I met Ellen and Zach and their dog, Sammie, in Wash Park to celebrate their engagement. They love to go to the south corner of the park and watch the sunset over the mountains.
Ellen shares, “Sammie is our 13-year-old border collie, she is a sweet girl and still has a lot of energy! She is the center of our universe and knows it!
Zach and I were introduced by friends. He played (and still plays) in a band with the boyfriend, now husband, of one of my closest friends. We met at the Meadowlark in 2015 and have been together ever since!
We got engaged in Minnesota in July of last year while vacationing with my family on Lake Vermillion. Zach knew he wanted to propose on a canoe ride and had a specific day and time in mind. It ended up being quite windy, but Zach insisted we still go out on the water. We had a lovely paddle with the wind on the lake and Zach asked me to marry him while we stopped to float on the open water. I said yes and we enjoyed time on the lake just the two of us.
When it was time for us to head back to our cabin, we had to paddle directly against the wind. The wind was so strong that Zach ended up having to get out of the canoe in his clothes and push the canoe home! When we finally returned, my family was surprised to see Zach was soaked and we were exhausted. We celebrated with everyone and had a good laugh! It was perfect.”
Congratulations on your engagement, Ellen and Zach!
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Suzie and Brandon were married at Brittany Hill on a beautiful summer day.
Suzie shares, “At the time Brandon had begun thinking about proposing, I was working for a company that provided vaccines and testing for the state of Colorado. I was working 80-hour weeks and ruining every grand proposal plan Brandon came up with. Brandon says that on the morning he proposed, he just realized he couldn’t live without me and didn’t want to wait any longer for that “perfect moment.”
He got down on one knee by my bedside early in the morning. I had barely woken up. My hair was a mess. I still had morning breath. Not even coffee in hand yet! Note to everyone: I am not a morning person. My first response went something along the lines of “Are you serious right now?” Brandon gave a nervous chuckle and pressed on for an answer. I knew at that moment how much he loved me to face the wrath of waking me early for a question he was dying to know the answer. I said yes, and the rest is history.”
The bride’s family created a beautiful display to share with their guests at they entered the venue. The Sofreh Ahgd is a Persian wedding tradition that includes many symbols of happiness for the couple, including fruit for a joyous future, candles for energy and clarity, and honey for the sweetness of the union.
Suzie and Brandon shared their first dance to Lucky by Jason Mraz.
Kate and Justin started off their wedding day with a first look at Red Rocks and then they did something really unique–they shared their vows. This private exchange of vows made for an emotional and calming start to the day. They were able to be in the moment and laugh and cry, without the nerves of being in front of so many people.
After they shared their vows, we spent some time taking portraits all around the beautiful rock formations.
The ceremony took place at the Coyote Crossing Pavilion in Bear Creek Lake Park.
Kate shares, “For our day, we wanted it to be a simple summer picnic with warm weather, good food, fun music, and even better company, and that is exactly what we got. It was a wonderful, beautiful day!
There were many things we were worried about, but everything fell into place because of our hard work planning and the incredible effort from our loved ones. We cannot thank our family and friends enough who helped set up, clean up, and fully enjoy the day with us. They were an integral part of the day going smoothly and our hearts are completely overflowing with gratitude. We feel so lucky and so loved and it’s a feeling that is very hard to describe in full.
With a pure outdoor wedding, weather, especially the heat, was a concern, but we hoped for the best and planned for the worst. In the end, it was perfect with cycles of clouds and sun, just a hint of rain to cool us down, and one of the most gorgeous baby blue evenings we’ve ever seen. One of the epic moments of the day was our first look where, right as we saw each other, the sky let just a few big raindrops fall. It lasted for literally 10 seconds and it felt like our family and friends from above were there crying tears of joy with us. We will never forget that.
The ceremony was surprisingly one of the most fun parts of the day. We thought it was going to be a nervous performance and something to just get through but it was actually fun! The first look and sharing our vows in private beforehand really helped get the nerves out so I highly recommend that to everyone. Our best friend (who has a theater degree and a great sense of humor) married us and totally nailed the ceremony. It was so personalized, everyone was laughing and crying, and I remember thinking to myself, “I cannot physically smile any bigger.” It was a perfect representation of us, our love, and our happiness, and was just an incredible experience.
And, my goodness, the reception after! Justin had an awesome surprise guitar performance with the band playing Lenny by Stevie Ray Vaughan and, one of my favorites, Slow Dancing in a Burning Room by John Mayer that blew everyone away. If you get a chance, try to have dinner alone with your new spouse. We took 15 minutes away from the crowd to eat dinner together in private and it was one of the best decisions we made for the day. We were able to take a breath and absorb the day for just a moment. We will always remember the view of the mountains in the evening light, the feeling of the warm air, the taste of our yummy dinner, the sound of our guests chatting, music playing, and cars from Bandimere racing. At one point we just looked at each other and said, “Holy crap, this is amazing.”
In the end, the day was filled with details that built up a beautiful symbol of our relationship. From the memorable first look at Red Rocks, the laughter-filled ceremony, Justin’s awesome guitar performance, the tasty food, and the incredible people, it was just a wonderful, beautiful day!”
Congratulations Kate and Justin!
Special thanks to the team: Venue: Coyote Crossing Pavilion at Bear Creek Lake Park Catering: McDevitt Taco Supply Cupcakes: The Dessert Stand Band: The Blue Ribbon Band Florist: Sola Wood Flowers Rings: Etsy, Ashlyn at FYM Jewelry Design, Tungsten Rings Studio Bride’s Dress: Brilliant Bridal, Denver Bride’s Shoes: Converse Weekend Getaway: Juniper Mountain House in Evergreen Photography: Jessica Schmitt Photography Note from the bride: Every vendor was professional and welcoming from the beginning. Good vendors are so important for the day to be successful and we HIGHLY recommend all of these folks (especially Jess 🙂 ). They were fantastic.
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Sarah and Zach were married on a beautiful summer day at the Cherokee Ranch and Castle in Colorado. The day began with Sarah and her bridesmaids at a nearby hotel.
The couple shared a first look on the castle’s terrace facing the expansive mountain views.
Sarah shares, “Everything went fairly smoothly the morning of the wedding which was a relief. We were thrilled to get some light rain to clear up the smoke and smog that hung over Denver most of the week. This allowed our guests to enjoy the spectacular views that ranged from Pikes Peak up to the Flatirons in Boulder. We loved our venue because it is a beautiful property both inside and out. The Cherokee Ranch and Castle also has an amazing art collection that reminded us of one of our first dates where we bonded over the art history classes we had taken. We really wanted to showcase the full property by having the wedding in the courtyard, tours through the house during the cocktail hour, and then the reception in the tent where the pool once was.
We were so lucky to have our wedding surrounded by all our friends and family. With COVID, we knew we might change plans so the fact that most of our guests were able to attend and celebrate with us was a blessing. Some special moments were hummingbirds flying by the chuppah at the start of the ceremony, the mother/son and father/daughter dances, and when I dropped the cake during the cake cutting. We loved ending the night dancing and singing along to Don’t Stop Believing.”
Sarah and Zach picked the song Sound and Color by Alabama Shakes for their first dance. Sarah and her dad danced to What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong and Zach and his mom danced to an acoustic version of Simple Man.
Whitney and Dillon planned an intimate, relaxed day to share with their closest friends. The day began at their air B&B in Brighton with games and drinks and lots of laughs and then they took a limo into the city to have dinner at the Four Seasons and share vows and toasts.
Whitney shares, “Since my family is from California and his family is from Wisconsin, Colorado was the perfect distance between. By the time we finally got around to actually setting a wedding date, we had already been together for nearly ten years. We had owned a business, bought a home, and had two children together. We had always talked about how we didn’t want to spend thousands of dollars and cram our celebration into just one day. So, we decided to rent a home large enough to house our wedding party and be able to celebrate for an entire week!
We planned to spend our ten-year anniversary together in the Rocky Mountains, where we had our own private photo shoot with Jess (check out the Bear Lake photo session here). Then we met everyone the following day to enjoy our week. Since it wasn’t your typical wedding with an extensive guest list, we were able to rent a private room at at the Four Seasons, Edge Restaurant, in Denver. The day was spent casually getting ready, with lots of mimosas and laughter. There was no schedule to adhere to, no rushing around gathering guests or décor. We were able to simply enjoy our time with our closest friends and family. We had a private limo drive us to dinner and had an incredible time having our photos taken at Union Station in Denver.”
Union Station was so close to the Four Seasons that it made a perfect stop, before dinner, for some photos.
The dinner began with special vows, drinks and toasts. The menu was exceptional including Wagyu Beef, Palisade Peach Gazpacho and Filet Mignon.
Cheers to you, Whitney and Dillon!
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