No only am I smitten with the wintery goodness and sweet pink details in todays wedding, but I also love the Bride’s amazing advice and down-to-earth ideas for setting priorities and choosing vendors. The whole beautiful day was captured by Carrie Johnson. Scroll down for Katie’s Hindsight Advice.
Katie + Paul
Powderhorn Mountain Resort
February 14th, 2014
Why a Mountain Wedding?
My Grand parents live in Colorado and we live in Toronto Canada. They are unfortunately no longer able to travel so we thought we would bring the wedding down to them! If you’re going to bring a bunch of Canadians down to Colorado you have to have a ski wedding!
Your budget.
$10,000 Canadian
Where did you find your inspiration?
Pinterest! I knew wedding magazines really wouldn’t have what I needed as winter weddings are not as common. Pinterest became one of my greatest tools. The inspiration is endless.
Biggest splurge
Our photographer. It was something I was very adamant on. After it was all said and done my husband agreed it was one of our best decisions!
Biggest savings:
Flowers! Our florist was absolutely incredible! She had such incredible vision. I sent her my Pinterest board and she provided loose buckets of flowers for the table settings. Seeing as we couldn’t meet a decorator in person I asked for my girlfriends and family to help out with the execution. It saved a lot of money and it couldn’t have turned out better!
What were some personal details you incorporated?
The ceremony ended up being very personal. Our friend was able to marry us, as a minister is not required in Colorado. The vows were written by my husband and really reflected our personality. We also had the last words from our vows engraved into our wedding bands.
Your favorite moment of the day.
We did a “first look” before the wedding to ensure we could take photos outside before the sun went down. Getting married is something we chose to do together so it felt more like we were going into this thing as a couple rather than on our own.
Three things you’re glad you did.
- Made sure our most important people were there. Getting married on the mountain allowed us to have my grand parents there which was so special. If we had gotten married without them around it would have been a huge regret. I was so lucky to have such a supportive husband who understand that it meant the world to me.
- We chose a small venue. With destination weddings people can be all over the place and you lose each other. This venue was so intimate. We really felt like we had three whole days with everyone, rather than just a few hours.
- Kept it simple. I worked very hard to fight my Martha Steward instincts and not plan too many ideas and details. At the end of the day, it was about having a wedding in a beautiful place with our friends and family. I worked hard to focus on the things that matter to us and not the small details.
What was the biggest challenge planning your mountain wedding?
It wasn’t the mountain so much as the distance. We planned the entire wedding online and over the phone. My mom went down a week early and we showed up 2 days before the wedding. It was a lot of faith and finger crossing.
What was the best piece of wedding advice you got?
Our friend who was recently married told us that his wife regretted putting too much time into the décor and little details. It caused her a lot of stress beforehand and on the day of she didn’t even notice they were there. In the end you just want a party where you get to marry your best friend.
Anything you wish you hadn’t worried about?
I wanted everyone to go outside at night in their snow suits and go sledding with glow sticks. I bought sleds and glow sticks and had them shipped down. That night we totally forgot and they sat under the table. The next morning we gave them to the resort to give out to the kids.
How did you choose your vendors?
Luckily we had a family friend who lives in town who led us to our caterer and florist. The rest was all through Google and Hitched in GJ. We would analyze websites and reviews and just went with our gut. Also, never be afraid to ask for recommendations between vendors. We were having trouble finding a place to rent speakers. I happened to be on the phone with our cupcake lady and the topic came up. Turns out her husband owns a recording studio and she was our source! You just never know what could happen.
What is your very best advice to other mountain brides?
The sun goes down earlier in the mountains. Be sure to take your photographs outside, not matter what the weather. There’s no point in bringing everyone up the mountain and taking pictures in front of a fireplace. Oh and if you can’t sleep, it isn’t the nerves. You have altitude sickness! Surprise!
Colorado Wedding Vendors
Photographer: Carrie Johnson Photography | Venue: Slopeside Ski Club | Caterer: Cowboy & the Rose | Flowers: 3 Leaf | Cupcakes: Pattie’s Tiny Cakes | Make Up: Perfect Touch Makeup | Hair: Glory Ugalde