Posts Tagged ‘Frances Photography’
A Mountain Destination Wedding in Colorado
From the bride, Sani: Having grown up in California, all our family and most of our friends were traveling out of state to celebrate. That was something really special for us. We have been in Colorado for about 5 years and when we were invited to a wedding at Devil’s Thumb Ranch three years ago we instantly fell in love with the venue and knew it was where we would say our I do’s. Over the last several years, we’ve stayed at the Ranch on and off, taken our family and friends, and got to know the area very well. On the actual day of the event, because we had been there for several days, we were both pretty relaxed. Our bridesmaids and groomsmen were carefully chosen and represented different snippets of our lives. Our families were also integral to how happy we both were. Everyone’s love and encouragement not only that weekend, but through our entire relationship, has been so overwhelming, so we were very fortunate to have all of our close friends and family celebrating with us. We really want to take this opportunity to thank everyone again for traveling such long distances to be with us and help us start our journey as a married, happy couple. Every single person there, including all the incredible vendors, made this the best party we’ve ever been to. This REALLY was the best day of our lives.
THE VENDOR TEAM
Photographer: Frances Photography | Event Planner: Stellar Events | Venue, Catering & Lodging: Devil’s Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa | Floral Designer: The Perfect Petal | DJ: DJ RipM | Hair Stylist: Erin Ferris Designs
A Destination Wedding in Bachelor Gulch
From the bride, Lindsay: We choose to get married in Colorado because we wanted to share one our favorite places with our friends and family. We love the mountains and outdoor adventures. Bachelor Gulch created a rustic, elegant, atmosphere that made both spending time outdoors and dressing up for the occasion natural.
Charlie and I exchanged letters prior to first look. It was a great way to reflect on all the excitement and remember the importance of the day. The first look was one of the most unforgettable parts of the day. We ventured to Anderson’s cabin to see each other for the first time in a secluded outdoor setting. It was amazing to see Charlie and take in our wedding day. We played in the Aspen groves and erased our nerves in a place we felt comfortable.
On the day of the wedding we hiked in the morning, and then began getting ready for the festivities. The girls dined in for lunch while doing hair and makeup (Posh Salon) and the men entertained themselves with Colorado whiskey.
The ceremony was held overlooking the valley. We had family and friends participate by singing, and reading. And instead of a unity candle, we opted for our own personal flavor, a unity cairn. Building a cairn together meant to us that, together we could always find our way.
The reception was filled with trees rented from a local nursery to create an intimate atmosphere. Flicking candles hung from Manzanita centerpieces were reminiscent of fireflies. Orange flowers provided a pop of color to liven everything up.
To kick off the night Charlie and I had secretly taken dancing lessons (T&M Ballroom Dance Studio) and surprised everyone with a choreographed dance to “I can’t take my eyes off of you”. It was certainly an enchanted evening and everyone partied to the very end.
It was a lively night for sure. The band Soul X was phenomenal. One person said he had never seen more people dancing before.
THE VENDORS
Photographer: Frances Photography // Event Planner: Gemini Event Planning // Venue: Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch // Floral Designer: Vintage Magnolia // Dress Designer: Vwidon
A Destination Wedding in Vail, Colorado
From the bride, Alyson:
We wanted to go somewhere out-of-town enough that people would come and really relax and be present, but close enough that it was affordable for people to travel to. I grew up going to the Sonnenalp Hotel of Vail so it was the perfect fit.
We had a Catholic Ceremony at the Vail Interfaith Chapel. My two 4 year-old nieces preceded me pulling a wooden wagon carrying my 1 year old niece (all in matching white flower girl dresses). The wagon had a sign that read “Here Comes Auntie Al” on it.
The cake topper was specially made for my grandparents wedding ceremony shortly before my grandfather went overseas with the Navy to fight in World War II.
Rather than having a large wedding cake, we had eighteen small cakes, one for each table.
Centerpieces included 3 pottery barn gold jeweled bark candles set on square glass mirrors with bright pink rose petals and diamond shaped jewels. Chairs were covered with crème chair covers and had thick gold laced burlap tied around them. The restaurant at the Sonnenalp, Ludwigs, is naturally decorated with a mix of mountain and German décor and didn’t need much to make it special.
My advice: Don’t stress, make it YOUR own – it’s your day, not your family’s or friends’. Soak it up! It goes by in a flash. No one remembers small flaws, but EVERYONE remembers a stressed out bride!! 
Alyson & Jason’s
RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Photographer: Frances Photography. We were stunned at how much we loved our photos. Frances and her staff were a joy to work with.
Ceremony Site: Vail Interfaith Chapel. A picturesque chapel and one of your only choices for a Catholic wedding in Vail (Catholic religion requires it be in a church). Unfortunately, a bit expensive.
Reception Site, Caterer, Cake, Lodging: The Sonnenalp Hotel of Vail. One of the most uniquely beautiful hotels in the gorgeous town of Vail. Exceptionally accommodating and memorable.
Flowers: Sweet Pea Designs. Friendly, fairly priced, gorgeous flowers.
Band: Dressed in Black. Wonderfully talented, great event emcee who plays great music.
Wedding Gown Designer: Pronovias Manuel Moto, style: Edecan. I ordered directly from Pronovias HQ in Spain (no samples were made of the dress … purchased it before I could even try it on, YIKES!)
Honeymoon Location: Belize!!
Rocky Mountain Chic
Megan & Darren | August 4th | Beaver Creek, Colorado
From the bride, Megan: I’ve grown up my whole life spending Christmas in Colorado with my family and extended family. All the memories make Beaver Creek/Vail near and dear to my heart and we felt so incredibly fortunate to be able to share this amazing place with our family/friends. Additionally, having most of my guests from the Midwest and almost all of Darren’s side from Southern California, Colorado provided the perfect meet-in-the-middle!
The Vail Chapel was the perfect intimate setting. Despite a “runaway flower girl”, the ceremony couldn’t have been more perfect! The chapel was packed with so much love from our family and friends.
My favorite part of the wedding was unexpected…it was the overwhelming feeling I got having so many special people together in such a special place. I had no idea how many of our guests who had never been to BC/Vail would fall in love with it just the way we had and have already made trips back!
When we transitioned into the reception, it gave us every bit of the warm, natural, mountain-feel for which we hoped. From the wrought iron chandeliers to the stone detail on the walls, the Colorado ambiance was abundant.
One big request we had was to provide the largest dance floor they could fit…and it was packed the whole night!
Our gift to our guests was a cookbook…my sister-in-law had collected all our 300 guests favorite recipes leading up to the wedding under the guise that she was creating a cookbook as a gift to the bride and groom. Much to their surprise, the cookbook was for all the guests and included everyone’s favorites! This was a way to include everyone and remind everyone of the wedding for years to come!
Our cake was rainbow chip with cream cheese filling and butter cream frosting served with Graeter’s Ice Cream…amazing!!
My advice: Timelines and checklists! Stress is inevitable with wedding planning, at some point along the way it will happen, but being organized makes it so much easier! And…write thank you notes as you go!! I also wish we would have stayed an extra day to enjoy our guests a little bit longer before heading off to our honeymoon!
THE WEDDING TEAM
Photographer: Frances Photography. We LOVED Frances!!! She was outstanding!!!
Reception: Park Hyatt, Beaver Creek. Peach Duty was phenomenal!! The Hyatt chef was an absolute pleasure to work.
Florist: Rose Petals. Rose created the most beautiful arrangements…it was like she read my mind!
Band: Wayne Foster Band. They were amazing, kept everyone moving from start to finish!!
Videographer: Creative Mountain Images // Wedding Gown Designer: Monique Lhuillier // Bridesmaid Dresses: J. Crew // Men’s Wear: Vera Wang // Honeymoon Location: Tahiti – Le Taha’a (incredible!!)
Winter at The Ritz
Carrie & Kirk | February 11th | Denver, Colorado
From the bride:
Our wedding was so much fun. We had just relocated to Colorado from California, so the majority of our friends and family flew in for the weekend, making it a “Destination” wedding for most. 
My goal was to create the feel of a beautiful winter wedding, incorporating both classic and modern elements. Our colors were black, white and silver with a “kiss” of red. 
On the day of our wedding, we had an early ceremony so that we could get outside and take some pictures before the sun set. The weather was amazing. It was in the high 50’s during the day, allowing us some beautiful outside shots. In the evening, there was a short rain shower, which is unheard of in February in Colorado… and is also supposed to be a sign of good luck for the marriage.
The wedding itself went off seamlessly. The Ritz-Carlton could not have done more to make our day special. They took care of every last detail, which allowed me to thoroughly enjoy the day getting ready with my bridesmaids and celebrating with my new husband and family.
Favorite Details: Instead of a menu card, we included the words to our first dance song on each plate, as the words held special meaning to us and we weren’t sure that everyone would be familiar with it (Led Zeppelin’s, “Thank You”). We wanted to send everyone home with a bit of Colorado, so our thank you gifts were carmel apples from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.
The lighting added a special touch to the day, using both candles and custom lighting features such as the wall projection with our names (which changed from my maiden name to married name as soon as we said “I do”).
RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Photographer: Frances Photography // Venue & Caterer: The Ritz-Carlton Denver // Flowers: The Perfect Petal // DJ: A Music Plus
Simply Quaint in Colorado
Katherine & Kevin | July 17th | Colorado Springs, Colorado
From the photographer, Frances Photography:
Not only was this wedding intimate, quaint, beautiful and emotional, but it was also light, fun and incredibly celebratory! From the raspberry pink and light yellow colors of the wedding party, to the beautifully crafted wooden fans, this wedding was picture perfect and represented the couple to a tee. The entire day was packed with smiles and laughter and scrapbooks filled with photographs recording every year of Katherine & Kevin’s relationship. The way these two looked at each other throughout the night truly tugged at my heart!
From the Magazine: Passion at Pikes Peak
From the Magazine: Passion at Pikes Peak
This lovely Colorado wedding has a sunny yellow and charcoal grey color palette. Lots of creative touches captured by Frances Photography were weaved throughout the entire event. You’ll love viewing this 6-page spread in the magazine!
Order the Premiere Issue HERE!
