Q & A with the Bride and Groom:

How did you meet?

Brian and I met in Chicago on Bumble - the dating app! He stood out from the others because all of his photos were taken in the mountains. He asked me out on a Friday night and we immediately bonded over our love for travel and hiking. The conversation was so easy, it felt like I had known him for years. We dated in Chicago for only three months until Brian moved to Denver. Our relationship grew stronger as we talked on the phone every day and built a solid friendship. After a year and half of traveling back and forth, I took the leap of faith to move to Denver and to see what would happen next. It was a major risk, but I believe my heart has always been in the mountains.

What is your proposal story?

We went camping at Lake Granby and set up camp in a secluded spot near the water. We went for a quick hike and then a relaxing stroll along the lake. Brian, who is always talking, asking questions, or singing, was suddenly very quiet and nervous. We stopped to admire the still-as-glass lake from a large boulder where Brian got down on one knee and proposed. Our dog, Tibby, was right there with us. After our nerves finally calmed down, we called both of our families, who were anxiously awaiting the happy news. That night we had a bonfire under a full moon until the clouds rolled in and we went to sleep in our tent. At 3am we woke up to thunder, lightning, and intense wind of at least 30 mph. We cuddled up with our scared little pup for an hour of intense storms rolling through. You might say we weathered the storm together, as we always do!

Tell us a little a bit about your wedding (your vision, color, style, and location choices).

Our vision was to have a mountain summer wedding with rustic class and a whimsical, intimate feeling. We wanted an outdoor ceremony with the mountains as a backdrop. Since it would be a destination wedding for most of our guests, we wanted to showcase nature's beauty and the gorgeous mountain peaks. We opted for some "glamping" details such as having a fire pit after sunset and offering marshmallows for roasting and a smores station.
We wanted all of our colors to be organic and earthy, so we chose the color palette of sage, ivory, grey, barely there pink, and peachy pink.

Tell us about your attire choices.

I went dress shopping by myself. I wanted to know I was choosing the right gown for me, and no one else. When I found my Liancarlo dress, I said "I feel like a moon goddess in this dress." The lace applique on the bodice of the dress looked so organic, as if flowers were growing from it. I knew that I wanted braids and flowers in my hair since a veil just didn't fit my style.
Brian wanted something that looked sophisticated, yet rugged, so a tweed suit was the perfect option. The brown tones in Brian's suit looked great with the beige in the groomsman's suits. Brian also opted for suspenders instead of a vest or belt.
My bridesmaids picked their own dresses from any place they liked, finding gowns within our color palette. I wanted them to feel like goddesses too in their gowns and handmade floral combs to accent their hair.

What was the most important to the two of you while planning? Was there anything that you chose to splurge on or skip?

The most important thing for us was the venue and the music. We have fallen in love with Breckenridge over the past few years and we couldn't wait to have our family and friends all throughout the town and with us in the mountains. We splurged on dance lessons for our first dance to "If I Had A Million Dollars" by Barenaked Ladies and we skipped the cake entirely, opting for a donut wall.

What were your favorite parts of the day? (memories and stories)

Our ceremony was our absolute favorite moment. It was intimate, spiritual, and heartfelt. Our dear friend Lauren was our celebrant and we worked with her to plan the ceremony with readings and vows that represented our relationship and our vision of love and partnership.
We'll never forget the wedding speeches by our family members and their loving words, nor will we forget looking around the room before dinner and seeing our closest family and friends, gathered in our favorite place.
We loved dancing to our live band, The Radio. They kept the dance floor packed and covered a series of our favorite 90s hits. Our friend Sarah, who is also a singer, conspired with the band and gave us a surprise serenade to Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."

Tell us about your wedding flowers.

We wanted to use a lot of greens and blooms with muted colors. Seeded eucalyptus, pampas grass, and lambs ear were a few of our favorites. My bridal bouquet consisted of dahlias, ranunculas, bridal protea, heather, astilbe, silver brunea berries, white anemone, and a variety of eucalyptus. Suspended above the head table was an eight foot branch and twig chandelier with eucalyptus and accent florals.

Tell us about your wedding cake.

We had a donut wall instead! To keep some tradition, we did feed each other a bite of a donut instead of cutting a cake. We were laughing the whole time!

What did you do for favors?

In lieu of favors, we set aside an amount of money and made a donation to the National Park Foundation to help protect 400 national parks and 84 million acres of treasured landscapes for generations to come.

Do you have any advice for couples planning their weddings now?

Don't take yourselves too seriously! You'll never please everyone, so focus on making your wedding fun for you. Others will want to join you in your joy!