Véronique & Jake  |  August 4^th  |  Vallecito Lake, Colorado

From the bride, Veronique:
We really wanted the whole event to be laid-back and playful, representing our relationship, and to showcase the beauty of the Colorado mountains that we had both grown up in. Our goal was to be environmentally-friendly.  We vintage picnic blankets and baskets, vintage glass bottles, built the bar and all of the event signs out of old wooden pallets, and purchased recycled napkins and compostable cups.
We were so very lucky to have a family friend that allowed use to their ranch in Vallecito Lake.
I wore a very nontraditional green dress from Anthropologie. As Jake and I were getting dressed in the woods, one of the horses came up to us and stood there as we changed. It was hilarious and very unexpected.
We held our ceremony in a little field surrounded by large pines, a pond and a meandering creek. We collected picnic blankets from the thrift stores in town and spread them out in the field. Each group got a basket filled with baguettes, grapes, cheese and crackers.
Jake and I said our vows to each other with the granite peaks in the background. We all enjoyed a quick picnic with some wine and then the rain shower began. I had bought some beautiful paper umbrellas to serve as sun protection, which turned out to be extremely useful for the rain. The rain was beautiful and added to the fun of the day.

We had a large, open tent surrounded by lawn games (corn hole, lawn darts, croquet, extreme croquet, and ladder ball). My best friend is extremely artistic so she painted all of the signs and handmade all of the game directions. The guests absolutely loved having the games and we found them to be a perfect activity to help everyone become acquainted.
We collected vintage glass bottles and used them as centerpieces.
My dad made the bar with old wooden pallets. We served homemade pies rather than a cake.
Instead of handing out wedding favors, we donated money in the names of all of our guests to the National Resource Defense Council and to Ellicott Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Colorado Springs to help the animals injured during the terrible wildfires over the summer. We thought something like that would be more meaningful to everyone there.
Jake is a fighter pilot for the Air Force so we wanted to do a little something to honor him. His sister and mom folded 50+ paper airplanes of an assorted variety of colors and patterns. We then hung them inside of the tent. They were amazing. Later in the afternoon, a big group of us pulled them down and flew them.My advice: Enjoy the wedding planning process and, most importantly, try to stay relaxed about it all the day of the wedding. Some of the things you aren’t planning for, like rain, turn out to be the most wonderful addition. You just have to stay flexible and remember, it is supposed to be a fun and wonderful day. RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Tent & Party Rentals: Durango Party Rental. They were great and very easy to work with.  //  Photographer: Chowen Photography  //  Caterer: Back Porch BBQ

Honeymoon Location: We are planning to take one later this summer in New Zealand. We want to do an adventure trip where we hike, canoe, or something along those lines.