Picture this: A circus-inspired wedding, with a real camel, tons of handmade details, and a gorgeous outdoor mountains ceremony. Sounds amazing, right? It is. Now picture that wedding set in a snowy winter wonderland. Now it’s extraordinary! I know wedding bloggers tend to throw the words “stunning” around a bit too much, but this wedding, captured by Andy Barnhart, is truly is stunning. The romantic circus colors pop against the snowy whites, offering a cheery reprieve from winter’s monochromatic palette. You’re going to love every lovely detail!
Why a Mountain Wedding?
Tod and I live in Colorado because of all things outdoor that it has to offer in summer and winter. We love taking advantage of the mountains and spend most our weekends in Steamboat Springs. Steamboat is our “happy” place so we could think of no better place to have our wedding than in the mountains of Steamboat.
Your budget.
Our budget was around $40k
Where did you find your inspiration?
Tod and I love socializing and we love fun. We couldn’t imagine having a traditional wedding so we decided to play our wedding off of the Steamboat Springs winter carnival (which was happening the weekend of our wedding). I love DIY projects, thinking outside of the box, and being creative so it was fun for me to scour the internet looking for carnival themed ideas!
Biggest splurge
Helium (so expensive – who knew!) for 3ft balloons (couldn’t live without them!) and bulb lighting to create a whimsical feel in the space.
Biggest savings:
Tod and I pretty much did everything ourselves – from invitations to building game booths! We felt that doing things ourselves helped us save a lot of money. We also utilized bamboo plates and silverware so we didn’t have to rent all of the expensive china!
What were some personal details you incorporated?
Everything was personalized with our “TnA” brand (koozies, napkins, chapstick, gift bags) – it was a fun way to make it feel personalized and like “us”!
Your favorite moment of the day.
My favorite moment of the day was watching everybody arrive for our special event! And of course – feeling like the luckiest most happy girl in the world to be marrying Tod!
Three things you’re glad you did.
- Rented a camel,
- Created a social wedding rather than having a traditional wedding,
- and having a fairly small guest list (125) so it felt intimate!
What was the biggest challenge planning your mountain wedding?
The guest list and the budget!
What was the best piece of wedding advice you got?
Do it the way you want to do it – don’t worry about what anyone else thinks!
Anything you wish you hadn’t worried about?
The little details that no one really noticed (burlap wrapped candles with bows that I spent an afternoon working on rather than skiing!
How did you choose your vendors?
Recommendations by Steamboat locals and friends that had previously gotten married in Steamboat.
What is your very best advice to other mountain brides? Have fun with the planning, make it you, and enjoy your big day! It was truly the best day of my life so far!
Handmade Details
Everything we did was DIY – koozies, invites, save-the-dates, bell ringers, table signs, candy dresser, game booths, gift bags, silverware packets, etc.!
Steamboat Springs Wedding Vendors
Photographer: Andy Barnhart Photography | Wedding Planner: Lindsey Grannis – One Fine Day | Venue: The Perry Mansfield Home | Caterer: Drunken Onion | Hair/Makeup: Emily Schmidt – Off 7th Studio | Flowers: The Ruffly Rose