An Autumn Wedding in Durango

Katie & Mike

From the bride: We chose Durango because we wanted a beautiful Rocky Mountain wedding specifically to capture the golden aspens of September, we also wanted our guests to get to experience some of the best of Colorado!  The Durango area also provided both us and our guests the activities that we love to do.  Mike was able to mountain bike with the guys at DMR the morning of the wedding, and the day after we got to hike and do some rock climbing. Another big reason was our venue, Silverpick Lodge, which was the perfect place for us, we researched and visited a lot of other venues in the surrounding areas and this one gave us the best feeling that fit who we are as a couple. We really valued the freedom of doing what we wanted for our wedding on our own timeline and having a laid-back atmosphere and Silverpick Lodge delivered just this. Not to mention the space for lodging is awesome, we did a three-day wedding weekend, and almost all our guests were able to stay in the main lodge or the condos on site, it was the best being able to walk down a flight of stairs from the reception to our rooms or to the after party at the outdoor fire pit. Could not be happier with our choice!

THE PLANNING

I really loved the Durango Weddings Magazine, it made us feel great about our choices. I knew we had picked the right location when I saw all the amazing weddings in the magazine. I remember even mentioning to both my husband and our photographer, that it would be awesome to have our wedding featured in the magazine. It was also nice to have the Durango Weddings Magazine website, it provided more than one magazine could, but there is something to be said about being able to take a physical magazine into your favorite reading chair to look through and get ideas!

THE COLOR PALETTE

Our colors centered around antique blues for glassware and pinks/peaches/creams for the dresses and flowers.

THE CEREMONY

Our ceremony was in an open field along the aspen tree line. My dad walked me down the aisle to a live version of “Wildflowers” by Tom Petty. I was awe of the mountain backdrop with the aspen colors. We wrote our own vows. The ceremony only lasted about five minutes, but it fit us perfectly.

My favorite memory was walking/dancing back down the aisle with Mike after the ceremony to a bluegrass version of Led Zeppelins “Whole Lotta’ Love”.

 

THE GETAWAY TRUCK

Mike spent 9 months restoring the 1973 International Scout because I had this vision to have it in the wedding, he even let me pick the color to match the wedding.  Pulling up with my dad and then leaving with the wedding party in the Scout was a memorable way to enter and exit.

THE DECOR

Doing all the decor ourselves also really made the wedding more personal for us, after months of working long hours after work every night making all the details for the decor, it was great to see it all come together that day and in all the pictures (not that I would ever want to do it again!) DIY is time consuming but worth it!

THE FIRST DANCE

Mike and I attempted to choreograph our dance into the reception, we were half successful, ‘A’ for effort right? But the crowd was so into it! And he didn’t drop me!

THE DJ

Mr Soul Entertainment started the dance party right after the Grand March. All our guests joined right in and we started dancing before dinner for about 3 songs (still daylight out). He played Sweet Caroline, which is a famous song they play at Wisconsin Badger football games and we all formed a circle sang the song and everyone joined in, this was all before dinner even started! The highlight of the night was the karaoke.  Mr Soul Entertainment passed around a half a dozen microphones while we were dancing and we did at least an hour of singing.  The best part is the video that was taken and how terrible we were, but it was so fun and different to have at a wedding.

ADVICE

Do what you want, it’s your wedding!

THE WEDDING TEAM

Venue & Lodging: Silverpick Lodge. Chris was great to work with!  There are multiple places on the property for a ceremony. We picked the meadow with the amazing mountain backdrop. The rooms at Silverpick Lodge are great, plus there are hot tubs, a fire pit, multiple kitchens, large living space. The chef and restaurant owner George is amazing, besides creating the most amazing food, he really works with you so you get what you want, food was really important and George did not disappoint. I had so many people tell us that it was the best food that they ever had at a wedding. It was seriously so good, we can’t wait to go back and ask if they can make the same thing again for us.

DJ: Mr Soul Entertainment. Book Steve if you like someone who knows how to have a good time!

Photographer: Dylan Burr  //  Flowers: 3 Leaf Floral