A Mountain Top Wedding

Esther and Nicky hired Something Blue Colorado for their destination wedding in Vail, Colorado. After months and months of talking  to Esther and Nicky on the phone and having Skype meetings,  it was exciting to finally meet them in person a week before their wedding.

Their wedding day was one of those beautiful sunny days in Vail, Colorado.

I met up with Esther where she was staying at The Four Seasons to drop off her flowers, and she was stunning in her white wedding dress. We then traveled up to the Gondola to head up to the top of Vail Resort for her ceremony. For those of you who do not know, a Gondola is an enclosed ski lift (not a boat, for my non ski or snowboard readers).

Since it was a destination wedding they had a small gathering of close friends and family that traveled from  Texas to be with them on their special day. Nicky was in great spirits, laughing and joking with his best man while everyone was getting ready for the ceremony to start.

They decided to have one of their closest friends be the Officiant for their wedding.

They also had two wonderful guitarists playing music for the ceremony. The live music really helped set the tone for this mountain top wedding.

When Esther start walking down the path with her father, I looked over at Nicky and noticed she brought tears of joy to his eyes.

The ceremony was a short but intimate affair with the breathtaking mountains surrounding them.

They wrote their own vows, and a few times I was worried that the paper the vows were written on were going to be blown away by the wind, but they kept a tight grip on them.

After the wedding they took some great couple pictures and then drove away in a golf cart to head to the reception.

Their wedding may be smaller but they know how to have fun.

They danced the night away with their close friends and family at the beautiful Sonnenlap Resort in the Ludwig’s Room.

With Nicky and Esther’s help we created some fabulous unique touches. Their colors were blue, yellow and chocolate to match the blue skies and natural wilderness around us. Their theme was rustic elegance with a little bit of Texas thrown in. Here are some of our favorite touches:

Flowers:
We had big yellow sunflowers with little touches of blue in them.

Menu:
Pocket fold napkins with custom menus that had sunflowers on them.

Cake:
Their favorite type of dessert was cheesecake, so they were thinking of having a cheesecake for their wedding but were torn since they wanted a traditional cake look. So, the fabulous baker at Sonnenlap made a hybrid wedding cheesecake with raspberry center. This cake literally melted in your mouth.

Center Pieces:
They went with a variety of candle lanterns with yellow petals inside them and then sunflowers scattered around them.

Guest Book:
True to their Texas roots they had their guests sign a Texas long horn as their guest book.

Wedding Planner: Something Blue Colorado
Photographer: Brosphoto Wedding Photographers http://brosphoto.com/main_page.html
Ceremony Site: Vail Wedding Deck http://www.vail.com/groups/weddings/weddings.aspx
Reception and Catering: Ludwig’s at Sonnenlap Vail Resort http://www.sonnenalpweddings.com/vail-wedding-venues.html#
Baker: Sonnenlap Vail Resort http://www.sonnenalpweddings.com/vail-wedding-venues.html#
Florist: Parker Blooms http://www.parkerblooms.com/
DJ: Tiff’s Riff http://www.tiffsriffsdj.com/tiffsriffsdj/Home.html
Ceremony Music: Masterful Musicians http://www.masterfulmusicians.com/

A Vintage Winter Wedding

Sandy and Greg’s wedding was beautiful, and not just because the venue was beautiful but because you could tell by looking at them how much in love they are.

Their wedding was held at the gorgeous Della Terra in Estes Park, CO.

It had snowed a couple days before, so when the sun came out on their wedding day it made everything sparkle.  Sandy and Greg were debating whether they wanted to still have the wedding outside or if we should move it in.  I am very happy they chose to have an outside winter wedding in the beautiful Colorado Mountains.

Sandy and Greg chose to do a first look (couples pictures before the ceremony) since it would get too cold after the ceremony to do all of the pictures they wanted.

We helped Sandy design a wedding with a vintage look while still keeping the Colorado feel in order to make sure that her guests flying in from Chicago could appreciate what Colorado has to offer.  Good thing most of the guests were used to the cold since the ceremony was outside!

We helped them find some lovely shawls rented from “Splendor for Your Guests”.   They really helped to keep the guests warm.

The colors that they ended up selecting were from the soft color pallet and included Carmel, Peach, and Ivory.

We helped them include many unique and personal touches throughout the wedding.  Here are some of my favorites:

Sandy and Greg decided to do a Lock Box Ceremony

Here is what the Officiant said:

“Both Greg and Sandy have chosen to take part in a Love Letter Ceremony to describe their feelings, their dreams for the future, and the reasons why they have chosen to marry one another here today. The letters have been sealed and neither has seen what the other has written. Along with a bottle of wine and two glasses, the letters will be locked into this special box designed specifically for this purpose.  Greg and Sandy will re-open and enjoy the contents of this box on the occasion of their 1st anniversary of marriage… sharing their letters with each other and then enjoying a little wine together.  Now.. there is only one other time that you are able to unlock and partake in the contents of this box. If at some point in the future, your relationship falters and hits a bit of a rough patch, this is what you do… Sit down as a couple and open the box! Uncork and share the bottle of wine first and then open the love letter that your partner has written for you and carefully read the contents…”

Throwing Petals at the end of the Ceremony

Escort Cards: Vintage Keys

Guestbook: Little cut out hearts where guests wrote their best wishes to the Bride and Groom. The Bride and Groom will then make a shadowbox out of the hearts.

Favors: Carmel Apples

The flowers Boulder Blooms provided were fabulous for giving that rustic, vintage feeling, especially the vases, which were made from reclaimed barn wood.

Dessert: Instead of the traditional Wedding Cake they went with yummy pies and even served it a la mode!

I really loved working with both Sandy and Greg and enjoyed helping them to make their wedding dreams come true.

Vendors:

Wedding Planner: Something Blue Colorado

Photographer: Mahal Bella Photography at www.mahalbellaphotography.com

Officiant:  Josh Ratzlaff at www.coloradoweddingofficiant.webs.com

Venue: Della Terra Mountain Chateau at http://www.dellaterramountainchateau.com/

Caterer: A Spice of Life at http://www.aspiceoflife.com/

DJ and Lighting: Top Hat Entertainment at http://www.tophatentertainmentdj.com/

Florist: Boulder Blooms at http://www.boulderblooms.com/

Bakery: Indulge Bakery at http://www.indulgebakery.com

Rentals: Vintage Rental Affairs at http://www.avintageaffairrentals.com/and Splendor for Your Guests at http://www.splendorforyourguests.com/weddings/

The bride having fun dancing the night away!