A Durango Wedding with Western Vibes & Country Music

Katie & DJ  |  July 5th

 

From the bride… My wedding vision was for our day to be submerged in the beauty of Southwest Colorado, with a beautiful mountainous backdrop and western vibes. I wanted the day to be laid back and simple and to encompass DJ and I for who we are. DJ and I both love the outdoors.

 

THE INSPIRATION

We grew up fishing, hunting, camping, just really doing anything outdoors so we incorporated that firstly by having an outdoor wedding, with a backdrop of our favorite mountains! We are simple, old souls so that is why we had minimal decor and a laid back/western vibe with intentions of showing who DJ and I are through it all.

 

THE PLANNING

For my wedding, I found the Durango Weddings Magazine & the Durango Wedding Expo to be helpful for inspiration and to jump start the planning process. I loved seeing all of the beautiful weddings in the Magazine. I have never planned a wedding before so I found the all the local weddings, decor inspiration and advice of past brides to be very helpful!  I found the Durango Wedding Expo to be very helpful! I met vendors that I would not have known about, and it was helpful to interact with them and to see the displays of their work in person. It was also super nice and convenient to be able to walk through the expo and start wedding planning and checking off boxes right there!

 

THE VENUE

We chose Ridgewood Event Center at Blue Lake Ranch because of the breathtaking beauty and the hospitality of the all of those that work there. Having the La Plata Mountains as our ceremony backdrop caught our attention from the start. The La Plata’s are our favorite mountains and signify home for us. The venue is such a beautiful location for an outdoor wedding! Our guests were so so amazed by the beauty. In addition, the staff is so kind and great to work with which was obviously important to me.

 

THE FLOWERS

I wanted a simple bouquet with all types of white flowers with a pop of pink and blue. I loved the way all the florals looked and smelled!

 

 

THE ATTIRE

DJ and our groomsmen wore jeans, boots, vests, hats, and bolo ties. My bridesmaids wore different styles and shades of dusty rose pink which looked really nice. I wanted them to pick a dress they felt comfortable in, that was also unique to them. We told our guests to wear anything western or country. We did not want a very dressy wedding, but instead a laid back, western style, easy-to-dance in, type of attire.

 

THE CEREMONY

Our ceremony faced the La Plata mountains, an important highlight in mine and DJ’s lives. Three years ago, we took a drive up La Plata Canyon all the way to the top where you can look out over all the mountains and trees, it was DJ’s birthday and it was just the two of us that afternoon. That day, we both knew we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together, but did not tell each other for awhile because we were just best friends at the time. Full circle moment having those mountains behind us as we said, “I do!”

 

 

My favorite ceremony memory was probably stepping out of the french doors with my dad by my side as I saw DJ for the first time. That was so special and sweet!

 

 

I had my Pastor whom I have known for many years officiate our wedding. The ceremony he did was so beautiful and centered around The Lord and the blessing of marriage, which was special to us.

 

THE RECEPTION

We decided to do a sweetheart table in the middle of the tent, so we literally were surrounded by our favorite people the whole night. Then dancing and dessert took place in the beautiful event center.

 

THE DANCING

Dancing to the High Rollers Band was the best! We love traditional country music, live music, and dancing so putting that altogether made the night go so fun, especially getting to dance with all of our loved ones!

 

THE CAKE

I loved our cake topper I got from Etsy, which was a wooden boat with a veil and cowboy hat on it.

 

MEMORABLE MOMENT

My most memorable moment was being with DJ at our sweetheart table right after getting our food and just looking around at our family and friends and being so thankful for everyone and everything that got us to this point in our lives. We were especially saying our thanks to those who travelled near and far to celebrate us and taking in that sweet moment knowing the day would be over so soon. We just took in every fun moment together and felt so much love all day and night!

 

 

 

Looking back, the only thing I would have done differently is make the night last longer! But seriously, I do not think I would change a thing. DJ and I were so focused on enjoying the night regardless of anything that went wrong. We were just thrilled to be getting married and celebrating our love with our favorite people, Definitely wish we could relive all of those sweet moments!

 

ADVICE

Focus on what matters. All of the months leading up to the wedding will be stressful and maybe hectic but remember why you are even planning your wedding in the first place. Without your love and family and friends, you would not be where you are. So truly try to focus on just you two all day, your love, your friends and family, and not worry so much about making everything go perfectly. If your loved ones ask for ways to help you, designate certain tasks to them. Speaking from experience, try not to take on everything by yourself, it will make the planning process not as enjoyable as it could be.

 

THE WEDDING TEAM

Photographer: Kara Cavalca Photo & Video. Kara was so good to us and easy to work with! Not to mention took amazing photos we will cherish forever.
Venue & Flowers: Ridgewood Event Center. The prettiest venue with very great staff! And Joan did amazing with flowers!