Posts Tagged ‘Flying Dog Ranch’
A Garden Wedding at Flying Dog Ranch
From the bride, Laura: It was a beautiful September day in the Roaring Fork Valley without a cloud in the sky and a comfortable 70 degrees. The garden at Flying Dog Ranch was perfectly manicured with an array of natural colors and flowers. Guests enjoyed cocktails and a breathtaking view of Mt. Sopris and the valley while they waited for the ceremony to begin.
The wedding party walked into “Good Day Sunshine” by the Beatles and I walked in with “Her Comes the Sun” by the Beatles (pretty appropriate for the day). The ceremony was held around the pond and was only about 8 minutes long.
We loved the views he view of the roaring fork valley!
We had lawn games setup around the garden for everyone to enjoy including a game called “Kan Jam” which incorporated throwing a frisbee which is how we met, playing ultimate frisbee.
We did our own photo booth. I bought a polaroid camera, props, and let people go nuts in our DIY photo booth. Everyone loved it. The photos along with a mini tree photo holder were their party gifts.
Looking back, I wish I would have made sure to take a photo with every guest.
ADVICE: Don’t stress too much it will all work out in the end.
The Wedding Team
Venue: Flying Dog Ranch. Lydia was calm and very professional, and she kept things smooth throughout the whole planning process and wedding day!
Photographer: Cat Mayer Studio // Caterer: European Caterers // Floral Design: Diz’s Daisys
Garden Chic at Flying Dog Ranch
From the couple: We visited all the popular venues in the Aspen area, but started feeling a little discouraged because nothing really matched our vision until we visited Flying Dog Ranch. As soon as we walked onto the property, it was love at first site. Lydia gave us a tour and we kept looking at each other thinking, this is going to be way outside our budget. We were shocked to hear it was half the cost of the other venues we had seen, and we committed on the spot to having the wedding there!
Read the entire wedding day story HERE!
RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Venue: Flying Dog Ranch // Photographer: Jason + Gina Wedding Photographers // Caterer: Pan and Fork // Cake: d’Elissious Cake Studio // Flowers: Carolyn’s Flowers // Wedding Gown Designer: Pronovias
Love & Laughter at Flying Dog Ranch
From the bride, Kearstin: The vision for our wedding began with my shoes. That may be unusual for some, but being a fan of fabulous footwear, I knew I found our colors when I locked eyes on a pair of tangerine and fuchsia peep toe heels. Both colors are bright, bold, and scream “Happy!”
Like many, we viewed our wedding as a great cause for celebration. Fun, playful, welcoming, and full of details reflecting our personalities were the feelings we wanted to evoke in our guests. Speaking of guests, aside from our dear friend Anne, who served as our officiant, we consciously chose not to have a wedding party. We felt that all our guests (friends & family) were there to support us and filled that role.
My grandmother’s favorite brooch was placed at the base of my wedding bouquet. 
Having planned and designed many friends’ weddings, ranging from flowers, decorations, coordinating with vendors, and even baking a cake, it was exciting to now be able to create our wedding. I enjoy coming up with creative ways to use or re-purpose things. This began with our handmade invitations, which were playful in their wording and interactive.
Guests were greeted by our hand crafted lemonade stand, complete with a tasseled awning and a few engagement photos strung along brake cable from a bike.
Mason jars with hand etched stripes, ribbon, and a bike charm awaited guests to enjoy drinks pre and post ceremony; not to mention serving as a fun take home gift.
Bike cogs served as our napkin ring holders. They were the perfect size and spoke (pun intended) to our love of bikes. The cogs were a big hit; we were pleasantly surprised to find that most guests took them home.
Being lovers of food, especially dessert, we offered our guests a dessert buffet comprised of our favorite sweet treats: fruit pies from Wisconsin, smiley face cookies from my hometown bakery, a three tiered Rice Krispie treat cake, creamsicles, a variety of candies like orange sherbert Jelly Bellys, Twizzlers, cotton candy, M & M’s in an antique gumball machine in our wedding colors served in and on antique glassware. And last, were the chocolate salted caramel cupcakes served up on a three tier bicycle wheel cupcake stand.
I can’t help but smile when I reflect on our wedding day. It was amazing to see and feel so much love and laughter from those near and dear to our hearts.
My advice: Don’t sweat the small stuff and go with the flow; guests tend not to notice and are unaware of unfinished details. Unexpected events, like an umbrella catapulting into the pond at our ceremony site, only add to the conversation of the day; no one was hurt. At the end of the day it is about the union of two people who love each other, so have fun, and don’t forget to eat!
RECOMMENDED VENDORS
FLYING DOG RANCH . We wanted a venue that not only felt intimate but showcased the beautiful Roaring Fork valley. Flying Dog Ranch allowed us the perfect setting.
Photographer: David Gillette Photography // Catering: Pan and Fork Supper Club
A Mountain Romance at Flying Dog Ranch
From the bride, Tara: For Levi and I, the mountains are a huge part of who we are. The Colorado Rockies are alluring, beautiful, a wonderful background for any wedding…and don’t expect to ever leave if you come!
We chose The Flying Dog Ranch because it reminded me of a lot of gardens back in New England where I grew up while still including the pastoral and mountain views of the Rockies. It was a great blend of both of us.
It had been pouring rain all day and let up for about 15 minutes, just enough time to say our vows. Our families were able to watch from the banks of the garden and then sneak back to the barn to stay out of the rain.
We had a very quick, contemporary ceremony with vows that encompassed our relationship and our values as a couple.
We had our guests sign an Ansel Adams book of photographs and now have it on our coffee table.
We made our escort cards with antique newspaper bags.
I painted the table numbers on chalkboards with crackle paint. Our centerpieces were pitchers filled with dahlias, sunflowers, gerbera daisies, delphinium and local grasses.
Our cake (carrot) was decorated like an aspen tree adorned with fresh flowers and a bird’s nest topper. Our favors were flavored honey sticks with vintage tags saying “pour vous”. 
RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Venue: The Flying Dog Ranch // Photographer: Chris Humphreys // Musicians: Velvet Rut // Party Rentals: Alpine Party Rentals