Destination
Cades Cove Church Wedding in Tennessee
From the photographer, JoPhoto… Bella and Brady traveled from West Virginia to the Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to get married in the historic white Missionary Baptist Church.
THE CEREMONY
Moments before their wedding began, the sky opened up and it poured rain for a solid hour. Thankfully, the church is indoors and everyone kept dry.
POST CEREMONY
After their ceremony, we walked outside the church and saw a mother black bear with her two cubs casually walking through the forest.
The mountains were covered in low lying fog lovingly referred to as the “smoke” of the Great Smoky Mountains.
The butterflies fluttered around in celebration of these two souls becoming one.
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 Beautiful Wedding in the Canadian Rockies
Philomena & Lesley | Banff, AB, Canada
From the couple: We are both in love with the Canadian Rockies and spend as much time as we can visiting them. Natural and grandeur; it is the feeling all humans experience when they fall in love. We wanted the free and majestic beauty of it captured at our intimate ceremony and reception.
THE RINGS
Unlike the showy engagement rings, we both knew the wedding bands would be the timeless keepsakes that would be worn more often than not. We splurged on a matching set. The flowery bands aren’t a typical choice for most brides, but for us they are perfect.
THE WEDDING DAY
The night before the wedding both Canmore and Banff were enveloped in the thickest wildfire smoke we’d ever seen. The further we drove from Calgary, the thicker the smoke got, our hearts sank. By the time we arrived in the mountains, you wouldn’t even know it as you couldn’t see the mountains with all the smoke. We ate breakfast on the patio on our wedding day, and from there the view hadn’t gotten any better. We were at peace with it. There was nothing anyone could do and being sad about it would just make it worse. Then what seemed to be a miracle happened on our drive up to Two Jack Lake. As the limo passed Lake Minnewanka, we realized you could see the beautiful view complete with a bright blue sky.
THE CAKE
We questioned if anyone would really eat the cake at all after a full buffet and cheesecake. Turns out it was delicious and there wasn’t anything left of the 100-serving cake (except for the top tier that’s still sitting in the freezer for our anniversary).
THE WEDDING TEAM
Photographer: Kim Payant Photography // Ceremony location: Two Jack Lake, Banff National Park // Hair & Makeup: Lilies & Lace // Reception Venue: Cornerstone Theatre
View more Canada Weddings
A Modern Mountain Wedding at Lake Louise
Cara and Keith’s wedding at the Chateau Lake Louise was a chance to celebrate their New York City love story with the bride’s massive Albertan family and introduce the beautiful Rockies to the couple’s urban guests that had flown in mostly from NY, SF, London, and Hong Kong for the occasion. The couple wanted to create a warm and celebratory atmosphere that would both complement the beautifully lush mountain setting and reflect the understated modern elegance of the newly updated Victoria Ballroom where the reception was held. For the waterfront ceremony on Victoria Terrace, they let nature take center stage, enhancing the blue of the lake and skies with pops of blue in the fuschia, pink and peach bouquets.
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For the reception, they were determined to have long feasting tables –the longer the better, to create a sense of togetherness and facilitate conversation amongst old friends and new. Lush grey-green garlands of Eucalyptus ran down the center of the tables, bringing the natural theme indoors and providing a muted backdrop to the roses that seemed to bloom from the garlands. The low florals ensured that revelers could see and hear each other clearly, and the ivory pillar candles dotting the length of the tables ensured everybody was cast in a romantic, flattering glow. The silvery napkins provided a modern contrast to the light gold linens. Rose gold sequined linens added a touch of glamour to the head table. The couple infused personal touches throughout, from handmade magnetic gold animal place-card holders to reflect their joint love of wildlife, to tables named after the 9 separate cities that they lived in until they met, to a dessert table laden with the couple’s favourite treats –mini cupcakes in creative flavor combinations, a towering croquembouche dusted in icing sugar like snow on a mountain top, macarons in rose, mango, and green tea, lemon meringue tartlets, and mini smore cookie sandwiches to tie back to the welcome bonfire-and-smore reception held the night before on the shores of the lake.
THE WEDDING TEAM
Photographer: Infused Studios // Event Planner: Evelyn Clark Weddings // Flowers: Flower Artistry // Venue: The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise // Rentals: Special Event Rentals // Desserts (except croquembouche): Kake by Darci // DJ: Pez Productions // Hair: Hammerheadz Salon
See more: Canada weddings | Lake Louise weddings
A Winter Wedding in Keystone
Nichele & Ben | Keystone, Colorado
From the bride: We fell in love snowboarding together a few years back. When Ben asked me to marry him, he mentioned having a destination wedding in Colorado, I thought he was crazy but I was on board in no time!
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT
The first look! I wouldn’t have done it any other way. Seeing my husband see me for the first time was so very special!
THE CEREMONY
We had the perfect mountaintop ceremony. It was a fairytale dream come true.
THE WEDDING TEAM
Photographer: Sarah Roshan | Event Planner: Distinct Mountain Events | Floral Design: Lady Bird Poppy | Officiant: Phil Gallagher | Venue: Keystone Resort
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A Mountain Destination Wedding in Telluride
From the Magazine: Anne & Derek
Derek and I both live and work a considerable distance from many of our friends and family and extended relatives. We were concerned with “playing favorites” and decided to go with a neutral location that was secluded enough to be considered a real vacation. Telluride was the perfect mix of an exciting adventure and relaxing destination vacation in a place that is truly a piece of heaven on earth…
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The Wedding Team
Photographer: Illuminarts | Event Planner: by Sutton | Flowers: 3 Leaf Floral | Ceremony Site: San Sophia Overlook | Reception Site & Caterer: The Peaks Resort and Spa | Cake: The Golden Crumb | Wedding Gown Designer: Pronovias Barcelona | Groom’s Attire: Calvin Klein | Hair & Makeup: Leilani Drum Makeup Artistry
View more: Telluride Weddings | Colorado Weddings
An Adventure Wedding in Colorado Springs
From the Magazine: Andrea & Jeff | July 1st
Tina Joiner Photography captured this fun wedding day that began with an early morning ceremony at Garden of the Gods, followed by a train ride up to Pikes Peak, and a reception in an elementary school turned brewery. Read the couple’s story below:
The Wedding Team
Photographer: Tina Joiner Photography {portfolio}
Ceremony Site: Garden of the Gods
Reception Site: Ivywild School
Cake: Little London Cake Shoppe
A Magical Colorado Ranch Wedding
Kate & Justin | June 11th
From the bride: We met in 6th grade and started dating our senior year in high school. Justin proposed on Christmas Eve, in the presence of both of their families. Our families are incredibly important to both of us, and we wanted them with us during this really special moment. We knew we wanted to be married outside in a mountain setting with a rustic elegance style with classic details. We chose a color palette of blush pink, navy blue, ivory and white.
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THE GUEST BOOK
We wanted to do something special and personal for our guest book. My mom and I picked out fabric squares and put together a combination of patterns. We grabbed a fabric safe pen and asked our guests to sign on the squares. We are making a quilt out of the signed squares so we can always feel wrapped up in love and support of our favorite people looking back on our wedding day.
THE WEDDING TEAM
Photographer: David Lynn Photography
Event Planner & Design: JA Special Events
Floral Designer: Statice Floral
Rentals: Lights from Elite
Officiant: Rocky Mountain Celebrations
Musicians: The Sandra Wong Musicians
DJ: Standing Room Only
Venue, Caterer & Cake: Devil’s Thumb Ranch
Videographer: Larisa Graham Films
Wedding Gown & Bridesmaid Dresses: Monique Lhuillier from Anna Be
Groom’s Attire: Al’s Formal Wear