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Simple & Sassy at Ridgewood Event Center

Ashley & Cory  |  October 14th  |  Hesperus, Colorado

From the bride, Ashley:
Our wedding was simple yet elegant, sassy yet classy, with a sky blue and ivory color palette.

illumin19 illumin17illumin16 illumin15 illumin14 illumin13 illumin12 illumin11Cory and I had decided not to see each other before the wedding, so having to wait in the little back room at Blue Lake was really nerve racking.  I had no idea who was there or what anything looked like.  After putting so much work into planning not being able to see the finished product before walking down the aisle was incredibly hard.  When it was finally time, all the bridesmaids had gone out and my dad came to get me.  It was just us in the room and he could tell I was nervous.  I was able to peek around the door and finally see everything.  I heard the song Cory had written for me being played, saw all the people that I loved waiting, and got to see Cory at the end of the aisle.  My dad asked me if I was nervous and I was able to look at him and say not anymore.  All the nerves disappeared and I was able to love every second of the rest of the day!

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The ceremony was performed by a very close friend.  Cory and I met on a mission trip to Guatemala that was led by him, so it meant so much to us to have him perform the ceremony.  Cory’s brother Tim played the procession, which was a song Cory composed on the piano.  His brother Loren played “Marry Me” by Train on the guitar while we took communion.  For our unity ceremony, we wanted to do something unique and special to us.  We decided on a rose ceremony that pulled in both of our families and represented our relationship with Christ.  It was really important to us to honor our parents and our relationship with God throughout the entire day so this was special for us.

illumin06 illumin05 illumin04So many things went wrong!  The day started with me being late for everything!  Then as soon as we got to Blue Lake my sister dropped blush in the room we were waiting in and it got all over the bottom of my dress – of course we didn’t see it until we were lining up to walk down the aisle!  Cory was missing a page of his vows when he went to say them.  And last but not least Cory dropped a piece of cake down my dress in front of everyone when he was trying to feed it to me!

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 My Advice:  I know it seems like all the details are so important, but they aren’t!  The best times we had were getting engagement pictures taken or anything that we were able to just have fun and enjoy the process together.  After the wedding none of the details matter and at the end of the day you’re married no matter what!

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RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Photographer: IlluminArts Photography
Venue:  Ridgewood Event Center
DJ:  Aiko Aiko Sound.  They had us pick out what we would like and really did stick to it!  Aiko Aiko did a great job!
Hair & Makeup: Hair Fusion.  I loved working with them and felt beautiful all day!
Caterer:  Zia’s Taqueria. Zia’s is my favorite place to eat in Durango. Cory and I met in Guatemala and we went to Mexico on our honeymoon so Mexican food was very fitting.

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Simply Relaxed at Ridgewood

Kyra & Nathan |  May 25th  | Durango, Colorado

From the bride:
Our theme was basically stuff we like. We just wanted the day to be relaxing and intimate. Everything we chose fell in line with that idea.

Photography by SABphotography

Wedding in DurangoWe either hand crafted our details or ordered them handmade by artists. That made our special day completely unique to us. We have custom bunting burlap banners, invitations designed by a bridesmaid, hand sewn burlap runners, cheese plates that were wood burned with the our initials and wedding date, a custom cocktail, and an interactive guestbook.

Durango Weddings Magazine

Durango Weddings Magazine

Durango Weddings Magazine

Durango Weddings Magazine

Durango Weddings Magazine

We decided to do a “first look,” so we were able to spend a private, intimate moment together before the wedding began.

Durango Weddings Magazine

Durango Weddings Magazine

Durango Weddings Magazine

We wrote our own vows, so the ceremony was completely tailored to our personalities and style.

Wedding in Southwest Colorado

Durango Weddings Magazine

Durango Weddings Magazine

Durango Weddings Magazine

Durango Weddings Magazine

Durango Weddings Magazine

Durango Weddings Magazine

Durango Weddings Magazine

We had a relaxed reception. We served artisan cheese with wine and beer pairings, as well as our signature cocktail (lavender infused vodka lemonade).  

Durango Weddings Magazine

Our centerpieces were old-fashion milk bottles filled with whimsical baby’s breath.Durango Weddings Magazine

Our first dance was to “You and I” by Ingrid Michelson.

Durango Weddings Magazine

My advice: Stick to your budget! Everyone kept telling us that there was no way we could ever have a wedding for less than $10,000, but we did and it was fantastic. We were able to have a beautiful wedding without bankrupting ourselves or our parents. Don’t worry about offending anyone by excluding certain traditions, like favors. We didn’t have favors and not one person noticed. 

Durango Weddings Magazine

Our gateway vehicle was a race series Corvette my dad rebuilt.

Durango Weddings MagazineRECOMMENDED VENDORS
Photographer: SABphotography  //  Venue: Ridgewood Event Center  //  Hair & Makeup: Hair Fusion

Honeymoon Location: Vancouver, B.C.

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Classy & Cuban-Inspired

Surrounded by towering pines, aspen trees and our chuppah that overlooked the mountains, the day could not have been any more idyllic .  We included family and friends in every part of the ceremony – from our puppy as the ring bearer to our parents reciting blessings.   We chose to honor my heritage with a Cuban-themed reception (1950s pre-Castro Havana). The venue was transformed into a classy Havana night club.  We served fresh from scratch Mojitos for the cocktail hour and a custom Cuban menu of ropa vieja, pollo mojo, arroz y frijoles negros and platanos maduros for dinner.  We even had an authentic cuban cigar bar.  Every detail of the day was an opportunity to share something about our lives, to honor somebody we love, or to commit ourselves to the life we want to share.  -Naphtali

Photography by  Kyla Jackson Photography

See more in the photo gallery

 

PERSONAL TOUCHES
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The ring pillow we used once belonged to my deceased older brother, and was used by my mother in her wedding.

-The cup of wine under the chuppah was Joshua’s Bar Mitzvah kiddush cup.

-A large poster of Cuba was our seating chart.

-Vintage post cards from various cities in Cuba were used to identify the tables.

-The table décor consisted of burlap, exotic flowers, coffee beans, oranges, limes, cigar boxes and candles.

-Our favors were Colorado Ponderosa Pine saplings wrapped in little burlap sacks with our initials on them.  Each sapling came with a card that described the type of tree, the story of the Missionary Ridge Fire and an invitation to join in planting the saplings, and a message from us expressing how we hoped that planting the saplings would be a new beginning for the Ridge, just as the wedding was a “beginning” for us. With the permission of the Forest Service, on the afternoon after the wedding, members of the wedding party trekked up onto Missionary Ridge to plant them in areas devastated by the fires of 2002.

-The favors were placed on an enormous Cuban flag that was given to me by family in Cuba.

-Joshua’s grandmother recited the Shabbat blessings using her grandmother’s silver candle sticks rescued from Nazi-occupied Belgium.

 

RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Photographer: Kyla Jackson Photography.   Five stars for Kyla & Wesley’s amazing eye, their fantastic personalities and their impressive professionalism.  We had so much fun!

Venue/Food/Lodging/Transportation:  Durango Mountain Resort.  The chefs at Purgy’s did a fantastic job creating a custom Cuban menu and the service staff was friendly and attentive.

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