Kate & Dan of Indian Hills, Colorado
Married September 16, 2006
Durango, Colorado
Our wedding was more magical than my wildest dreams, the day was flawless! The perfect wedding weekend!
Budget: $20,000
Number of Guests: 65 – all from out-of-town.
Ceremony Site: Andrews Lake. We really wanted to have an outdoor mountain wedding and since Durango was the first place we had vacationed together as a couple, we knew it was the perfect locale.
Reception Site: Silverpick Lodge. We rented out the entire lodge for the weekend and had a BBQ and Bonfire for all our guests the night before the wedding, it was a big hit. Everyone at the Silverpick made us feel like family and the weekend was flawless because of them.
The Planning
I used the Western Colorado Wedding Guide for ideas and to find vendors. My parents flew from Michigan to Durango just to interview all the vendors for us and scout out ceremony sites.
I bought the centerpieces and reception decor online and set them up myself with a few friends and family.
How long to plan wedding: 8 months.
The Theme/Décor
Our colors were Ivory and Black. We added fall leaves and orange/yellow roses to the decor and bouquets for color.
The Flowers
Yellow and orange tipped roses with fall leaves.
White gladiolas and corkscrew willow for the centerpieces at the reception.
The Food
Elk, Beef Tenderloin and Salmon – it was exquisite.
The Favors
Welcome gift bags filled with local beer, fresh baked cookies from Bread and a list of our ‘what’s cool to-do’ in Durango.
Most memorable moment
Hiking the morning of with Dan was truly great because we got to take a moment for ourselves before the day got crazy.
Riding to the Andrews Lake with just my parents and then hiding in the trees waiting to hike across the field and down the aisle with my Dad was so meaningful to me.
Special Touches
1. I wore my grandparents wedding rings on a necklace and wore my mom’s long veil at the ceremony.
2. We wrote our own vows to reflect who we are as a couple.
3. For the unity ceremony, we used pebbles instead of sand since we are both Geologists.
4. We could not decide who to sit with at the reception, so we had our own bride & groom table in the middle of the room.
5. Dan’s Uncle played violin at the ceremony.
6. Our flower girl wore a dress I wore as a flower girl in my uncle’s wedding 20yrs ago.
7. Dan and I went on a hike the morning of the wedding, it was very special.
8. Dan’s mom did the artwork for our program cover.
9. I had my brothers stand-up with me...I called them my Brides-men!
10. Dan took my dad fly fishing the day before the wedding to show his thanks.
My Advice
1. Pick out your wedding gown first; it sets the tone for the whole wedding.
2. Make a realistic budget and stick to it.
3. Find and book vendors as early as possible, we almost didn’t have someone to marry us. Chessa Gill was gracious enough to do our wedding even though she had another one right before at a different location.
4. Plan your honeymoon and book it as soon as you can... two weeks before the wedding we realized we hadn’t made our honeymoon plans! Luckily it all came together and I couldn’t imagine a better place to honeymoon.
5. Have fun and don’t stress...everything will be better than you ever expected.
6. Take time to enjoy the day with your spouse, the day really will fly by!
Honeymoon Locale: Sayulita, Mexico
RECOMMENDED WEDDING PROS Venue: Silverpick Lodge. Joshua and Pete were so awesome, we can’t thank them enough.
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