Snow Mountain Ranch Wedding in Colorado

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This morning we head to Colorado for the most gorgeous of weddings.

Alison and Will married in the Autumn at quite possibly the most beautiful outdoor setting of Snow Mountain Ranch. There were sweet personal touches, a pretty blue and yellow colour scheme and a whole lot of love.

Thanks goes to the wonderful Searching for the Light Photography LLC for sharing their images today.

From the Bride |

"We wanted our day to be special to us, not a picture perfect catalog wedding. So we included many personal special details of our story and handmade many things. Our ceremony was particularly special with building an Ebenezer and having a close friend perform it. Other special details were quotes we had family and friends write out to display on the tables, homemade aspen centerpieces, childhood photos, wearing my mom's jewelry, and handmade signs. Other special details were handmade to bless our guests- a hot cider bar, a blanket basket, a photo booth, homemade fudge, and bags for the kids. Choosing the venue was maybe the hardest part of the planning process. I had been to YMCA's Snow Mountain Ranch before and fallen in love with the place, and looking at wedding photos from there was simply amazing. The columbine chapel was perfect. It had natural beauty and the laid back atmosphere and raw potential I wanted. They were the first place we contacted, and they were booked. No openings around when we wanted (what happens often with 5 month engagements). So we looked elsewhere. Will is from the West Slope of Colorado, where as I'm from the East Slope, we decided that a wedding right in between in the mountains would be ideal. One of the best parts about being from Colorado is the mountains, and they hold many special memories for us from hiking and camping trips to fall retreats and fun day trips. Budget was also a big issue as well as size. Our guest list was at 250, with a budget no where near what that would require. So we needed someplace big and inexpensive. Luckily I also love DIY, so I wanted a place that would allow for a lot of that. After countless hours of internet searching, a few visits, one booking with a venue that refused to send us a contract, I was over it. In a last stitch effort I called Snow Mountain Ranch, who miraculously had a cancellation on the exact date we wanted. We toured it the next morning and fell in love immediately. In the meantime it was booked by a church group, who after the efforts of the wedding coordinator agreed to let us interrupt their retreat with our wedding. Our wedding being unique was never something we aimed for, rather we tried to just make the wedding "us," a reflection of who we are, where we are from, and what we believe. And from that things became beautifully unique. One of the main focuses for us was the ceremony. We had a friend perform it for us who had known us both for years and mentored us both individually and as a couple. We worked with him to create the order of events, including a friend singing and building an Ebenezer, Will wrote our vows, a friend performed the music on a flute. And the reception was just my DIY side playing with homemade aspen centerpieces with childhood pictures and quotes from family and friends, homemade lace light balls hanging from the ceiling, homemade signs, homemade fudge favors, homemade bags for the kids, a homemade photo booth, and many more. We had fun with it and focused on blessing the people there and getting to share our joy with them. I believe Will and I counted one time and prior to being married we had attended something like 20 weddings together. Those were a huge source of inspiration of what to do and what not to do, what we liked and didn't like. I particularly remember one with an amazing ceremony, another with the best dance party, and one with delicious favors, so we had a good idea of what we wanted from those. As far as specifics the Colorado mountains in the fall guided it. I love love love golden aspens against the blue sky, leading to Colors of golden yellow and navy, and aspen accents. And just the whole feeling of being awed by natural beauty and wrapped in cozy warmth. Our venue was perfect in it's natural beauty, so I just tried to accent that with beautiful and comforting things."

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE |

Venue | Snow Mountain Ranch

Venue Coordinator | Emily Burgess 970-887-2152 ex 4227 [email protected]

DJ | Jammin' DJs

Photographer | Searching for the Light Photography LLC

Florist | Margaret's Garden [email protected]

Bakery | My Mom's Pie

Bride Attire | David's Bridal

BM Attire | David's Bridal

Groom Attire | Men's Warehouse

GM Attire | Men's Warehouse

Make-up/Hair | The Winter Park Salon