Morgan & Cole's Boulder to Backyard Wedding

For our first wedding of the year we kicked things off in a big way with a full three day production to create a venue in the brides moms back yard. Morgan and Cole met at the University of Colorado. Soon after graduation the couple moved to California where Cole became a firefighter and Morgan started nursing school! They knew they had to make their way back to Boulder to say I Do. 

The bride and her girls got ready at The Dove Inn in Golden. Then headed up Flagstaff Mountain for the couples first look. The weather was foggy and rainy all day but these first look photos are seriously amazing! The ceremony took place at Sunrise Amphitheater in Boulder. The bride walked down the aisle to a harp trio with her father and the weather cleared up just in time for the ceremony (probably because we were doing a rain go away dance). The brides brother officiated the wedding and decided to bring home an analogy about love by driving an axe into a wooden stump. It was a real crowd pleaser. 

Following the ceremony all of the guests met at the brides parents house to see the beautiful tented reception venue we had created. This was a full design client so we assisted in Morgan and Cole in making their dreams come true. They wanted to do a modern garden feel with black and white accents. They had a mixture of tall and short centerpieces and black napkins on clean white rounds and wooden farm tables. My favorite design element was the couples head table where we turned up the romance by adding lots of candle light, a love seat and a floor length floral garland provided by Sara Mica Designs. The ceiling of the tent was decked out with white draping, crystal chandeliers with dripping greenery and strung market lights thanks to our fave rental company Colorado Tents and Events. The guests found their seats by escort cards attached to individual champagne glasses on a greenery champagne wall. This element was very important to the bride to get the party started! This was a fun group that danced their way well into to the night to the sounds of their DJ from DJ Connection. Perks of getting married at your own home means no end time! This family was a dream and event sent me a text months later telling me that they missed me. These are my favorite kinds of clients.

Check out the photos from the day by Lindy Hickman:

Vail & Quintin's Texan Meets Colorado Wedding at North Star Gatherings

Vail and Quintin wanted to get out of Texas for their wedding and head for the mountains baby! They absolutely fell in love with North Star Gatherings and its location in Idaho Springs with such a close proximity to Denver! This group started their day in their hotel suite at The Origin Hotel Red Rocks for hair and make up by Divine Beauty Artists and then made their way up the mountain to take advantage of the gorgeous bridal suite on site. Once the girls were dressed and ready Vail did a first look with both her girls and her dad. Made for some very cute photos. The couple wanted to keep with tradition and go without seeing each other before the ceremony but came together for a pre wedding prayer (one of my favorite intimate moments from their day!). The Texas love birds said I do on the back deck of North Star Gatherings showcasing Colorado in all of its glory! For Vail’s design she wanted things to be boho and modern yet classy. We went with a dusty pink tone for as her main color with accents of ivory, tan and gold. For her tables we did a mixture of wooden farm tables and linened rounds to soften the look of the concrete floors throughout. We did a mixture of different centerpieces to keep interest throughout the space. The tall centerpieces created by Painted Primrose sat on golden harlow stands and showcased the pampas grass to bring in the true bohemian vibe. The real show stopped was the greenery draped chandelier in the center of the ballroom. The couple enjoyed a custom buffet style dinner by Occasions Catering complete with late night Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits just like the ones from the couples favorite late night spot in Texas, Whataburger. Vail and Quintin both went to Texas A&M University so they kicked off the dance floor with the Aggie War Hem that they do at all Aggie Weddings. In the middle of dancing, me and my staff handed out glow batons and light us dance props for guests to use and it definitely kept the energy up through hours of dancing! At the end of the night the couple sped away in a vintage Rolls Royce. The picture perfect end to a perfect evening. Check out the amazing gallery by one of my favorite photographers Samantha Ruscher Photo

Ways to Honor Lost Loved Ones at Your Wedding

Losing a loved one is one of the hardest experiences someone will ever go through. It can feel like such a punch in the stomach. That blow feels extra hard when those special people can’t be there to experience the big milestones in life, like getting married. Since those loved ones can’t be there, it’s important for them to be honored and acknowledged on the day. Here are a few ways you can honor lost loved ones at your wedding.

A Saved Chair: This is one of the most common ways to honor lost loved ones. You leave an empty chair in the first row at the ceremony to represent those who couldn’t be there. Putting a sign on that seat is a good way to make sure people know what that seat is saved for.

Shout out in the Ceremony: Discuss with your officiant when would be a good time to call attention to lost loved ones during the ceremony. The officiant can say a few nice words about those missing on that special day or even just read a list of names of those that couldn’t be present. A moment of silence can be so insanely powerful and make everyone stop to remember those who we have lost and are missing on your special day. This is always a huge tear jerkers and one of the most respectful way to show your respects for a lost loved one during the ceremony.

Memory Table: Create a table in a prevalent place at the ceremony or reception with your favorite photos of your favorite people. This can be a good way to show off your grandparents vintage wedding photos or old photos of you with the person that couldn’t be there. Having their photos around can make it feel like they’re not so far away.

Something Written in the Program: At the bottom of the ceremony program is a good place to say something about those who could not be present on the wedding day. This is a good way to honor your lost loved ones even if you might not be able to say the words aloud.

Take A Shot: This is one of my all time favorite ways to remember a lost loved one. At Kourtney & Tanner’s wedding they took a shot of Kourtney’s dads favorite tequila, Patron, to celebrate their new marriage with their dad that couldn’t be there physically. He was obviously the cool dad! They had custom shot glasses made that went along with the Patron to complete the shot set. This is a little thing that they get to keep with them even after the wedding day. This is a light hearted and more fun way to remember a lost loved one and everyone loved it.

5 Wedding Myths

If you couldn’t tell we do things a little differently at Promise Event Planners. We are a non traditional wedding planning company that has a love for doing things outside of the box of tradition. As much as traditional weddings fit for some, we prefer to throw out the traditions that don’t work for you so you can have the day you have always imagined. We know your parents, grandparents and friends are probably in your ear telling you what things were like in their day or at their weddings but those things don’t have to be the same for you! Here are a 5 Wedding Myths that we just don’t think are true:

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30% of Invited Guests Won’t Attend: I’m sure you’ve heard this number before! While it is sometimes true, Colorado is a true destination and out of town guests will want to come here and stay a while. When sending out invites assume that everyone will attend so your numbers don’t get out of hand. It is also good to have a B list of guests you would like to invite that you can send invites to if a large amount of people RSVP no.

You Cant See the Bride Before She Walks Down the Aisle: It has been said that it’s bad luck to see the bride before you walk down the aisle. Well in the past 10 years or so we have said screw that and introduced First Looks. A First Look is when the couple see each other for the first time before walking down the aisle! This is usually in a somewhat secluded place with just the couple and the photographer to catch all the feels and raw emotion. I am personally a HUGE fan of first looks! I think there are so many upsides to doing a first look with the only downside being that its not traditional. I think first looks help the couple shake their pre wedding jitters and can allow the couple to show their true emotions without worrying about what on lookers think or looking cool in front of all of your friends and family. It also is a huge timesaver and gives the couple the opportunity to handle all their photos before the ceremony so they can spend more time with their favorite people during cocktail hour. We are all for it!

Rain on Your Wedding Day is Bad Luck: It’s NOT! Although it may not be exactly what you planned for, rain on your wedding day is not bad luck. Some even say it symbolizes cleansing and fertility which could be such a positive omen for your relationship and marriage. If you are seeing rain in the forecast the week of your wedding, we can rent umbrellas for every guest and we will discuss our back up plan in detail. Don’t let anything rain on your parade! You are marrying your best friend and that is all that really matters.

You have to have a wedding cake: This is definitely not true! Not everyone likes wedding cake so why would you spend money on one just to have one! If you think your guests will be craving something sweet at the end of the night, you can provide something you and your partner actually do like! Maybe you could provide ice cream from Little Man Ice Cream or serve pie instead of cake! We’ve seen it all from S’mores bars and hot coco stations to chocolate covered strawberries and waffle cakes. This is a place where you can customize your wedding and add a small surprise element that will leave you guests on a (sugar) high note!

You have to do all the traditions: There are so many traditions that surround weddings. Like so many. Things like something old, new, borrowed, and blue, having a bridal party, wearing a veil, and the list goes on and on (and on). You don’t have to toss the bouquet or do a garter toss if it is just not for you! Just because it’s a long running tradition doesn’t mean you have to do it at YOUR wedding! It is your day! Do what you want!

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Need help sorting through all the noise? Contact us to set up your free consultation where we are more than happy to tell you all the dos and donts of wedding planning and wedding traditions!

The Best Months For A Colorado Wedding

The Best Month For Weddings In Colorado

This little blog is going to be short and sweet! I will tell you what my favorite months to get married in Colorado. Whether you are going for a warm day or a winter wonderland, our beautiful state always seems to pull out all the stops for every season. So here are my favorite months for weddings here in Colorful Colorado.

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For a warm weather wedding, I think late September is the best time to get married in Colorado! This time of year is usually super warm with a chance of the first fall colors. The weather will be nice and warm during the day with a cool breeze at night that everyone will be craving as they kill it on the dance floor. All your friends will have had their spring and summer weddings and you get to come in right before the rush of Fall weddings that are so popular here in Colorado.

For winter weddings I think that February is the best month to get married in Colorado. If you are wanting to get married in the winter, you are most likely wanting snow and in February you can almost guarantee that there will be beautiful white snow all around, especially in the mountains! People are typically more available after the holiday season and will be excited that your wedding isn’t in the summer like everyone else!

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Are those the months you thought I would say? Of course each planner will have a different opinion on this but September and February have a special place in my heart. Do you need assistance planning your dream wedding? Contact us now for your free consultation!