- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee Blog
Nerves were at their peak in the reception barn as we waited for guests to fill our ceremony site. As I previously mentioned, we did not have a rehearsal, so this was the first time things were really starting to feel real. We were really doing this. I was calm and excited all at the same time, waiting at the back of the line with my dad.
Our ceremony site:
After the pictures of the bridal party were complete, we made the decision to do family portraits after the ceremony. There just wasn’t time. To be honest, I don’t even know what time it was but someone was keeping track. I think it was our day-of-coordinator, Danielle Odil of Something Classic Events, who was back and forth between us and setting up the barn for our reception. We went back into our gathering place for pictures, Heck’s Tavern at Devil’s Thumb Ranch, and, to my dismay, some our guests were starting to gather there, too. It hit me that they were all seeing me before the ceremony and I wasn’t happy about this. I wanted out. And fast.
Post bridal party portraits but pre-ceremony
If I’m not mistaken, we took about two hours to finish our portraits which meant we were around 30 minutes late to meet our bridal party and family for pictures. The funny thing was, we didn’t care. We’d padded the photo-taking with enough time that we were still able to get all of the pictures we wanted. Plus, it was so frigid outside (probably 30 degrees with the wind chill) that we couldn’t stand a drawn out photo shoot anyway. With t-minus one hour until our ceremony time, we gathered our friends and went back out into the field for some group shots.
Our photographer Tec Petaja’s strong suit is taking pictures of couples. He’s extremely good at taking pictures of everything but he has a way with direction that puts a couple at ease. Or, at least he did for us. After our First Look, we trudged into a nearby field to get some portraits of us. I gave up on holding my dress out of the sticks and let it gather what it may.
Featured on Weddingbee
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
“Make an elegant invitation statement without the fuss. Stylish invitation sets with matching envelopes, reception and response cards included.”
Before I get on with the portraits Mr. CB and I took after our First Look, I thought I’d fill you in on my bouquet, my bridesmaids’ bouquets, and the guys’ boutonnieres. After the post on the guys getting ready, I had some requests for close-ups of the bouts and since my bouquet debuts during our portraits, I figured now was the best time for the first flower post!
My bouquet:
Running about 15 minutes behind schedule, it was time for our first look. We hadn’t made a plan for where this was going to take place so we ended up right out in front of the two cabins the girls and guys were getting ready in, respectively. This was fine, although it felt a little less private than I’d hoped because both cabins were full of bridesmaids and groomsmen peering out at us.
That all fell away, though, very quickly. I came out first and waited for him.
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
As the girls were getting their hair and makeup did at the Ranch Creek cabin, the boys were in the cabin next door known as the Red Quill. Albeit, they started a couple of hours after we did. In both cabins, groomsmen and bridesmaids were opening up our gifts and our homemade cards featuring the horse that Mr. CB drew. I had it turned into a stamp somewhere along the way.
The day started off as golden as I wrote to all of you, with sunlight striping the pines in front of our cabin. I woke up around 8 AM with Mr. CB beside me. I slipped out of bed, took a quick bath, and then pulled on my merino wool sweats and my “Soon to Be Mrs…” tank I’d received for my shower.
Luckily, my bridesmaids were in the cabin right next door so I didn’t have far to go. The makeup artist, Liz from Bobbi Brown, and the hairstylist, Candace from Denver’s Hot Heads Salon arrived at 9 AM and started getting some of the girls going. I got to their cabin at 9:30 to find coffee and bagels waiting. I was ready to start the day.
My hair was set in curlers to give it body. While I waited for those curls to set, Liz did my makeup.
Around 5:30 the night before the wedding, we all started to congregate inside of Winter Park’s Hernando’s Pizza Pub, the site of the rehearsal dinner Mama and Papa CB were throwing us. This was the first time the bridesmaids, groomsmen, and families really got together since we decided that we weren’t going to have a rehearsal.
All photos by Amanda Wilson unless otherwise noted
I can’t recommend this enough: in the days leading up to your wedding, do yoga. Whether it’s by yourself or at a class, it will allow you to give yourself to the moment which is all you can ask for at wedding time: to be present.
Devil’s Thumb Ranch
Photo by our friend, Amanda Wilson
This is exactly what I did on Saturday morning, the day before the wedding. Lucky for us, Devil’s Thumb Ranch has complimentary yoga classes in a window-filled room that overlooks the mountains. Bridesmaid AC and I indulged in this luxury and it was the best way to sink into the weekend with a calm, relaxed mindset.
Read more…
*This recipe actually belongs to Bridesmaid Georgia’s mom and was only featured in The Cowboy Boots’ out-of-town bags. Luckily, The Georgias were generous enough to share it with us! Believe me, this is good, people! There were trades going on like taffy for more granola, because people loved it so much.
Makes 8 cups of Granola
Ingredients:
“Goody bags” is probably a more appropriate name for our out-of-town bags. And that’s because we gave one to every guest in attendance. Out-of-town bags would also be appropriate, though, because all of our guests were from out of town. Either way you look at it, these darlings were stuffed to the brim.
I blogged about the baggies and their adorning stamps, here. Beyond the muslin bags, though, I got blank tags from Hobby Lobby (around $2.99 for 25) and the “I Do” stamp from there as well for around $3.99.
But what’s inside, you’re wondering…
Read more…
The solution to our day of fighting was to take an hour together and just relax. Once we returned from getting our marriage license (during which we missed handing off a few out-of-town bags due to our fight), we decided we both needed a nap and little cuddling. I’d been with my girls for two nights, he’d been with his guys for two nights, and we’d been missing each other.
The unfortunate thing about needing a minute with your guy during the days leading up to your wedding is that it’s nearly impossible to get. We decided that we’d rather spend a few minutes canoodling than be on time for dinner with my family. Normally, I am as punctual as they get but this, I think, is where you are allowed to give yourself leeway; Be late, be early, be whatever you want. It’s your weekend.
Eventually, we sauntered over to dinner at The Ranch House Restaurant (at Devil’s Thumb). I invited everyone attending the wedding to this dinner in case they were looking for company. I listed it on our schedule of events note that I included in our out-of-town bags (more on those to come!) as a non-hosted dinner, but with a few familiar faces. In the end, most of my family came as did my bridesmaids and one groomsman.
The deck outside of dinner. Alpen-glow.
Someone once told me that the days before the wedding can lead to one of a couple’s biggest fights. The stress, the emotions, and the exhaustion all play into it. Well, it turns out that the Friday before the wedding was (almost) our day.
The morning after my bachelorette party was, well, not pretty to say the least. We were all “feelin’ it” but had to pull it together to make the drive from Denver to Tabernash, Colorado, which is about two hours along a windy mountain pass. I’d be dropping off Bridesmaid AC and her sister at Devil’s Thumb Ranch before meeting up with Mr. Cowboy Boot to go get our marriage license.
But, Mr. CB had a different idea about the day’s itinerary. He was already up in Tabernash and wanted to have lunch with some of his guys about an hour back towards Denver (the opposite way of the County Clerk’s office). The thing was that we only had an 8-hour window to get our marriage license (half of which was gone by this point) and, it being Friday, made it the only day to do it before the wedding. The clock was ticking.
I was about to go into bridezilla mode and mandate lunch be canceled but I forced myself to keep my cool. I told him to go, knowing that lunch would probably take longer than his two-hour estimate but that we’d still have a couple of hours afterward to get our license. I was hungover, exhausted, and not in the mood to argue. Secretly, I was dying to sneak in a nap and a shower too. So, I went into our cabin at Devil’s Thumb and did a little meditation to snap out of my bad mood. Take note, brides-to-be, this works.
Read more…
As the sun dipped beneath the now snow-capped mountains, we lounged at the adorable boutique hotel my girls had picked out for me: The Curtis in downtown Denver. Themed floors, elevators that whistle at you, and a restaurant called the Corner Office all make this hotel incredibly retro and kitschy. Our floor theme? The Perfect Pair (adorned by the photograph of a little boy with bubble gum all over his face in our room).
I don’t have any fun pictures of the hotel except for the one below, of all of us standing in front of a sixties-style wall.
Claire, Jess, Alexandra, Me, Anne-Cecile, Kimberley, Sarah, and Jen
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Mrs. Cowboy Boot, Santa Fe Age and Occupation: 25, Magazine Editor Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Artist and Whitewater Rafting Guide Engagement Date: April 28th, 2008 Wedding Date: October 2009 Venue: Devil's Thumb Ranch, Colorado About Me: I grew up in Los Angeles and have since lived in San Diego, Boston, Italy, Hawaii, New York City, and Santa Fe. I speak Italian and love pasta. My real passion is the outdoors, though. When I'm not at work, I'm snowboarding, hiking with my two dogs, mountain biking, surfing, cross-country-skiing, or boating New Mexico's rivers. Despite my boyish love for adventure, I'm a girly-girl at heart and am overly-excited to pull off the romantic, vintage-inspired, country wedding of my dreams.
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 30 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
