Posts Tagged ‘Rocky Mountains’
A Rocky Mountain Destination Wedding in Vail
From the bride, Jennifer: We wanted the wedding to feel upscale while keeping in touch with the Colorado mountain setting. We created a mountain logo that incorporated our initials, which was used on our welcome bags, cocktail napkins, the reception dinner menu, escort cards, etc. We also customized the menu to utilize as much local food as possible to keep with the Colorado feel. We chose a color palette of white, peach and grey.
Natty Michelle Paperie created our custom hand drawn wedding maps.
We lit a unity candle during our ceremony. We enjoyed the symbolism of our two families coming together. My parents used the same candle on their wedding day, which made it even more special.
Looking out at our friends and family in the chapel. It was overwhelming and amazing all at once to feel their love and support.
My favorite detail was our signature cocktail, the “Southside.” This is our favorite drink to share in the groom’s hometown of Oyster Bay, NY and it brought a little bit of the east coast to the mountains.
A few deer joined our outdoor cocktail hour, which was an unexpected, fun moment.
My mom and I created the escort cards. They were in the shape of lift tickets with our mountain logo. We hung them from metal tags on a chic yet rustic wooden board.
Table décor included long seeded eucalyptus garlands interspersed with white florals, candles and antlers.
We named our tables named after Vail ski trails. 
I can still picture our first dance and the father/daughter dance perfectly when I hear the songs played.
My advice: Enjoy every second – it flies by! 
Jennifer’s RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Photographer: Brinton Studios // Event Planner: Kelly Karli Weddings // Floral Designer: A Secret Garden // Wedding Gown Designer: Rivini from Kleinfeld // Bridesmaid Dresses: Jenny Yoo // Hair: Jill Suarez, About Hair // Makeup Artist: Laura Anzalone, Soul Spa Studio // Band: Tunisia // Cake: Mountain Cupcakes // Guest Lodging: The Sonnenalp // Venue: The 10th
Honeymoon Location: French Polynesia
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.
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. 
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.
Our décor was earthy. We used flagstones with wine bottles, aspen branches, and some glass icicles on the centerpieces.
We used a cake topper that is 3rd generation. It was on my grandparents’ wedding cake, my parents, and now mine.
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.
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 Photography. Stacey 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 Confections. Amazing 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.