Real Weddings - Little Nell, Aspen Mountain, Zen Elegance

Lauren and Scott
Aspen Zen Elegance
Little Nell- Mountaintop Wedding Deck


Another great shot from Brinton Studios!

I didn't meet Lauren and Scott until their rehearsal the night before their wedding! Of course we had talked a lot via email and the phone. I had FedEx'd them cake samples and emailed photos of floral mock ups. Still I imagine it had to be nerve wracking for her doing this long distance, although she seemed pretty relaxed the whole time! I know that I would be a mess....again that perfectionist coming out in me....not being there to know the exact details would make me crazy....guess I'm in the right job! :) She was so thrilled with how everything turned out!

Before the ceremony Lauren requested a Rekki Master come and provide positive energy for the couple and the guests as they boarded the gondola. Then Lauren and Scott enjoyed a beautiful ride in the gondola on the way to the ceremony at the top of Aspen Mountain. It was a Jewish ceremony performed by a family friend who flew in for the wedding. Gorgeous ketubah!


Barb with Custom Design Floral drove the flowers up from Denver...brave florist, they have a scary 45 minute drive up the back of the mountain. I thought I was lucky getting to take the gondola, but read on!

There was no bridal party, just the couple, the rabbi and the gorgeous chuppah made of manzanita branches and white dendrobium orchids at the altar.





As the ceremony went on we could see this big storm heading our way, you could see it coming across the valley. At one point Lauren actually asked him to move the ceremony along a bit faster (he couldn't see what was coming!). As soon as Scott stomped on the glass & they kissed, the rain started down and Lauren was out of there ! :) Good timing!

Towards the end of the ceremony, I left my assistant at the top so that I could ride down the gondola to confirm all the setup for the lunch reception was done....my timing was not so good! The storm was hitting and the ride down the gondola was quite bouncy...I'm not one for heights, much less bouncy, windy stormy heights! UGH! I called my husband to keep me company on this ride down the hill in what I called my death egg (don't those gondolas look like glass eggs). I obviously made it down safely, but the rest of the party was still on their way down and the storm was getting worse! At one point they almost closed the gondola, with the bride and groom still at the top taking pictures. Good thing they decided to do a few pics after the luncheon instead!

The guests enjoyed a fabulous multi-course luncheon at the Little Nell, www.littlenell.com, with fabulous wines paired with each course.

I loved the contemporary little zen touches, even the tables were named after chakras. For escort cards we had black rocks with the names and the table chakra. We had really fabulous centerpieces with more manzanita, orchids, sand, black rocks and succulents (the cactus style plants). The green linens and chivari chairs added to the elegant sophisticated setting.

Even the fireplace was decorated to match.

Believe it or not, I drove the cake up from Denver as well from one of my favorite bakeries, The Makery, it traveled so well!

A great day, and fun gondola survival story :)

Real Weddings - Hudson Gardens, Littleton, Colorado - Journey & Travel Theme

Kari and Donny

Let the Journey Begin!

Hudson Gardens - Rose Garden Canopy

I helped Kari and Donny plan their wedding long distance...from Iraq! Actually it started with me planning with their moms and LOTS of emails with Kari. They were both working in Iraq and wouldn't be back until a few months before the wedding. So it made it challenging with them not being able to see things for themselves. Luckily they were able to getaway long enough to come back and see the venue we'd booked and go to tastings.

They were going on some incredible vacations to all kinds of exotic places and we wanted to show their guests some of the fabulous locations they'd been, but we didn't want to call it a travel theme wedding. So we came up with the idea of "journey" and included a lot of beachy elements (shells, sand ceremony, shell instead of ring bearer pillow, and served surf and turf to name a few).

It ended up pouring rain during the ceremony so instead of the garden ceremony we had planned we moved it inside of the rose garden canopy at the top of the steps so that they still had a garden background. A little bit of a challenge for our photographers and videographers (both through 2 Sisters), but I think it worked out great!

The tent looked beautiful with the lights and lanterns (done by TDA design). We wanted to keep the flowers simple and Custom Design Floral did a great job.

Each table was named after a place the couple had been too along with photos of their journey.

The cake had a long flow of strawberries down the side (The Makery)...YUM!

Guests left with a a little treat in a suitcase container.

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!