Real Wedding - JW Marriott Cherry Creek, Denver, Colorado

Jessica and Brett

Church of the Rock and JW Marriott Cherry Creek

Grass Green and Bright Fuchsia make for a HOT Party!

Fun colors and fabulous party! Jessica and Brett selected grass green and fuchsia for colors, but also wanted some Glitz and Glamour. Jessica works with jewelry, so it was really all about the glitz!!!! :) They also wanted a pretty clean lined look with a little bit of a tropical flair to some of the flowers, I think Bella-Fiori did a phenomenal job!

The ceremony was at the brides family church in Parker.....I LOVED the altar arrangements. We put them on really tall heavy glass cylinders so they look like they were just floating there.

......the couple had a fun bubble getaway, a big group picture of all their guests.....then off to the party.......

At the JW Marriott, we had the terrace for cocktails...the lanterns were so fun and just a little hint of the color to come. Can you believe that the terrace was under 6 inches of water the night before from a BIG rainstorm and the lobby totally flooded! Thank goodness the ballrooms were on the 2nd floor!

I really adore the little martini glass centerpiece that we put on the cocktail cabarets....they had LED glowing lights in them so when we moved them to the reception later it was fun to see how different they looked in the dimmed lights.

They had people sign their magnum of champagne (how glamorous .....how many people do you think it takes to drink that?) as well as a signature matte with their beautiful engagement portrait also done by our fantastic photographer, Johnson and Johnson Photography.

Then the guests were invited to the ballroom for dinner. I loved their faces when they entered the room.....they had to stop and just take it all in, such a dramatic change with the pops of color it made for an energetic and excited crowd.

We had their monogram in a lot of different places...menu.....glasses....monogram lollipops...and dance floor. At weddings you see the monogram in lights often...but how often do you see the monogram actually on the dance floor...in the couples color. Plus we had their monogram on the champagne glasses. I did a lot of research on decals......there are several companies online that do this. One day I was talking about it at one of my kids soccer games and a mom mentioned she does Uppercase Living (which sells similar products for decorating your home)...she had exactly what I needed at less than half of what I could get it online for!!!! I was sooooo excited because it totally made it affordable! So easy to put on...I did a test run to show the hotel that it wouldn't damage the floor....and it really did come off without damaging the floor at all! (a big sigh of relief). Note that it did take us about 3 hours to put the monograms on 200 glasses, but it was worth it.


We brought some more of the glitz in through paper things.....the tables were named after jewels, the programs and menus were all decked out with tiny Swarovski crystals....the candy station had mini jewels scattered about....and sparkling crystals hung from the beautiful centerpieces.

The guests enjoyed the delicious cake from Das Meyer. This was one of the wildest parties I've seen....we had all the groom's fraternity brothers and the bride's sorority sisters....so it got crazy! Our DJ Kirk from Complete Music (I must say...he rocks!) kept the crowd on the dance floor (oh...and the tables) all night.

Real Wedding - Dunton Hot Springs, Telluride, Colorado, Rustic Elegance

Taylor and Paul's Wedding

Dunton Hot Springs

Summer 2008

Ok, this might be my new favorite location in Colorado.....a bit farther than where my normal travels take me, but well worth it. Taylor and Paul found Dunton Hot Springs in a Travel magazine and it only took one visit for them to decide that this was where they wanted to be married. An old mining town, now resort, Dunton is located just outside of Telluride....it's rustic on the outside, but modern inside...oh, and an amazing staff and chef! They live in New York, but most of their family is from Colorado- so it made a great destination wedding for everyone!

It was a beautiful drive down there.....I was driving a box truck full of chivari chairs. The interesting things we do as consultants!

Melissa Plantz got some incredible shots......

Taylor and Paul wanted a black tie event in this rustic setting! We started with a pre-ceremony cocktail of brambleberry champagne out on a deck overlooking the meadow ....check out that view!

The ceremony was at the outdoor chapel....just a short walk down the path (lined with lanterns and flowers), right next to the big waterfall! Perfect Petal did a great job, it looked amazing.....


....as did the couple!

Guests had cones of petals to toss as the couple recessed.....when Winnie the ring-dog recessed she thought the petals made a lovely spot for her to sit and take it all in.....she just plopped down in the middle of the aisle and watched as people walked around her laughing. It was great!

Then back to the main house for the reception. We cocktailed on the patio, guests signed the guitar guestbook....a few guys even took the chance to play us a few songs.

Then off to a multi-course dinner. The tables were very natural with taupe linens and chocolate crushed satin runners. The centerpieces were vases of apples with amazing orchids and curly willow. (There's those chairs I drove down!)

Jan Kish out did herself on the cake...it totally tied in to the whole feel, and tasted great! Jan learned how to do leatherwork and used the tools to create their cake.
Guests had a choice of favors.....BBQ sauce or great cookies in the shape of boots or cactus (also by Jan!) ...I think some people took both. Can't blame them, they were cute!

Real Wedding - Dunafon Castle, Colorado

Jewel and Matt
An Elegant Summer Mountain Wedding

Jewel and Matt's wedding took place in June at the beautiful Dunafon Castle. I have some great photographs from 2 Sisters Photography of this grand outdoor extravaganza(I can't wait to see the video! C&K Video). This was one of the more logistically challenging weddings, but also amazingly beautiful!

Whenever I plan an outdoor wedding and reception the weather is the one thing that makes me (and everyone else involved) so incredibly nervous. Now, to add to that......we were planning the largest wedding the venue had ever had, the most vendors of any wedding I've ever coordinated (I think we ended up with 27), a multilevel seating arrangement, and a completely outdoor dance floor with paper lanterns (please no rain!). Well, there's just something magical and wonderful when the Colorado weather cooperates. We ended up with a perfect Colorado Day!

Jewel and Matt enjoy the outdoors and fell in love with the Castle immediately. We really wanted this to be a completely different wedding experience for the guests. So as soon as they stepped off the buses they were greeted with the sounds of our bagpiper, Scott Beach. He also did a great job of playing during the processional and recessional.

The guests were directed to our lakeside area for a pre-ceremony cocktail time. We planned to start 10 minutes past the ceremony time so that we could fit this in (about 25 minutes total). It worked really well, nobody was "late", guests had time to arrive, take in the gorgeous site, enjoy some wine and bruschetta appetizers, and catch up with the family. Then it was ceremony time!

At Dunafon there are these great lawn areas separated by lakes. I love using this area, right by the stream for the ceremony....plus you get a nice LONG walk for the bride! That's Jewel just before she starts that long walk!

Jewel selected a natural green color with touches of light buttercup yellow...the flowers by Bella Fiori didn't just look amazing, they smelled delightful as well!

For outdoor ceremony decor it's hard to compete with Mother Nature! The bride found a photo of a simple and natural arch that we recreated for her. We loved how it turned out!

With kids in the bridal party you just don't know what they're going to do.....we had 2 adorable little flower girls. As they made the long walk past the lakes, I guess it was just too much. The littlest one decided she not only needed to toss petals, but had to stop along the way, grab a handful of fish food from a nearby bowl and toss it in to the lake. Loved the comedy relief!

One of my favorite touches...during the ceremony was an artist painting the couple as they took their vows. Then the piece was displayed during the reception...people were amazed that he could paint it that fast (me too!). What a great keepsake!

Then it was back to the cocktail area.....oh, those poor guests more great food and drink by Gourmet Fine Catering! Little did they know they should save their appetite for the amazing dinner ahead. They were greeted with Washington Apple Martinis and of course a whole bunch of other delicious appetizers.

The guests signed the guestbook, a great photography book on Colorado and picked up their escort cards. Then off to the tents for more food....there were several courses starting with an amazing lemon sorbet garnished with a candied lime served in a martini glass rimmed with green sugar (yellow and green of course!).

At Dunafon there are several fire pits around the lakes, and we thought it would be fun for the young guests to make smores after dinner.....and it was fun......only everyone ate them up before, during and after dinner! I think these guests were kids at heart! Not too worry as there was plenty of fabulous cake by The Makery. I really thought the flower girls were going to do a little taste test.

After that amazing dinner there was only one thing left to do....dance the night away under the lights (by TDA Design).....the clouds kept threatening to rain, but only a few little drops ever appeared. Which we always say...rain on your wedding day is good luck.