gown: Lela Rose // Men’s Wear: Mountain Tux // Décor: Pink Monkey Solutions // Florist: A Secret Garden // Cake: Sugar Breckenridge // Ceremony Musicians: Silver City Strings // Reception Band: Moments Notice // Invitations/Programs: Paper Affair // Videographer: Creative Mountain Images
Honeymoon Location: Likuliku Lagoon in Fiji