A Military Wedding at Durango Mountain Resort

Lauren & Chad  |  July 26th

From the bride: Chad is active duty Navy and I have a strong military history with my family. We really wanted to honor the members of our family and the bond that is created during time in service. We also wanted a very relaxed vibe. We wanted our guest to feel at ease, to mingle, to eat, to drink and to have a good time.

Our color palette was gold and navy blue. The groom was in his traditional Navy whites and I really wanted to complement that uniform. There is a lot of gold detailing on the uniform and navy blue plays off that color so well.

I wore a Justin Alexander gown. The bridesmaids were all in short navy Bill Levkoff dresses that really made the yellow bouquets pop.  

 We had the ceremony and the reception at Dante’s at Durango Mountain Resort. It was a perfect summer day in July.  Most of our guests were from out of town and had never been to Durango before.  I had my father give me away. For me, that was one of the most important parts of the ceremony. My father has always been my rock, my touchstone, my confidant, having that exchange happen between my father and Chad meant a lot to me. 

The ceremony was short and sweet.  We held it outdoors overlooking the mountains. 

The décor was fairly simple.  Blue, yellow and white flowers adorned the tables with DIY tables numbers.  We didn’t want to overwhelm the space with décor.  I mean, when you’re having your wedding in a location like Durango, the natural landscape is the best décor you can get!   Our tables were not traditionally marked with numbers, but with locations across the world that we had lived at during our lives with a map of the area. I was born in Tucson  Arizona, so my family all sat at the Tucson table. Chad went to Pen State, so his college friends all sat at the College Station Table. I was able to live overseas in Italy for several years, so we had some out of town guests sit at the Vicenza Italy table. It was a great way to start conversations at tables where maybe not everyone knew each other.

One of my most memorable moments was the father daughter dance.  My father is not much of a dancer, I got my two left feet from him, but the moment we got on the dance floor it clicked.  We swayed to the music and had a very tender moment. 

Advice: Start planning as soon as you can.  Don’t be afraid to use Skype or Facetime to meet with some vendors if you’re unable to be there in person.  I created a binder to keep track of all my ideas, contracts and to-do lists.  It was a lifesaver!

Lauren’s RECOMMENDED VENDORS

Venue & Caterer: Purgatory Resort.  With stunning views and crisp mountain air, you cannot go wrong with Dante’s.  I would highly recommend this location for a ceremony.

Photographer: Eppich Photography  //  Florist: April’s Garden 

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