Natural Simplicity at Purg

From the bride, Danielle: I wanted a simple, yet beautiful wedding that was low cost with several personal touches. I basically started with the bouquet and dress and built up around it with things that would tie us (people with man made things) into nature so that it would blend nicely (which was a bigger task than what I had originally imagined).

I made was the piece of wood where we put our rings. I chose a thicker 3″ diameter slice of wood and burned “I do” into it. I strung burlap through to secure the rings, so that my 6 year old, Adilyn, didn’t have to worry about losing the rings in her flower girl basket. (She doubled as flower girl and ring bearer). 

The ceremony was at Engineer Meadows, which faces a GORGEOUS mountain and lots of beautiful greenery with aspen and evergreen trees everywhere. It felt very private. The aisle was lined with the wildflower bouquets sitting on wood stumps my dad made. These stumps now sit our yard at home, and they have sentimental value. Love it!

I have a smart, beautiful, witty six year old who is as equally important in our new family as we are, so we wanted to include her. During the ceremony, we called her to the alter to receive a necklace from Brian as representation that he chose not just me, but her too. The necklace has three hearts with each of our birthstones in it, to remind her that she is an equally important part of our family and we love her very much.

Brian and I wanted to write each other vows, but didn’t necessarily want our mushy lovey stuff aired for all our family and friends. We spoke our basic vows “I do… as long as we both shall live”, etc., but then we also wrote our own private vows to one another on paper. During the ceremony, our officiant read ten values we wanted for our marriage/family and after he described each value, we hammered a nail into the wooden box that we put our vows into. We will open these vows on our 15th wedding anniversary-neither of us know what the other wrote!

The reception was at Durango Mountain Institute, right off the bunny slopes of Purg, which is where I first learned to ski, and where Brian enjoyed laughing at me falling.

My advice: Do what YOU love and what you will love for years and years and choose together. Most importantly, find good people to help you with your wedding!

Danielle’s RECOMMENDED VENDORS

Ceremony Site: Engineer Meadows at Purgatory Resort. It is absolutely BEAUTIFUL and NATURAL and perfect. It is easy to get to and no one has to ride a ski lift or do anything crazy to get there, so it is a great place that both kids and older friends and family members could access easily.

Reception Site: Durango Mountain Institute at Purgatory Resort . It is very cabin-style inside, equipped with a full bar, and several tables inside a very sunny room with lots of windows so that you can see the gorgeous outdoors without actually being outside to eat. Plus the catering and service is fantastic. This is an awesome place for a relatively intimate gathering in a convenient location.

Photographer: Cora Kemp Photography  //  Flowers: April’s Garden