Classic Colorado in this post for you. Emily and Mike both live and work in Breckenridge for the Breck Ski Resort. So, it is clearly fitting they decided to have their engagement photos while hitting the slopes. Something I have always wanted to do (although, I’m pretty sure I’d fall one too many times).
And, kudos to Jason for capturing these photos while snowboarding himself.
Bloomin’
Boulder, Colorado
If you know me in real life, or well, even on Twitter, you know I have a mild obsession with sustainability and eco-friendliness. I think it stems from the compost pile I helped my Dad build as a kid. But, I digress.
Upon moving to Colorado, I stumbled on Bloomin’. They are a Boulder, Colorado-based stationery company that designs and prints wedding invitations on seed paper (aka, your guests can take your invitations and plant them – yes, plant them). Their designs are fresh and modern AND you can pick the type of seedling paper they are printed on. I wish I had known about them before I planned my own wedding, but the fact that I found them at all just makes it all worthwhile.
What type of services do you offer to brides and grooms?
At Bloomin, we offer brides and grooms 16 striking, fully plantable seed paper invitation suites that can be customized to perfectly match their wedding’s theme. We are also open to working with custom artwork the couple has created and would like to print on seed paper. We go through a thorough proofing process and take the time to make sure the invitations are exactly what the couple had imagined.
What is your biggest source of inspiration when designing?
Our inspiration comes from the natural beauty in mother nature. We incorporate earthy designs and colors into all of our suites in order to really emphasize the eco-friendliness of our invitations and entire production process. We also have vintage undertones in many of our letterpress printed suites. The rich texture of our signature seed paper takes letterpress printing very well, and finished product has an old world appeal with an eco chic twist.
What type of couples do you like to work with (traditional, modern, etc.)?
We love working with any couples who are looking to add an eco-friendly message to their wedding. Whether it’s a modern couple looking say their vows with the least impact possible or a traditional couple who would like to give the gift of flowers to their guests, we are happy to help them plan their special day.
What do you think sets you apart from other vendors in the industry?
We really pride ourselves on the uniqueness of our handmade product and the fact that we have the highest germination rate in the industry. Once planted, the diverse mix of annual and perennial seeds in all of our suites will bloom into a vibrant wildflower garden, ensuring that your guests will be reminded of your special day year after year. We also believe our commitment to making gorgeous invitations in the most environmentally way possible sets us apart. Our paper is made entirely from post-industrial waste, embedded with wildflower seeds, printed with water soluble and soy-based inks, and produced in our solar-powered facilities in beautiful Boulder, Colorado.
What advice would you give to a bride and/or groom who is on the hunt for their perfect invitation suite?
Really try to incorporate your personal styles into your wedding invites. These are not simply a piece of paper telling people about your wedding, but are the first glimpse your guests are given about your wedding day. We also urge bride and grooms to consider the environment when hunting for their perfect invitations. Instead of choosing products that harm the environment, try something that shows your commitment to the planet as well as your commitment to each other.
Today’s anniversary session is perfect given Christmas is just two days away. A perfect little way to celebrate marriage – with a little snow and snuggling.
Kelli Hunt Environments
Fort Collins, Colorado
Over the last year, event rental companies have been making a name for themselves by finding unique items to add to their inventory. As someone who has been in the industry, Kelli saw a void in the Northern Rocky Mountain region to provide couples with those specialty pieces for their big day. Combined with her photography eye and down to earth personality, she works to bring new life to furniture and accessories, perfect for any party or event.
I admire anyone who takes on a business like this. It becomes a hobby and labor of love to find fun pieces to add to your collection. Lets just say I’m glad we live in a condo in the city, or I’d be off at the flea markets and antique shops hunting for fun items of my own.
Where are you located and do you travel for weddings?
Fort Collins, CO. Yes, I will travel pretty much anywhere for weddings.
What is your biggest inspiration when collaborating with couples to style their wedding?
I get inspiration everywhere. People, nature, design, architecture, and of course pinterest to name a few. But I mostly feel inspired by a coupleʼs personalities, their story, and overall vision for their wedding. Iʼm inspired when people dream big, because it makes me dream even bigger.
What got you interested in event rentals? Did you start in weddings?
Iʼm a photographer as well, so when I photograph weddings, I find myself naturally styling and pulling in objects to make photographs unique. Since Iʼm at a wedding pretty much every weekend, I realized how much potential a wedding or event could have if unique pieces were used in replace of traditional or predictable wedding decor. Iʼve been a long-time lover of unique found and made vintage pieces, so the idea of rentals naturally developed. I started in weddings and have expanded to events, retail spaces and commissioned projects.
What do you think sets you apart from other vendors in the industry?
Because Iʼm a wedding photographer, I have to know what looks good in a photograph as well as to the natural eye. Combining my background knowledge of design, light, color and overall style, I can see where to place pieces in order to have a pleasing aesthetic. Simply put, Iʼm passionate about style, creativity and seeing a vision come to life.
Where do you search for your inventory?
My typical searches include Craigʼs list, Goodwill, antique stores, garage sales, and random people that know I love collecting pieces. Itʼs addicting. I canʼt go anywhere without stopping because I see something unique that would fit perfectly with my inventory, even if I have to give it a little love.
What is one quirky thing about you that people don’t know?
I accidentally swallow my gum within the first 5 minutes of chewing it. I donʼt know why, but it never fails. Then I put in another piece and swallow it again 
.
When you’re not busy with weddings, how do you like to spend your downtime?
I love to be outside in nature, hiking, running, etc. Iʼm a lover of coffee, adventure and vegan food. But mostly I find myself always creating. I am an artist, so even though photography and vintage rentals are what I do for a living, itʼs not unusual for me to be painting, reupholstering, or coming up with another new idea.
Puppies, coffee and open fields in Colorado. Yes. Yes. And, yes.
It is weddings like this one that are truly the reason I have anything to do with this industry. You can feel that Fall crisp in these photos, but you can feel and see Josie and Javram’s love and heart even more. And, I love the intimacy and story behind their courthouse ceremony.
Keri Doolittle met up with the couple right after they tied the knot on Veteran’s Day to capture their joy.
From the Bride:
Javram and I were high school sweethearts and then friends. After I graduated college, we lost touch when Javram moved to California and I traveled to New Zealand and Italy. A few years passed, and we both landed in Denver again. We ran into each other one night through a mutual friend, and instantly felt that familiar connection. We hung out together for the next several months, and then finally I told him I still had feelings for him and that I wanted to date… again. He told me this was very good news That was on November 11th, 2007.
When Javram proposed on Valentine’s Day this year, we were planning on getting married on November 11th (our anniversary date), 2012 in Costa Rica. However, I had always envied a close friend of mine’s wedding at the courthouse. She showed me her pictures once, and she looked so classy, the whole event seemed so meaningful, intimate and low-stress.
As we started to plan, the idea of a destination wedding became less appealing and more stressful. After much deliberation, we decided not to wait a year and instead take advantage of our serendipitous anniversary date, do a civil ceremony and then meet our family at our favorite restaurant for dinner afterwards. The day we made this decision, I ran into a friend of mine who had also done a courthouse wedding and she had glowing reviews for the judge who married her and her husband. I took it as a sign.
We booked 11-11-11 with the recommended judge, made dinner reservations for 11 people (total coincidence!) planned a photo shoot with Keri Doolittle, and we were done planning our wedding! It was amazing. I felt a huge weight lifted off of the whole occasion and I started looking forward to it instead of stressing out about it.
Getting married at the historic City and County Building downtown was magical. It happened to also be Veteran’s Day, so the entire place was empty. Javram and I met with the judge who was the only person there, save one security guard, and she performed a lovely ceremony for just the two of us.
Afterwards, all dressed up and nowhere to go for a couple hours, we did an impromptu champagne toast and lunch at Le Central, where strangers kept offering their congratulations. Our wedding was simple, meaningful and intimate. It was perfect for us.
Javram and Josie live in Denver with their 2 dogs and 2 cats. Javram is in school to become a Holistic Health Counselor. Josie owns and practices in her acupuncture clinic, Immortal Palace, where she specializes in women’s health and nutrition. She also runs a popular online nutrition program called The Only Nutrition Program You’ll Ever Need.
Ceremony Venue: City and County Building (Downtown Denver) | Photography: Keri Doolittle Photography | Flowers: The Perfect Petal
It’s a big day for the Landlocked Bride tomorrow. I officially make the trek from the Midwest to the Mountains. And, as I head West, I cannot help but want to share this wedding. It’s special and meaningful to me for so many reasons. But, more importantly, Bill and Cara made every single effort to make their wedding uniquely them, personal, full of love and memorable. I had the hardest time picking photos and narrowing down her story.
Enjoy the mountains and the love.
From the Bride:
Planning the wedding of my dreams was something I wanted to make sure was perfect. Making sure everything Bill and I did screamed us, not what other people want, and to make sure we focused on us on the big day. So since I come from a large family of siblings, step siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends in which have been family to me for so long I wanted to get creative making everyone feel important without compromising my special day with what I considered a small group.
I initially tried to plan a wedding in St. Louis, but nothing felt right, having that feeling of the right decision was important to me. Bill is from Pittsburgh but spent most of his adult life in Colorado, and I love the mountains and traveling. It made it hard to incorporate a city wedding or to have our wedding pictures in front of the Arch. St. Louis has been my home for my whole life, but St. Louis was not Bill. So after many long discussions we knew that Colorado would be the place for us to get married. We went there almost four years ago as friends, and had the most amazing trip, and I can actually say there on a mountain in Keystone is where I had the moment where we discovered we were more than just friends. So we decided to make the wedding about where we fell in love.
We initially looked at Sapphire Pointe; an amazing overlook in between Breckenridge and Keystone. Unfortunately it could not be booked until 6 months prior to the date we wanted. We contacted good friends of ours in Breckenridge and asked if we could use their amazing restaurant Modis, and thankfully they said yes. With the restaurant beautiful as-is, we hardly needed decorations. Just a couple centerpieces and the place would be great. For food, they just told us to trust them. The owners are very close friends of Bill’s, and since we had eaten at Modis before, we knew the food would be absolutely delicious.
We definitely tasted the cake. Katy Schabert from SugarBreck was so nice, and I could tell from her website that she was an absolute artist. Bill and I tasted the cake and chose our flavors, I told her our colors, mentioned my desire for fondant, and I told her my flowers were sunflowers. We also spoke with Cindy from Bloom Flowers, a good friend of Bill’s and fellow Pittsburgher. I told her to that I wanted sunflowers all different kinds and I wanted them everywhere.
When Christmas came around, it was time to book Sapphire Pointe, but to my horrifying dismay, for two weeks out of the year the road to this location would be closed. And, sure enough, the week of our wedding was one of them. I was devastated and freaking out. So I frantically looked online and decided to call a wedding planner at Keystone Resort. Bill had worked there for so many years and I thought they could help lead us to a good location. I got a hold of Alicia Hein, and she pointed us in a couple directions, one of them being Keystone Ranch. I had been there only for dinner, and never really thought of the idea of getting married on a golf course. Bill of course loved the idea. Golf is his passion, and he used to work there at the restaurant. So the decision was made. And it felt right; better than Sapphire Pointe.
One of the major decisions we made was who was going to marry us. I wanted to choose someone who would guide us and help us through our journey together. Someone who knew us, and to Bill and I we both knew that answer. Bill’s friend Brian was it. They had been friends since they were kids growing up in Pittsburgh, him and his wife had been such a support to Bill so many times in his life, and he and his wife are a relationship we work toward as a couple and as parents. They have four amazing children who we love as family, and they are people we will have in our lives forever and whom we always know we can turn to.
The day following our at home “Preception,” Bill and I started our drive with a car full for our next adventure, the big day. Since we were full of excitement we made the 12-hour drive, no problem. As we made it to Denver, Colorado we were so excited, until we received a text message from a friend of 8” of snow in Breckenridge. As we knew we had three more days till the wedding, we didn’t care if there was 2 feet of snow.
I didn’t really get nervous until I was waiting to walk out on our wedding day. I remember I was standing inside the restaurant at the golf course with my dad, and just wanted to hear Bill say something (I knew he was on the other side of the wall from where I was standing), but not a peep. But the moment I walked out and saw him was something I will never forget as my heart felt whole and filled with joy.
We went to Modis where everyone was waiting for us. The food was to die for (many months later people are still talking about it). The sunflowers everywhere were amazing. And let me tell you about Jonny Mongambo, unreal. We had a Led Zeppelin song as our first dance called Thank You. He sang it beautifully; I can never thank him enough for how awesome he did. And then the rest of the night, I never left the dance floor, I mean never. At moments I was even by myself, which my awesome brother made sure didn’t happen for very long. He was always right beside me.
I didn’t have one complaint of the day; it was the most perfect day of my life and I loved sharing it with the people who mean the most to us. I felt like the luckiest person in the world.
Ceremony Venue: Keystone Ranch | Reception Venue: Modis | Floral Designer: Bloom Flower Shop | Band: Johnny Mogambo Band | Bakery: SugarBreck | Photography: CF Photography
When you think of a Colorado wedding, you often envision open fields and mountain backdrops. This one will surprise you. It takes place in the heart of the Denver Theater District, set with the city as it’s backdrop. While the details are simple and pretty, it’s the urban feel that downtown provides that helps to give this wedding character. Diana and Theodore clearly gave their wedding much thought, in thinking about who would be attending and planning their wedding around family and love. Those are the best types of celebrations. Ones brought together by love.
From the Photographer:
Diana and Theodore currently live in Utah but decided to have their special day in Denver, Colorado so that Diana’s elderly family members who live there could be in attendance. There is no specific color theme with this modern bride. She loves all colors and didn’t want to limit her wedding palette! Chad Braithwaite was flown in to capture their special wedding day. There was magic in the air and emotions were high starting from the rehearsal dinner.
Diana was overwhelmed with how much love and support her and Theodore experienced on their wedding day. For the guests, they all left home with a baby spruce tree to plant. The Blue Spruce is Colorado and Utah’s state tree. It is very symbolic to both of them as it was like bringing together both of their backgrounds to start one life together. Theodore from Utah, and Diana from Colorado. As for the ceremony the couple mixed dirt from both states into one pot and planted their tree. The evening lead to dancing, dinning, and a dramatic fall to the floor as Diana laid on the dance floor for laughs and photos!
Ceremony / Reception Venue: Denver Performing Arts Complex | Caterer: Kevin Taylor’s at The Opera House | Faces Photography | Floral Designer: European Flower Shop | Wedding Gown: Maggie Sottero | Bridesmaids Dresses: Bill Levkoff | Jewelry: Mckay Diamonds | Tuxedo and Mens Attire: Jones of New York | Band: Peneplain Jazz
It’s definitely no secret my heart’s in Colorado. I was thrilled when Jessica from A Vintage Affair Rentals contacted me about a recent styled bridal shoot she put together with some great mountain vendors. She clued me in by sharing her Pinterest inspiration board. Sort of felt like I was in on the planning (even thought I wasn’t). I could not wait to see what she put together. This vintage, mountain-inspired session has so many elements of Colorado that I just love. The scenery. The mountains. The horses. Nature. Oh, man, Mother Nature. And, did I mention details?
From Jessica:
For this shoot I wanted to do something very “Colorado” in the mountains. Inspiration that brides could really relate to. The new venue- Deer Creek Valley Ranch was perfect for it. It has a ton of great history (once was a stage coach stop between Denver and Fairplay), is family owned, and even has the gorgeous Mount Evans as a backdrop. We focused on keeping with natural colors to compliment the scenery. Each and everyone one the vendors worked hard for this shoot together. Laura Murray has an eye for catching all of the perfect shots and details. Hailey Middleton, not only has that timeless beauty, but every singe second she was posing. She really knows how to work the camera. The dress, Fawn by Vera loaned to us by Anna-Be Bridal Boutique, was a dream. The make-up by Natosha Cooke Make Up Artistry really enhanced Hailey’s natural features. For the hair, Brandice Boss did a wonderful job styling Hailey’s hair with a unique braided look that complimented the inspiration. And Fleur Decor rose to the challenge of creating flowers for not just Hailey, but a horse. They not only looked gorgeous, but apparently were tasty because both horses keep trying to eat them. All in all, it came together better than I imagined.
Rentals / Styling: A Vintage Affair Rentals | Photographer: Laura Murray Photography | Venue: Deer Creek Valley Ranch | Model: Hailey Middleton, Agency: Wilhelmina Denver | Dress: Fawn by Vera Wang from Anna-Be Bridal Boutique | Make-Up: Natosha Cooke Make Up Artistry | Flowers: Fleur Decor | Hair: Brandice Boss
