(All
photographs by Kyla Jackson Photography)
Abigail & Will
Married June 3, 2005
Durango, Colorado
It has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl to get married by a stream in the Colorado mountains. I have always thought Colorado was an amazingly beautiful and magical place!
The Location
The ceremony and reception were held at Lightner Creek Inn Bed and Breakfast.
I always wanted to get married in Colorado, and it was important to Will and I that we be outside and near water. Lightner Creek Inn was absolutely perfect! It was the second place we looked at and we immediately knew it was the site for us. We wanted a nice intimate place, that could lodge both of our immediate families and hold act as both the ceremony and reception location. Lightner Creek Inn was full of charm and romance - it was like something out of a dream.
The Planning
We had about nine months to plan the wedding. Almost all of the planning and research I did was on the internet. If it hadn't been for Western Colorado Wedding Guide, I don't how I would've been able to plan this destination wedding on the road. It was really useful and helpful. I had the handbook and utilized the website all the time. It was really a one stop shop for all the venues, and services in Durango.
Planning Challenges from a Distance
One of the big difficulties of planning a destination wedding, of course, was not being able to speak to vendors face to face, and having to deal with communicating across the country. It was especially difficult being on the road for six months (we are part of a touring band).
It was challenging to ensure internet capabilities and to take into consideration the time differences. Also, not being able to check and see exactly what I was reserving for the reception, or to be able to stop by the Inn for various reasons. Luckily, I had already tasted the caterers food.
Not being able to just buy things without considering how to move them across the country, and then mail them back for the wedding. I ordered things for centerpieces and they ended up being just horrible! We had to do last minute shopping once we got to Arizona before we left for Colorado.
The Theme
Our wedding theme was Mountain Romance. It was just perfect!
The Decor
Since the wedding was set outside, along with the reception, we didn't do much decorating, outside of the tent. We did have a arch that we were going to stand under, but it got ruined in the transportation and couldn't stand the natural forces (wind).
The natural beauty was just astonishing. The trees, the grass, the river, and the pond were all incredible. Because it was an outdoor wedding, we wanted the decorations to be somewhat natural. Each table was unique. We placed eucalyptus leaves on the tables, along with candles, and colored glass gems (blobs). Along with the lavender sachets, the tent was very aromatheraputic.
The Flowers
My bouquet was hand tied in a tumbling loose arrangement with gloriosa lilies, mango calla lilies, gardenias, jeweled stephanotis, cherry love roses, coral pink roses, wildcat orchids, dusty miller, rosemary, green hypericum and nice green foliage - I absolutely loved it! It couldn't have been more perfect.
The bridesmaids had similar hand tied bouquets with cherry love roses, fushia sweet peas, fresh lavender, rosemary, dusty miller, daisies, cherry folles and green foliage. Our flower girl had a halo of pink spray roses, baby's breath, and lavender.
The Menu
The menu was Southwest. We wanted to give everyone an authentic taste of the southwest with shrimp chipotle, spinach basil crepes, and avocado and tomatillo salsa and chips for hors d'oeuvres. The salads were mixed greens with toasted pinon nuts, oranges and lime vinaigrette; and jicama and sweet pepper salad in cilantro - citrus dressing. The entrees where fresh grilled salmon or southwest pork tenderloin with mango salsa. We had a variety of grilled vegetables and potatoes au gratin for sides. Everything was so delicious. Naturally, we didn't get to eat very much
The Cake
Neither my husband or I are very fond of cake so we thought it would be more appropriate to serve strawberry short cake instead. We did have a simple white cake with fresh flowers - gloriosa lilies, white and mango/fushia roses on top. That way we were able to do the ritual cake cutting, and our grandparents, or any one else who really loves cake, could enjoy it.
The
Favors
The grandparents; musicians; and other friends who took part in the ceremony had white or red roses.
We initially had filled little organza bags with lavender buds, thinking it would be wonderful for them to throw after the ceremony, or keep and cherish. However, it was too windy to leave them out on the chairs and they ended up being placed on the tables by the place cards instead. Every guest now has a nice smelling sachet.
Special
Touches
There were so many. The day was so magical by involving our family and friends.
Prior to the wedding, my honorary aunt had a little ceremony for me in the bridal suite with my closest and dearest female friends. It allowed me to shed a lot of tears and really get connected with the meaning of the day.
One of our best friends who is an Irish citizen, got ordained and was able to legally marry us.
Will's brother designed and custom made our wedding bands.
I designed earrings as part of the gifts to my bridesmaids, and one of the groomsmen made them for me.
Three members of our band made up a nice jazz trio and played while guests arrived, and for the ceremony.
Another gifted friend sang a song while her father played keys during the ceremony.
A close friend who has studied film, filmed the wedding for us as her gift.
And some other friends took it upon themselves to bartend and help D.J. through out the night.
Best Thing about the Day
The best thing about the day was being able to look at all of our guests and know that our favorite people in the world were there because of us. It was important to me to be able to spend time with all the people that traveled from all corners of the country to be there for us and celebrate our special day.
We didn't want to just have one day, but rather a full weekend to celebrate with our family and friends. It gave our guests the opportunity to hang out all weekend and explore and enjoy Durango and the surrounding areas. We had a few things planned, but a lot of people went off for the day to do their own things; rafting, hiking, shopping, etc.
The turn out was amazing, about 75% of our guest (115) made it. Every time we went places, more guests kept showing up and we were amazed to find that come Sunday we still had a little less than half the guests in town for a send off picnic.
What went wrong?
We decided that no matter what happened we were going to laugh and enjoy ourselves. Which was good, because it started to rain right as I was getting my hair done, after all music and electronics were set up, and all the programs were laid out.
The arch we set up, fell down and broke.
The flowers that were assigned to the grandparents, musicians and friends participating in the ceremony were not tagged and delivered to the appropriate people. It was a little frustrating to find random people walking around with corsages and boutineres that were intended for others.
And to top it off, the unity candle was not set up. It came time in the ceremony to light the unity candle, and to everyone's surprise, it was all still laying on the ground. We decided to improvise and do the unity candle anyway's, however the wind was blowing a little too hard. We made a good effort, and the laughter really lightened the mood. (Everyone was crying at that point.)
All in all, the imperfections are what really made that day perfect. Because nothing is going to go exactly as planned.
What
would you do Different?
The day was so memorable, I don't think I would have changed a thing. Maybe, not open the bar before the ceremony. But then again, I don't think everyone would have had such a wonderful time.
I would have delegated more specific tasks to people. It wasn't for the lack of organization or planning, we had asked friends and family to help, and they definitely did, it was just a little difficult to tear people away from socializing to get stuff done. Will ended up doing a lot of unnecessary work as far as herding people and organizing last minute stuff. Basically, we should've been more specific to assigning tasks to people. I probably should have looked into hiring a wedding planner for the day of the wedding.
Rehearsal Dinner
Our rehearsal dinner was held at Kennebec Cafe in Hesperus. The food was almost as delicious as the view. Unfortunately, Will's grandmother started to choke and we ended up calling an ambulance. She was okay for the next days festivities.
Budget
Our budget was around $10,000. I was able to save money by buying stuff online at wholesale stores. We did a lot of stuff ourselves which also saved us a bunch of money. We made our own announcements, went with simple, yet creative seal-and-send invitations, and we printed our own programs. We also saved a lot of money by doing all the music ourselves. Fortunately for us, Will has a degree in music and was able to set up a sound system for the ceremony and reception.
Abigail’s Advice
1. You can really save money if you have the time to do some research and shop around.
2. It is all about the bride, and what you want the day to be like but be willing to compromise.
3. Stress as much as you like over the planning but come your wedding day, just let it all go and have fun.
4. Accept the fact that some things are going to go wrong.
5. Delegate.
6. Realize that the groom isn't going to get nearly as excited about all the planning as you are.
7. Remember what it is all really about.
8. Don't forget to laugh and have fun!
Honeymoon Location: Los Cabos, Mexico
RECOMMENDED WEDDING PROS Photographer:. Kyla Jackson Photography - who was just amazing! An absolute pleasure to work with. I think we would've forgotten to serve dinner or cut the cake without her. (Kyla Jackson Photography Profile) Tent & Rentals: Durango Party Rental |
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All photographs by Kyla Jackson Photography
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