From the bride, Stacey:
We rented out the entire Silverpick Lodge for the weekend and had all our friends and family stay there.

Our ceremony was in the back meadow at Silverpick Lodge with breathtaking views of Engineer Mountain. Music was symphony Led Zeppelin. Guests were taken back to the meadow on an old west stage coach.

I arrived to the ceremony in the Flight For Life Colorado helicopter! We didn’t tell anyone about it ahead of time, so it was a total surprise to all of a sudden have a helicopter landing in the meadow adjacent to the crowd.

Our husky Bart was the ring bearer and he carried the rings down the aisle on a collar around his neck made of flowers and ribbon.

We had a Celtic knot ceremony to tie the knot.

The helicopter represented my modern tastes and fast paced lifestyle while the stagecoach represented Mel’s laid back “old school” tastes. The helicopter is what I do and the stagecoach was so appropriate for the setting.

 Dinner at the Sow’s Ear was exquisite with Ribeye steak and Rocky Mountain Trout. The food and desserts were superb! We had big band music during dinner followed by fun dancing after dinner. The dance floor was full and everyone had a blast dancing until after midnight.

 Mel made our tiered cupcake display and all the table markers out of wood from our land.

My advice: Start early with your planning, it will sneak up on you. Stick to your budget. Stacy’s RECOMMENDED VENDORS

Photographer: IlluminArts Photography. Amy was incredible to work with! Very friendly, patient, and professional. The pictures are amazing!

Venue: Silverpick Lodge. Breathtaking! Charming, formal, with natural setting. Fabulous food! And service!

DJ: Aiko Aiko Sound. Very friendly, anything I wanted he did, including playing Led Zeppelin for our ceremony!

Florist: April’s Garden. They understood exactly what I wanted and delivered excellent results!

Hair & Makeup: Teagen & Mary Beth from Hair Fusion.  They understood exactly what we all wanted and delivered awesome results! Fun and friendly!

Horse drawn Stagecoach: Tom McCarthy; The Hole in the Wall Stables. These guys are the BEST! So professional, patient, and friendly! They were able to keep 4 horses calm around a running helicopter!!!

Wedding Gown, Bridesmaid Dresses, Men’s Wear: Occasions Bridal
Jewelry: Jewelry Works

Honeymoon Location: We rode our Harleys’ all over Utah and Wyoming and spent time at Yellowstone.

We saw a creative competitiveness kick-in as everyone tried to get that super cool shot and we can only imagine if alcohol was added to the factor.  We have to admit the Lamphouse Photobooth is addictive fun, especially for the social media butterfly!

Here are a few of the photo booth highlights from the grand opening party.

From the event planner, Mandy of Celebrations:
Kim and Gregg are the definition of nature lovers. A couple who are both Colorado transplants, they knew it was important to share their love of the mountains and outdoors with their family and friends. Since almost all the guests traveled from outside of Durango, the couple chose the Silverpick Lodge  for guests to enjoy a cozy, mountain lodge experience. Kim, who is a professional landscaper, grew all of the flowers for the lodge decor and rehearsal dinner. The two exchanged vows in a beautiful meadow of the San Juan Mountains under an alter that was positively glowing with shimmering fall foliage of the aspen, the quintessential Colorado tree. The cocktail hour following the ceremony included bales of hay with quilts and pillows to relax on, lawn games to play such as bean bag toss, horse shoes and ladder ball, all while friends of the bride and groom played old style bluegrass music to set the mood. 

A display table of family photos greeted guests in the lobby and even included a framed keepsake cocktail napkin that the bride had written and passed to the groom, asking him out on a first date!

The reception was held at the Durango Mountain Resort with a spectacular view of the San Juan Mountains. The bride kept the design focus on rustic mountain simplicity with elegant candlelight ambiance. Guests danced the night away and loved the wild west photo booth that was just like the one the couple used for their save the date card.
THE VENDOR TEAM
Event Planner: Celebrations
Venue:  Durango Mountain Resort
Floral Designer: April’s Garden
DJ: Aiko Aiko Sound
Hair Stylist: Hair Fusion
Lodging: Silverpick Lodge
Photographer: Jenny McCann Photography  //  Cupcakes: Sweet Treats by Morgan  //  Wedding Dress: BLISS by Monique Lhuillier  //  Old West Photo Booth: Thru the Lens  //  Oxygen Bar: Altitude O2 Oxygen Bar

Simple at Ridgewood                          Love & Family at DMR                  Woodsy Mt Chic

A Texan Celebration                          2013 Magazine                             Vintage Love

==
Here’s some Southwest Colorado wedding inspiration from our sister publications:

Cowboys in Creede                         Montrose Ranch Wedding               Blissful in Ouray

Relaxed in Ouray                              Destination Crested Butte                   Telluride Magic

]]> http://durangoweddingsmagazine.com/2013/04/01/durango-wedding-inspiration/feed/ 0 http://durangoweddingsmagazine.com/2013/03/27/from-the-magazine-love-family-at-durango-mountain-resort/ http://durangoweddingsmagazine.com/2013/03/27/from-the-magazine-love-family-at-durango-mountain-resort/#comments Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:11:47 +0000 admin http://durangoweddingsmagazine.com/?p=6913 Melissa & Steve |  July 15th  | Durango Mountain Resort

From the bride, Melissa:
We knew we wanted a non-traditional outdoor wedding that was both relaxed and fun. I found bright retro bridesmaid dresses that inspired our colorful color palette.

Our ceremony was very intimate.  We planted a tree with dirt our parents brought from our hometowns.  We said vows to our daughter, which was very special and we included a Dr. Seuss quote that fit us to a tee.
We wore Chuck Taylor shoes, something that is so ‘us’ and every time we wear them, we think about our wonderful day.

View more images in the 2013 Magazine.

Melissa’s RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Venue: Durango Mountain Resort //  Photographer: IlluminArts Photography //  Caterer: The Yellow Carrot //  Event Planner: Celebrations

From the bride, Reagan:
Every summer we would visit Colorado, I fell in love the scenery and thought it would be the most beautiful place to have a wedding. Everything in Durango is modern with a rustic twist and I thought this would be a wonderful theme for our wedding.
I wore a Jasmine Couture gown with cowboy boots.

The bridal party all wore cowboy boots, to incorporate our Texan roots.

Our ceremony was very simple. We had white chairs overlooking the pond with a flower arrangement at the altar. Reid’s dad performed the ceremony.

We made our wine glasses from mason jars and candle stick holders.The candy table was my favorite detail for the day, it allowed everyone to take home specialty chocolates and candies as an appreciation of coming to our wedding.

I think the whole wedding was a reflection of our style as a couple, simple and elegant.My advice: Enjoy this time, it will go extremely fast. Also, don’t sweat the small things; everything will work out for the best!!

RECOMMENDED VENDORS

Photographer: Illuminarts Photography. They were so fun to work with and captured so many amazing shots!! I would recommend them to anyone.

Venue: Sleeping Beauty Ranch. They were so helpful with anything we needed, especially since we were from out of state.

DJ: Akio Akio Sound. Our DJ was wonderful and getting the guest involved in dancing and even played our Texas Country Music.

You may recognize this couple….they grace the cover of the 2013 MAGAZINE! We just had to share many of the images we could not fit into the magazine spread, including all the comical signs the couple posted along the long, winding dirt road up to the wedding location on the family’s ranch. The all-star vendor team included IlluminArts Photography, Durangourmet and Durango Party Rental.  Read the entire wedding day story in the MAGAZINE.

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.

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

Cory 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!

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.

So 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!

 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!

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.