A Romantic Destination Wedding in Estes Park

Erin & Adam  |  Estes Park, Colorado

 

From the bride: It was the second marriage for both of us so we wanted a destination wedding. We didn’t want to do the typical beach wedding and since my husband is outdoorsy we decided a mountain wedding would be perfect. I looked up locations and fell in love the Estes Park, Colorado.

 

THE STYLE

My style is very classic and Adam’s is more rustic.  We chose a color palette of rose gold, blush, soft peach and mint/sage green and added lace and natural elements.

THE CEREMONY

The Rocky Mountain views is why we picked the Black Canyon Inn. My favorite ceremony memory was walking down the aisle and seeing my husband standing there.

 

 

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT

Our first dance, outside in the rain.

 

FAVE DETAIL

My favorite detail was our cake topper, You’re my Person.

ADVICE

Enjoy the day, it goes by so fast.

THE WEDDING TEAM

Ceremony Site & Lodging: Black Canyon Inn  |  Reception Site: Bristlecone Inn  |  Photographer: Ashley Rae Photography  |  Flowers: A Florae  |  Caterer: Jubilee Catering  |  Officiant: Wed for Good  |  Hair & Makeup: 5280 Divine Beauty

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An Intimate Mountain Wedding in Estes Park

From the Magazine: Ashley & Calvin

Ashley & Calvin’s day began with a romantic ceremony surrounded by stunning Rocky Mountain views followed by an intimate reception filled with metallic hues of copper, silver, and gold. Read their wedding day story below:

 

 

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THE WEDDING TEAM

Photographer: Sarah Goff Photography
Reception Site & Caterer: Bristlecone Inn
Officiant: Amanda Rash

 


 

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A Spring Elopement in Rocky Mountain National Park

From the couple, Sarah & Chris: Our wedding was focused on joining our families together, since we have kids from prior relationships, we wanted an intimate and personal ceremony. We wanted the day focused on our small family rather than trying to entertain guests.

THE LOCATION

We live in Colorado and wanted a setting that represented the beauty of Colorado. Sprague Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park had the mountain views we wanted. The National Park Service was very helpful and easy to work with. They were able to recommend times and dates and we highly recommend a National Park as a venue option.

The Photographer

Nathan with Dreamtime Images was an outstanding photographer. He knew the area very well and helped recommend best day of the week/time of day to avoid the spring showers and crowds. We are extremely glad we were able to book him and highly recommend him. We look back at our pictures and are able to remember a wonderful day as it happened.

LOOKING BACK

We are glad we did the wedding we wanted instead of trying to meet other people’s expectations. We thoroughly enjoyed the process of planning since we focused on what fit our personalities and what we wanted. It will be different for every couple, but we do think it is important to see your wedding as a celebration of your marriage and an enjoyable beginning rather than an event focused on guests.

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A Fall Mountain Wedding with Black & Gold Accents

From the bride, Monica: Our wedding was more on the nontraditional side. My wedding dress was black, which is what I had always wanted. I love the fall and the mountains so I wanted our wedding to have both. We also wanted our family to experience the beautiful Rocky Mountains.

The Bouquets

My parents are antique dealers, so my mom found brooches at estate sales and my dad made them all into bouquets.

The Ring

My ring is a black diamond set in a halo of white diamonds, just perfect!

The Ceremony

We tied the knot in Estes Park surrounded by the Rocky Mountains and the fall colors.

Advice

Don’t let anyone influence your decisions with planning. Plan your day how you want it!

The Reception

The dancing was so much fun. It was important to us that our wedding had a laid back feel so that our guests could enjoy themselves and it felt like we really captured that.

THE WEDDING TEAM

Photographer: Erika Overholt Photography | Cake: The Dessert Stand | Venue, Caterer, Lodging: Marys Lake Lodge | DJ: The Music Man DJ Service | Wedding Gown Designer: Venus Bridal  | Wedding Rings: Jay Feder Jewelers | Hair & Makeup: Hair by Gabrielle |  Flowers: Ironwood Floral and Greenhouse | Honeymoon Location: Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

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A Snowy Winter Elopement in Rocky Mountain National Park

From the photographer, Dreamtime Images:  Brittany and Ben showed up in Estes Park for their elopement at Della Terra Mountain Chateau and were greeted with a beautiful winter wonderland. The town was digging out from beneath one of the most intense spring storms. After a brief ceremony, Brittany and Ben cut a wedding cake, drank some hot chocolate, and the three of us ventured into Rocky Mountain National Park for a snowy but beautiful couples portrait session.

 

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A Winter Wedding in the Rocky Mountains

From the Groom, TJ:
We chose Estes Park because we knew we wanted our wedding in the mountains. The area is home to Rocky Mountain National Park; the entrance was 1/4 mile from the venue. Everything in the natural environment of the Park was continued in our venue (natural landscape, massive rock faces, 200 year old pines, lots and lots of snow and bluebird days). Naturally, we fell in love with it.
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As Sally was walking down the aisle, she was ready to cry. I could see that, and knew that my duty as the groom was to say the perfect thing to her. Unfortunately, I had no idea what that was, so I just told her, “Hold it together.” Luckily for me, it worked, she had no second thoughts and I got to make her my bride a few minutes later.  Wihera-404

We got married on one of the coldest days of the year, so it was very much an indoor affair. The ceremony presided over by an Air Force chaplain.  We used parts of the lyrics to Neil Young’s “Down by the River” in our vows because (a) Neil Young is awesome and (b) “Be on my side, I’ll be on your side” and  “Take My Hand, I’ll take yours” are actions of love and commitment. The song also includes the lyrics “Down by the River/ I shot my baby,” so we had to be a little selective about which parts to use. 

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Our décor was earthy. We used flagstones with wine bottles, aspen branches, and some glass icicles on the centerpieces.

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We used a cake topper that is 3rd generation. It was on my grandparents’ wedding cake, my parents, and now mine.

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Looking Back: Starting with a big decision by picking the venue first was the most helpful to our planning. Once we had a room in which we could picture getting married, we were able to build every other decision around that. Also, working with the look of the room helped us eliminate a lot of different ideas and options that were appealing, but just wouldn’t fit. We kind of shot from the hip in terms of a budget. I would recommend doing a little research beforehand, setting a reasonable budget for your means and what you want, then sticking to it.

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TJ & Sally’s
RECOMMENDED VENDORS

Venue: Della Terra Mountain Chateau.  Unforgettable location, and the amenities of staying there are really incredible. It was also nice to have the place to ourselves and to know that the venue specializes in weddings. That meant that they helped us avoid some common pitfalls and had a number of tools (like tableware and linens) that we didn’t have to seek out from another spot.

Photographer: Stacey M PhotographyStacey took incredible photos and she was quick on her turn-around so we could see them. Couldn’t have asked for more from her.

Band/Musicians: Trout Steak Revival. They rocked our socks off! And learned a couple songs just for us.

Cake: Sweet Daphne ConfectionsAmazing cupcakes and variety.

Honeymoon Location: We hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru. We booked through Inca Trail Reservations and found them to be very easy to work with.

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Rocky Mountain National Park Elopement

Shannon and David have been together for 8 years and engaged for almost two. They’ve been super busy and have not had the time to plan a big wedding. They finally decided their best bet, if it was ever going to happen, was to elope. They are OBSESSED with the National Parks so Rocky Mountain National Park was the perfect location for their destination elopement!  They chose the perfect photographers, Jason + Gina Wedding Photographers to capture their intimate day!

Elope to Colorado

Plan a Colorado elopement

Plan a Colorado wedding, elopement

Plan a Colorado wedding, elopement

Colorado Weddings Magazine - Online Magazine + Blog

Colorado Weddings Magazine - Online Magazine + Blog

Colorado Weddings Magazine - Online Magazine + Blog

Colorado Weddings Magazine - Online Magazine + Blog

Colorado's digital Wedding Magazine, Blog & Vendor Resource Directory

Colorado's digital Wedding Magazine, Blog & Vendor Resource Directory

Colorado's digital Wedding Magazine, Blog & Vendor Resource Directory

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From the Magazine: I Love You to the Moon and Back

Premiere Issue

From the Magazine: pages – 25-29

Another romantic wedding held at the fabulous Della Terra Mountain Chateau, a Luxe Collection partner.  The couple chose to have their rings inscribed for one another and decided to keep it a surprise until after the ceremony. When they finally had a chance to remove their rings and read what the other had inscribed, they realized they had chose the exact same wording,  I Love to the Moon and Back.  All the romantic images and pretty details were photographed by Andrew & Jessica Photographers.  This wedding is a must-read!

 Oder the Magazine HERE!

Luxe Mountain Weddings Magazine