Crested Butte
Skiing Down the Aisle to Love
Sydney & Garret | March 24th
From the bride: After meeting online, our first adventure together was a charity event for The Greenway Foundation. Hosted on a bridge over the Platte River in Denver, Colorado, this unique date served as the perfect backdrop for the start of our adventure together. In the months to follow, we discovered numerous shared passions which created an inseparable bond. We bonded through our mutual love of skiing, camping, golfing, and our mutual pursuit for unceasing laughter.
It quickly became obvious that nothing could separate our bond. After a year and a half of skiing through trees, countless weekend getaways, and roll on the floor laughter, Garret decided to pop the question. With a vision for a wildly romantic proposal on our trip to Hawaii, Garret had secretly tucked the ring away in a carry-on. When we got to the airport, our checked bag was far too heavy, and we had to open and reorganize all of our bags. While Garret frantically tried to hide the ring in the chaos, he made a split-second decision: he couldn’t wait until Hawaii. Garret got down on one knee, right in the middle of the Denver International Airport, and I said yes!
As we planned our wedding, one thing was clear: adventure has always been a constant in our relationship. Accordingly, for our wedding, we decided to hit our favorite slopes in Mount Crested Butte, Colorado and ski down the aisle, towards our next adventure as husband and wife.
THE WEDDING TEAM
Venue: Crested Butte Mountain Resort
Photographer: Third Eye Photography
A Romantic Wildflower Wedding at Crested Butte Mountain Resort
Julie & Sean | September 2, 2018
From the bride: After six years of dating, Sean and I could not wait to tie the knot in one of our favorite places in the entire world. As both of us grew up on the Western slope of Colorado, Crested Butte was an obvious choice for us. We couldn’t have had a more beautiful wedding day at Ten Peaks where Sean proposed to me last winter. The pictures captured exactly how magical our day was.
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THE WEDDING TEAM
Venue & Caterer: Uley’s Cabin, Crested Butte Mountain Resort
Photographer: Third Eye Photography | Event Planner: Belleview Wedding and Events | Floral Designer: From The Ground Up | Dress Store: Emma and Grace Bridal Studio | Hair Stylist: Ember Hairstream | Cake: Sunflower
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A Snowy Fall Wedding in Crested Butte
Brea & Mac | Crested Butte Mountain Resort
From the bride: We both love the mountains and the outdoors so getting married outside was definitely a must for us. We had just gone to Crested Butte for the first time over Labor Day weekend the year before we got married and it was love at first sight! The town is adorable, the people are super friendly, and the whole vibe is super relaxed and unpretentious. And the stunning scenery is an added bonus!
THE WEATHER
Our ceremony was SUPPOSED to be outside, at the top of the Red Lady Lift but Mother Nature had other plans for us. We chose our wedding weekend for a very specific reason: historically in Colorado, the 3rd weekend in September is the peak Aspen-changing weekend. I had joked for months about it snowing on our wedding day. And then it actually did. Jokes on me! But one of my wedding day “musts” was to ride the lift up to the ceremony site, and by God, me and all the bridesmaids did just that. In a total white out! Definitely one of my favorite moments of the day, especially since I rode the lift up with my little friend Hugo (one of my bridesmaids) who HATES cold weather with all of her being. So I definitely know how much she loves me now!
THE CEREMONY
I loved how our ceremony felt so relaxed and comfortable. Everyone was crammed into the tent but in super good spirits (also, we opened up the bar before the ceremony started, so that might have helped!) There was so much laughing during the entire ceremony, I loved it.
Even though one might say that we got “unlucky” with our wedding-day weather (freezing rain at the base of the mountain/white out blizzard on top!), it made for the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen! The snow clouds lifted right after our ceremony (which had to be moved into the tent last minute due to the weather!), and we had the most incredible color palette for all of our pictures: green evergreens, bright gold aspens, white puffy clouds and snow-covered peaks!
SKI DETAILS
I personally loved how we incorporated our joint love of skiing into many of the details. All of the tables were named after either a run or lift at Crested Butte and the escort cards were Crested Butte lift tickets.
THE DECOR
Tons of tea light candles and lanterns. I LOVE candles. Bistro lights strung on the ceiling of the tent with big, white paper lanterns. Handmade wooden table signs with lots of natural greenery on each table. We used a combination of rectangular farm tables and round tables. I loved the mix and match look!
THE FAVORS
We made S’mores party favors in little boxed tied with twine! I thought they turned out soooo good, by far my best Pinterest craft to date!
LOOKING BACK
Honestly, I don’t think I would change anything about the actual wedding!! It would have been way too boring if the weather had been “perfect”!
I would, however, opt for an immediate honeymoon. Just due to our crazy schedules, we could not take any more time off after the wedding. Being back at work on Tuesday after riding on such an emotionally-charged high for the entire weekend was ROUGH and I totally get why couples want to immediately escape to a remote honeymoon destination right after the wedding!
ADVICE
ENJOY THE PROCESS AND ENJOY BEING ENGAGED!!! This is going to be the most cliché advice EVER because everyone told me this going into wedding weekend, but I’ll say it again and again: the day and weekend GO BY SO FREAKING FAST. I wish there was some way to be able to hit a pause button, breathe, look around, and take it all in!!!
THE WEDDING TEAM
Ceremony Site: At the top of the Red Lady Lift, Crested Butte Mountain Resort. I would definitely recommend but have a back-up plan.
Reception Site & Caterer: Uley’s Cabin, Crested Butte Mountain Resort. The food was fantastic!
Photographer: Third Eye Photography | Event Planner: Crested Butte Events | Floral Designer: Fin + Ally | Rentals: Crested Butte Rental Center | Makeup Artist: Natalie Vierling Makeup
View more Colorado weddings
A Traditional Hindu Wedding in Crested Butte, Colorado
Chicago residents Geeta and Adarsh wanted a traditional Hindu religious ceremony against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains and nature. They both wanted their friends and family to not only share in the joy of them embarking on their marriage but also spend the week in a glorious unique setting exploring and making their own memories.
THE WEDDING TEAM
Venue, Caterer, Lodging: Crested Butte Mountain Resort
Photographer: Third Eye Photography // Event Designer: Prashe Decor // Event Planner: Princess Productions // Floral Designer: FloraEventi // Dress Designer: Studio East6
A Rustic Vintage Wedding in Crested Butte
From the bride, Adrienne: We knew we wanted a destination wedding. So, Crested Butte provided a unique destination for all our guests while still holding significant sentimental value. We know this is a place we will continue to visit as our family grows. It’s such a breathtaking area of the country with so many activities for guests. Our friends and family did everything from horseback rides to hikes to white water rafting.
THE STYLE
Rustic Vintage was the term I kept throwing around. I think at the beginning I knew I wanted a birdcage veil, and I believe this is where the vintage theme started for me. It all built out from there.
I loved the DanniJo earrings I wore that evening – I LOVE jewelry, and these were new, but had the vintage style I was going for.
THE CEREMONY
Our ceremony was located on the deck of Uley’s Cabin at 10K elevation, what’s normally a warming hut on the ski slope in the winter. We tried to take advantage of the uniqueness of the location by giving our guests the opportunity to ride the ski lift up to the wedding. It actually started to rain right as the ceremony started, so I’m glad we invested in a few small tents (the day before).
We spent a while planning our ceremony – we wanted it to incorporate a lot of the traditional elements, but somewhat unexpected at the same time. Our processional song was “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles, and a Pablo Neruda poem entitled “Perhaps not to be is to be without your being” was included as one of the readings.
MEMORABLE MOMENTS
One of the most memorable moments was when our officiant referred to the “thunder” in our love as the sky rumbled above. Everyone was so surprised at how calm I was with the rain, but I was determined to enjoy the day with my new husband and soak up every moment.
THE ESCORT CARDS
I was really happy with how we displayed our escort cards. I knew I wanted tags attached to old skeleton keys (the kids at the wedding loved the keys, by the way). It took a while to figure out how we wanted to set up the display. About a month before the wedding, my parents found an old door and some old vintage nails that we ended up using to hang the keys on. And there ended up being a ‘2’ on the door, so I painted the front to say ‘The key 2 your table’ just to be clever!
THE FAVORS
Our favors were bottles of wine that my father made, and I used our engagement photos to design the labels.
THE TABLESCAPES
For the centerpieces, we spent the entire year leading up to the wedding searching for vintage glassware. My mom, future Mother-in-Law, and I hit up every thrift store and antique mall we could find. We combined the glassware with burlap tablecloths to bring in a casual side – no stuffiness at our party! At the same time, we rented some vintage chandeliers and candelabras to bring some elegance to the event.
ADVICE
I’d suggest, if you are doing a destination wedding in a small resort town and want to employ as much local talent as possible and make sure to book early!
THE WEDDING TEAM
Photographer: Alison White Photography // Venue: Uley’s Cabin at Crested Butte Mountain Resort // Event Planner: Crested Butte Weddings // Wedding Gown: Pronovias // Florist: Rocky Mountain Rose // Invitations: Printable Press // Transportation: Alpine Express // Hair Stylist: The Cut Above // Guest Lodging: Crested Butte Mountain Resort
Honeymoon Location: Croatia and Montenegro