Winter Vermont Wedding With Two Brides Jaclyn Schmitz Photography | Via MountainsideBride.com
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Cozy and Rustic Winter Mountain Wedding in Vermont

Wedding vow books | Winter Vermont Wedding With Two Brides Jaclyn Schmitz Photography | Via MountainsideBride.com

Emily and Megan’s cozy winter wedding in Vermont is full of classic New England charm and lovely rustic details. Emily and Megan fell in love with the mountains after taking a trip to the region for Emily’s birthday. The couple went all out with a gorgeous outdoor ceremony, traditional sleigh ride and darling rustic details. The heartfelt day was captured by Jaclyn Schmitz.

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Megan + Emily
Mountain Top Inn & Resort, Chittenden VT
Jan 8, 2016

Wedding day weather: Mid to upper 30’s – somewhat sunny!
Number of guests: 80
Your budget: 12K-14K
Biggest splurge: Honestly… getting married at the venue we did. We really scaled back many other things to make it work and we were so glad we did!!
Biggest savings: Affordable wedding attire, Friday off-season wedding, and very few flowers

Why did you choose the Mountains for your wedding?

We chose our venue because we took a trip there in summer of 2014 for Emily’s birthday – we found the place on a whim on Groupon and fell in love. I (Megan) planned a whole trip to VT for her birthday – a stop at Harpoon Brewery, a stop at Quechee Gorge and then to the resort. Emily had no idea we were staying there and I lied saying we were going to the top of a mountain to go on a gondola ride before we headed home – she got a bit skeptical when she started seeing rural animal farms…. we both stepped into the lobby and knew we wanted to get married there (this being about 6 months before we got engaged)! They had both the most amazing views an delicious food (a double win). We chose the mountains because it was unique, a true natural beauty and we wanted to do something different. We knew we did not want a “banquet” hall look.

Wedding day theme:

To keep it as simple as possible and let the natural beauty of the venue shine through. We wanted to share one of the most beautiful and unique places we’ve ever visited with those that we care about most. We wanted the venue to speak for itself. We used neutral colors and very limited decorations to make this happen – I would say our theme was rustic and simple.

Where did you find your inspiration?

Neither of us had Pinterest (shocking…), but we got many of our ideas from budget blogs and etsy shops. It was from a blog that we got the idea to do cake centerpieces instead of flowers – that was very unique to us (and helped us financially as well.). Every weekend I’d go online and look at pictures tagged on Instagram at the resort from weddings that week and get ideas from that too!

How did you choose to personalize your wedding?

Our wedding had many personal touches…..

  • The cupcake centerpieces we drove up from where we use to live in Connecticut – it was one of our favorite date spots
  • The medicine bottles are all from Emily’s moms house (she collects them)
  • The invites were designed and made by my cousin
  • The food was mostly comfort food (tomato soup shooters with grilled cheese, mini meatball marinara balls, whipped potato bar, mac and cheese bar, etc. some of our favorites! … we also had “real” food :D)
  • A blue handkerchief from my Dad inside my dress (Megan)
  • My grandmothers “M” necklace around my bouquet (Megan)
  • An in memory table for those who had passed with pictures

What was your favorite part of the reception?

That the dance floor was packed for the entire night and when I wanna dance with somebody came on by Whitney Houston. Also all of the food stations…. THEY WERE SO GOOD! (and unlimited).

What are three things you’re super glad you did?

  • Waves of food stations vs. a plated meal. Our guests were up and moving the entire time! We also were able to serve so many of our favorite food items instead of just a few.
  • I am also glad we did the sleigh ride (when in Rome… or the mountains, right?), had an outdoor ceremony despite the weather.
  • Had cupcake centerpieces instead of flowers, and stayed with our bridal party in an awesome ski lodge for the night before and night of our wedding.
  • I guess in making this list I am realizing I am glad we made all of the choices we did (Ha!) and I am super glad we didn’t blow our budget on decorations, and instead spent it on experiences instead of things :)

What was the biggest challenge in planning your mountain wedding and how did you overcome it?

Inability to get up there often for planning. It was a several hour drive and each time we went we would have to drop off the dogs at a family members and pay to stay up there. It was costly, but worth it. Also that it was so warm this winter in new england. I was nervous we’d have no snow for our january wedding (and thus no sleigh ride). We overcame the travel one by thanking our family and buying them things each trip for watching our dogs :D and by going up way less often than we wanted, BUT kept saying it was so we could go on our honeymoon!!

How did you find and choose your vendors?

We chose based on reviews and affordability. We spoke with at least 2-3 dozen photographers before making a choice and were so happy we chose Jaclyn as her work is EXACTLY what we envisioned! For all other vendors, we were truly limited given we were in rural vermont, but we still talked to many DJ’s to find ours (and he was awesome!)

What is your best piece of advice to other mountain brides who are planning their weddings?

Your venue and the mountains is what makes it beautiful. Spend your budget on ways to make your wedding and party the best it can be, as you already have the most beautiful natural “decorations”!

Vermont Wedding Vendors

Wedding Photographer: Jaclyn Schmitz | Venue, Lodging, Reception, Spa: Mountain Top Inn & Resort |
Flowers: The Bloomin’ Place (no website) | Linens: The Linen Shop | DJ: El Folio Entertainment | Cupcakes: NoRa Cupcake Co | Save the datesBeyond Design (ETSY shop) | Vow Booklets: Noteworthy Design Co (ETSY shop) | Cake Topper- Laser Design (ETSY shop) Megan’s side getting ready button downs: G monogram (ETSY shop) | Wooden guest book- Pink Lemon Designs (ETSY shop) | Invites- Cousin Katie designed and printed them as a gift

Emily’s attire:
Vest- Asos | Button down- Ralph Lauren Rugby | Pants- Express | Tie- Handmade by Emy (ETSY shop) | Shoes- Sperry snowboots from Sierra Trading Post

Emily’s wedding party:
Pants- Express | Button down- J Crew | Bow ties- The Tie Bar

Megan’s attire:
Dress, bolero, hair piece & veil- Alfred Angelo | Belt- Affordable Bridal (ETSY shop) | Earrings- Dream Island Jewellery (ETSY shop) | Shoes- North Face snow boots for ceremony & Kate Spade Glitter Keds for reception

Megan’s wedding party:
Dresses- Alfred Angelo | Knot earrings- Project Dahlia (ETSY shop) | Letter necklace- Mignon and Mignon (ETSY shop) | Dog Tuxedos- Happy Dapper Dogs (ETSY shop)