A Fun Destination Wedding at the Strater Hotel
Connie & Blake | The Historic Strater Hotel
From the bride: We chose Durango for our destination wedding because we love the vibe of the city and it is such a beautiful place. All our guests had such an amazing time. Not only did they get to enjoy a great wedding, they also got to experience white water rafting, hiking, fishing, bar hopping, and just the overall amazing feeling that only Durango can give. I would definitely recommend that any style of couple would be able to create their own unique and special day in Durango and feel so very grateful to have had the experience of getting to married there.
THE STYLE
We tried to keep the wedding “theme” vintage with touches of pearls and lace so the Henry Strater Theatre was the perfect venue for us! Two of my bridesmaids were pregnant, and I did not want to make them all wear one style of dress. Instead, they chose a black dress they liked, and I gave them all the 1920’s style of long pearls to match the theme. I tried to keep all the colors somewhat neutral and did not have a color theme. We accented everything with lace and pearls. The bouquets were baby’s breath, with lace ribbon and pearl accents.
THE CEREMONY
We held the ceremony at Rotary Park in downtown Durango.
TABLE NUMBERS
To tie the venue into the theme, we decided to use old movie titles instead of table numbers.
THE DURANGO WEDDING TEAM
I have two vendors that were truly exceptional! As a girl, you dream of your wedding your whole life, and they both made it a reality. They are Illuminarts and the Strater Hotel.
Venue, Caterer & Lodging: Strater Hotel: Emily Spencer at the hotel is the wedding coordinator and she is great! The hotel offers several packages that include the ceremony site, reception site, alcohol, food, flowers and center pieces, white glove butler service, champagne toast, cake, set up and clean up, bridal suite, honeymoon suite and I know I must be forgetting a million other things. To me, it was the most stress free and enjoyable way to do it! In addition, when you add up all that is included, it is a hell of a deal! It was invaluable having someone to book the cake, the flowers, bartenders, servers, set up, clean up etc. Everyone was asking if I was stressed during the planning process, and I thought it was a breeze because the Strater handled everything! They are so easy to work with, the food was delicious, and the staff was so accommodating. Not to mention, it is such a unique place to have a reception. It is such a gorgeous venue, and the guests can drink and stay the night!
Photographer: Illuminarts: Amazing! Drew not only served as a photographer, but he was almost like a wedding planner. He was so organized, stuck to the timeline, and most importantly, the photos were incredible. I had so many guests compliment me on how they turned out. I actually cried when I saw them, and I am not at all an emotional person .
Hair Stylist: Hair Fusion: They did an absolute wonderful job and were so professional and talented.
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