Erin & Spencer | July 30th | Family Home, Durango
From the bride:
We wanted our wedding day to be simple and natural looking.
I knew I wanted a tea length dress, but didn’t like any of the ‘bridal’ tea length dresses, so I tried on a bridesmaids dress and then had it made in white – HUGE cost savings over a traditional bridal gown.
It rained, so we had to move the ceremony inside. We had planned on that contingency (typical evening weather for July in Colorado) so we weren’t bummed.
Instead of having flower girls, I had my two younger cousins carry a handmade wooden sign down the aisle that said “Here Comes the Bride”.
My cousin officiated the ceremony and we let him pretty much say what he wanted (only do this with someone you trust implicitly!). The things that he said were heartfelt and specific to us as a couple – it made the ceremony so much more special than if a stranger had just read something generically scripted.
We took salsa lessons and so, of course, our first dance was a salsa.
We chose to have appetizers verse a sit down dinner to save on cost. We wanted our guests to feel like they had plenty to eat, so we did 7 different appetizers.
I know it seems cliché lately, but cupakes were much less expensive than a cake because we didn’t have to hire someone to cut it, or pay for plate & fork rentals. Also, we didn’t care to do the traditional bride and groom ‘cutting of the cake’ and subsequent shoving into each others faces, so cupcakes worked great for us.
My Dad gave an unexpected toast in which he said he had something very special to give to my Husband from the Old Country (my ancestors are from Ireland). He went on and on and built it up like it was this priceless family heirloom and then finally he pulled a potato from behind his back and handed it to Spencer! It was super funny.
My advice: Don’t worry about what everyone tells you a wedding is ‘supposed’ to be like or things you are ‘supposed’ to do. If there is a detail that is stressing you out, then just leave it out if possible. Chances are, at the end of the day, it’s not going to matter.
What would I do different? Worry less! 
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Photographer: Allison Ragsdale Photography
Caterer: Durangourmet – we got lots of greats compliments about the food!
Tent & Party Rentals: Durango Party Rental was really easy to work with. They delivered and picked up right on time and everything was exactly what it was supposed to be.
Formalwear Rentals + Day-of-Coordination: Occasions. I hired Donna for day of coordination and I would recommend this to everyone. I coordinated my sisters wedding and knew for mine that I didn’t want to be worrying about things the day of and calling on all of my friends and family to do everything (they still helped out a lot, but not nearly as much as if I didn’t have Donna), so we made sure to leave room in the budget for a day of coordinator. It was also really nice for my peace of mind.
The reception had a Scottish theme. We hired a celtic band to play during the ceremony and reception. One of the band members gave Scottish dance lessons to whoever wanted to learn. There were pieces of the plaid and both family crests on the cake, tables, and decorations. We had a Scottish food station with meat pies, whole salmon and Scottish eggs. We also had a whiskey tasting bar and of course, a tea station for the English side of the family.
