Dallas residents Erica and Chris went the destination wedding route and blew us and their guests away by picking the majestic Breckinridge, Colorado area as their location. Natural beauty was high on their wedding list and they got exactly what they wanted at Ten Mile Station with epic mountain views adorning their al fresco ceremony. The pair were lucky enough to wed during the peak of the autumnal season when the leaves are as colorful as they could be, and we adore all of the outdoor elegance Kelsey Booth Photography snapped.
How did you meet?
Chris and I were both on a Halloween pub crawl in 2015. It was planned by people who work for the company where we are both employed. We had never met one another before but discovered we had a lot of mutual friends. With the immediate spark and a few drinks, we were inseparable all night, and from that night onward.
What is your proposal story?
Both working for an airline, we love to travel, and planned a two week trip to Australia. After a 16 hour flight and a quick change of clothes in the airport, we set out on our first adventure – a day full of winery visits outside of Melbourne. We were only at our second stop around 11am, and Chris couldn’t pass up the beautiful setting we saw at Domain Chandon. I barely had a sip of the champagne we just ordered and Chris wanted to “take a walk”. We walked right up to the grape vines, he gave his sweet speech, and we were engaged!
What was the most important to the two of you while planning? Was there anything that you chose to splurge on or skip?
During the planning process it was really important to us to keep things fun and not get stressed out. We wanted to look back on our engagement as a happy time and avoid wishing we had just eloped like many of our friends felt building up to their weddings. Working with flexible and low stress vendors helped us accomplish this! We were debating if a videographer was worth it but we are SO glad we had one! It brought all the amazing pictures to life and it is a great way to relive the day. We also really wanted a band but it was over double the price of a good DJ. Chris’s parents helped us out with the band as a wedding gift. It MADE the party! Everyone enjoyed it which made us really proud of how much fun everyone had.
I was also on the fence about hiring a coordinator. The expenses were really adding up and none of my friends who had been married paid the extra money for a coordinator. I settled for a day of coordinator which ended up helping us with way more than just the day of and it was WORTH EVERY PENNY! I enjoyed my wedding day and the wedding weekend 100 times more than I would have without the extra help. I can look back at my wedding remembering all the amazing moments and not the actual reality of what it took to make it so magical.
We did skip a photo booth since that doesn’t seem to be as popular anymore but we replaced it with an oxygen bar. This was a really fun activity to have since we were in the mountains. I don’t think there was a time all the spots at the oxygen bar weren’t in use.
What were your favorite parts of the day?
Our first look was AMAZING! Our photographers and videographers took us to an amazing place on the mountainside for pictures for about an hour after we got ready with our bridal party. It was so fun to have some time during the day with just the two of us (plus our photo entourage). It was a really nice way to calm the nerves as well. We took the most amazing pictures, and took some time for of us to read our vows to one another. It was a really special part of our wedding day.
A memory that still makes me laugh is the initial first look when Chris had just turned around to see me in my wedding dress. I was about 20 feet away and began walking towards him through the trees. He had the most emotional look on his face seeing me for the first time. Right as I took my first step towards him my veil was stuck on a tree stump and yanked my head back. We went from crying from emotions to crying from laughter. It was a great way to start our special day together.
What’s your biggest piece of advice for other couples planning a mountain wedding?
Our biggest piece of advice for couples planning a mountain wedding would be to allow your guests to soak in the beauty. Do an outdoor cocktail hour if you can. Have a cool photo spot outside for guests to take pictures. Also keep the elevation in mind! We had a lot of out of towners coming to the wedding and the elevation was quite an adjustment. We made it fun at the wedding by having an oxygen bar and party favors to help re-hydrate.