Kirsten and Adam’s wedding was beautifully sweet and sincere and simple.

Early in conversations with her she said something to the effect that she didn’t really like color. She liked the idea of a colorless wedding. She felt, rightly so, that the natural beauty of a Beaver Creek and Vail area were enough beauty. I’d add that the love, friendship and fun they share and that surrounds them in their relationships with their family and friends only accentuated that beauty.

Photography: Tyson Trish Photography
Ceremony Venue: Beaver Creek Chapel, Beaver Creek, Colorado
Reception Venue: Donovan Pavilion, Vail, Colorado
Floral Design: Cori Cook Floral Design
Wedding Design & Planning: Talia Events

Magazines take a bit of time to “brew” so it didn’t come as a surprise to see Adrienne and Evan’s wedding in the knot Colorado’s 2011 Fall/Winter publication. But still, it’s fun to see it all come together and brings back so many great memories of their beautiful wedding day!

A big thanks to Rachael Grace Photography for sharing these photos with me!

“Thank you so much for everything, it was so much freaking fun!” That was the initial response from Caki when I wrote her to make sure she was ok with me posting their wedding photos. She captured it perfectly, their wedding was a ton of fun. It was, like all my favorites, perfectly the two of them.

They incorporated her father’s collection of glass lamps on the mantel of the fireplace at the front of the ceremony, Caki put her incredible graphic design skills to use and made all kinds of little cute paper touches and signs, they played off his last name, Cook, and their love of food and gave each guest a small tin of rub for meat, they brought in a rockin’ gospel choir for their first dance and they laughed and played and were so much fun. It was truly a pleasure!

Photography: Adam & Imthiaz Photography
Venue: University Club, Denver 
Lighting: Decor ‘N More, Inc.
Floral Design: Cori Cook Floral Design
Mini Desserts:  Happy Cakes
Wedding Day Coordination: Talia Events

As I said last week, I was honored to be a part of Substance, a workshop put on by Jenna Walker and Katie Thumes from Jenna Walker Photographers. They gathered 15 budding women photographers to talk craft, art, work and so much more.

I put together a Styled Shoot for the girls to play with and test out their newly refined skills. But, like all projects, I was not alone. Crystal Oleskevich created floral beauties. Liana from makeup by janine did the make up. Frisk Jewelry from Boulder loaned us a few of their pieces–this is just a small glimpse into all the fun pieces they make and sell out of their store on The Hill in Boulder. Friends at Chair Covers and Linens and All Events offered their linens, glasses, flatware and so much more.  And, finally, the gracious Paulette loaned us her car for the afternoon.

As for the inspiration, I have been collecting (much to mother’s uncertainty of their worth) state plates for a few years now. They are just so kitschy and so, well, wrong, that I think they’re fabulous. When Jenna and I started talking about the overall design, I offered a couple ideas in the Style File–state plate vintage-esque or spring bulb beauties. I wanted to be sure there was a more traditional, more standard pretty option for her to choose. I would be lying to say that I wasn’t thrilled when she chose the state plates and I finally had the chance to create the table that had been building alongside my collection.

It was designed to be a new take on the travel theme–rather than pastel colored maps and European backpacker inspired details, it’s highway, interstate or Route 66 kitsch! With old license plates tied to the backs of the chairs, brightly colored glassware, a vintage VW Bug with a Coca-Cola box tied on top and bottles of Bubble Up thrown in, it’s pure Americana!

photos by Jenna Walker Photographers

What a fun surprise for a Monday morning! I got an email yesterday morning, from Christina Kiffney letting me know that Beth and Jaime’s wedding had been published on the popular wedding blog, Bonafide Bride. We loved being a part of Beth and Jaime’s celebrations–what a great day it was!

photo by Christina Kiffney Photography

…excited and nervous and giddy and, at times, overwhelmed. I am often asked how the wedding was. Each time, my answer is that it was an incredibly blissful day. Sal and I have said that our only regret is that we don’t get to do it again–same day, same person, same everything, but again this weekend.

It’s been fun to share all the details with you over the past week. Now, I look forward to hearing about and sharing in your wedding day in 2011 and beyond!

Hugs,
Rachel

photography: Tyler Jones Photography

cinematography: Rising Moon Video Productions

flowers: Cori Cook Floral Design

location: Planet Bluegrass, Lyons, CO

catering: Greens Point Catering

cake and desserts: Teacup Shop

makeup: makeup by janine

hair: Girls and Curls

bride’s dress: Jenny Yoo from Anna Be Bridal Boutique

wedding design and planning: Talia Events

I was often asked if I was planning my own wedding. I did and as you can imagine, loved the process. But, practicing as I preach, Chelsey came in to coordinate the day. She was, as always, incredible! I know I’m biased, but I can’t tell you how nice it was to sit back and just enjoy the day and not worry if everything was in order and flowing correctly. Again, I’m biased, but hire a Wedding Planner!

Now, for the day’s details…

Flowers

As I mentioned on Monday, I was really excited about our wedding flowers. I have always found myself drawn to the fillers and “stuff” more than any particular flower. In talking with Cori Cook, a dear friend and our Floral Designer, I found myself saying that I just knew I wanted lots of stuff over and over again.

And stuff she delivered! Our bouquets were a mix of cabbage/garden roses, tuberose, heather and lots of interesting, textural stuff tied with simple velvet ribbons. If I’m honest, I didn’t want to put mine down I loved it so much!

As you saw yesterday, the centerpieces followed suit with a mix of flowers and textural fillers. The pew decorations were clusters of heather and green wheat embraced by burlap and trails of printed cotton fabrics and at the end of the aisle two large barrels were topped with silver vases filled with a mix of flowers.

Each flower girl carried a wreath of significant flowers or herbs down the aisle. There was rosemary for remembrance, wheat for friendliness, heather for wishes to come true and stock for a happy life. For the littlest of the bunch, it proved to be a great toy during the ceremony!

Dessert

Sal and I decided to indulge our guests in a few of our favorite and a few traditional desserts. I love French Macarons and Paula at Teacup Shop created some fabulous fall-flavored treats. They were salted carmel, tiramisu (in reference to Sal’s Italian heritage), and chocolate mole. Additionally, she baked a number of pear and apple tarts and a mix of fall-flavored cakes. My mother baked a traditional Norwegian cake called a kransakake as homage to my Norwegian heritage. Sal’s mother created bundles of Jordan almonds Italians call “confetti” and give out at celebrations.

Little things

Our ring bearer bowl was actually an antique drinking bowl from my grandfather’s family in Norway. One of our ring bearers carried and the other, his sippy cup—ah, the agenda of a two year-old! He stole our hearts!

Our guest book was a wooden bench that will sit on our porch for years to come.

Hay bales, luminaries and the bridesmaids’ bouquets decorated the building’s stage.

I wore a charm bracelet of photos of our grandparents and loved ones who had either passed or weren’t able to join us for the day. It was our way to bring them close in spirit.

My mother made several strings of pennant flags to indicate the path for our guests.

It was a day of details, all of which were in some way important to the two of us, even the sippy cup!

photography: Tyler Jones Photography

cinematography: Rising Moon Video Productions

flowers: Cori Cook Floral Design

location: Planet Bluegrass, Lyons, CO

catering: Greens Point Catering

cake and desserts: Teacup Shop

makeup: makeup by janine

hair: Girls and Curls

bride’s dress: Jenny Yoo from Anna Be Bridal Boutique

wedding design and planning: Talia Events

Our wedding invitation was simple and for the most part, it read like most you’ve likely seen, but the last sentence was a bit unusual:     

         Dinner, dancing and ridiculous amounts of joy immediately following the ceremony.

We wanted to set the tone that above all else, it was a celebration.

The festivities began with a cocktail reception on the lawn. We served “Apple of My Eye Fall Sangria,” a variety of wines, local microbrew beers and nibbles of food which were served on slate tiles. In homage to Sal’s family from Cape Cod, there were lobster roll sliders and in honor of the season there were butternut squash soup shooters.

My cousin, a professional hoop dance teacher, flew a set of hoola hoops out for guests to enjoy and lawn games were placed in the grass for people to play. The boys tossed a football, friends gathered on hay bales and old church pews and the hoola hoops were enjoyed by all!

Guests’ escort cards were small notes from Sal and I. Knowing that we’d struggle to spend enough time with each guest, we wanted to personally thank them for coming and express our love.

Dinner was held inside a large barn-like building on the property. Long tables were set-up for guests while Sal and I delighted in the view from a two-person sweetheart table. It provided a chance to take a deep breath and look around at our loved ones enjoying themselves and, allowed us a few cherished minutes to reflect on what had transpired over the previous hours.

Each table was set with a plank of wood down the center. A mis-match of crystal and silver vases filled with a mix of flowers, gourds of olive tapenade and hummus as precursors to a Mediterranean-inspired dinner menu, and a basket of bread was then placed on each plank.

The evening’s festivities continued with toasts from friends and family, cake cutting, and a choreographed dance designed to get everyone out on the dance floor—and join us they did! My family did a surprise line dance to Boot Scootin’ Boogie and Sal’s brothers organized a serenade of Stand by Your Man. Everyone pulled out their moves!

 I doubt it will surprise you that the little ones stole the show with their attempt to break dance just like their 10 year-old cousin. They were the hit of the evening!

photography: Tyler Jones Photography

cinematography: Rising Moon Video Productions

flowers: Cori Cook Floral Design

location: Planet Bluegrass, Lyons, CO

catering: Greens Point Catering

cake and desserts: Teacup Shop

makeup: makeup by janine

hair: Girls and Curls

bride’s dress: Jenny Yoo from Anna Be Bridal Boutique

wedding design and planning: Talia Events

Sal and I spent a long time discussing our wedding ceremony. We felt strongly that it was the reason we were all there and wanted it to reflect our sentiment that everyone in attendance was deliberately chosen to be there not just as a guest, but as a witness to the vows we made.

I have always suggested and moving forward will strongly advise anyone planning their wedding to start planning the ceremony early. Unfortuantely, it’s one of those things that gets pushed to the bottom of the to do list because nothing’s actually “due” to anyone but yourselves. It’s worth spending an evening a few months before your wedding searching through different ceremony programs, readings and perhaps songs to get a sense of what you like.

Even with a high priority on the ceremony, I can attest that it was tough to sit down and do it.

In the end, we decided to have all four flower girls running down the aisle ringing bells to signal the start of the ceremony. They loved it and our guests did too!

I don’t think I’ve ever voiced an opinion about whether or not to take photos before the ceremony, but feel like I would do the day an injustice if I did not do so here. When Sal and I began talking about the schedule of the day with a photographer friend, she asked if we were planning to see each other beforehand. I said, yes and he said no, in perfect unison. Clearly, it was a subject in need of more discussion.

In the end we did see each before the ceremony. If you haven’t heard the term yet, there’s a somewhat new idea in wedding photography of a First Look. Essentially, it’s a semi or fully staged photographed point in the day when the bride and groom see each for the first time. Sometimes, photographers will position the groom with his back to the bride. Sometimes, she’ll blindfold him or cover his eyes. But, always those first few moments together are captured.

For me, the preference to see Sal and taking photographs before the ceremony was only tinted by a reluctance to leave the cocktail reception in order to take pictures. Although that hour with friends and family was treasured. It was more about calming what I knew would be a jumble of nerves and consciously taking a few moments during the course of the day to spend time alone together, in awe of all that had happened thus far and all that was in store.

It was a cherished few minutes, with cameras keeping their distance so we didn’t even think about them being there, to express our love for each other and excitement about the fact that we were about to get married. I think Sal captured it best when he said that although he’d been hesitant at first, it was one of his favorite parts of the day and he was so grateful to have had that time.

As I remember clearly the tears of joy and gratitude that were on the brink of making their way down my cheeks as I walked down the aisle, I can tell you seeing him ahead of time did not dimish the feeling of walking toward my husband.

In tandem with considering what we wanted to say, have read and the overal flow of the ceremony, we also spent a good deal of time considering a ceremony to include as a variation on lighting a Unity Candle or a sand ceremony, neither of which were particularly “us.” My mother actually came up with the idea of building a rock cairn. If you’re not familiar with the term, a cairn is essentially a pile of rocks used in mountainous areas to indicate a trail or path. For us, it signified our familial roots and was a reminder that our families of origin and the one we were about to establish would always serve as a path “home.” Sal’s father laid the first stone representing his family, his mother placed the next, my father the next, my mother the next and finally, Sal and I placed the final stone representing the start of our lives together.

The cairn now sits on our fireplace as a daily reminder of that day and those vows and all that supports us as we live our days together.

photography: Tyler Jones Photography

cinematography: Rising Moon Video Productions

flowers: Cori Cook Floral Design

location: Planet Bluegrass, Lyons, CO

catering: Greens Point Catering

cake and desserts: Teacup Shop

makeup: makeup by janine

hair: Girls and Curls

bride’s dress: Jenny Yoo from Anna Be Bridal Boutique

wedding design and planning: Talia Events

Although I had originally intended to do a series of posts sharing what I as a wedding planner was doing for my wedding and details around all the little things throughout the planning process, I didn’t. It wasn’t that I wanted to hide anything from anyone about our plans, but rather that I wanted to ensure that our clients’ weddings were their own and not influenced in any way by what I had chosen.

And, if I’m honest, throughout the planning process, well-meaning people would ask me to share details thinking that I’d have some crazy lighting in store or more flowers than they’d ever seen in one place or some over the top idea for this or that. I really didn’t and although I think our wedding was beautiful and unique, it wasn’t necessarily all that astounding from a “stuff” perspective. The things that were memorable were the ceremonies, ways we incorporated our families and cultures, traditions we bucked and others we embraced. It was an absolutely blissful day, I wouldn’t have changed a thing—there’s a reason the bottom of our invites read “Dinner, dancing, a, bonfire and ridiculous amounts of joy immediately following the ceremony.”

I believe fully that your wedding should be reflective of the two of you and your lives together, not simply what was seen in a magazine or, on a wedding planner’s blog.

All this being said, as I said on Friday, I’ve been excited for the right time to share these photos with you—Talia Events’ clients and readers, fellow Colorado wedding vendor friends and those friends and clients I don’t know yet. So, for the rest of the week, I’ll share a bit more about what I experienced as a Wedding Planner turned bride and a bit more about the day as a whole.

Our Mission

If you’ve followed this blog for long or, have been one of Talia Events’ clients, you’ll know that I think it’s incredibly important to figure out what three things are most important to the two of you early in the planning process.

For us, it was imperative that we hosted a day that was as easy as possible for our loved ones to attend, that it was indicative of us and our hometown and, as a former floral designer, I was excited about the flowers.

I know it sounds cliché, but the people in attendance were most important. We wanted to make sure that the things we loved, our heritage and our families and family of friends were well represented and that the day was joyous for all in attendance.

So today, as I begin a week of posts on our wedding, I thought I’d start with those who stood beside us, our beloved wedding party.

Matchy Match Begone: A mix of wedding party attire

Our wedding party was our family. It included all our nieces and nephews (with the exception of a babe), our siblings and their partners, a couple cousins and two close friends.

In thinking about their attire, I decided to buck the traditional practice of choosing two or three colors and instead focus on a range of similar colors that worked together.

Our bridesmaids chose their own dresses. It was fabulous—they were comfortable on the wedding day and were in attire they would truly wear again. It was a fun process as we went shopping on-line or in person. They sent me links to web sites of dresses they’d found, I sent links of dresses that I thought they might like, we held impromptu fashion shows and my brother’s incredible fiancé and I stood crying with dress in hand at Anthropologie as I asked her to stand-up with us while they were visiting last spring—the acquisition of bridesmaids dresses was touched with all the excitement of also acquiring 4 new sisters, something I’d always dreamed of.

The flower girls’ outfits might have been my favorites of the day—cream tutus and embellished t-shirts (one was complete with a pearl necklace, a little girl’s dream). All the girls, grown-up and little, wore ballet flats. Mine were decorated with a variety of pewter sequins, beads and bobbles, others’ were gold and animal printed. 

My dress was a simple strapless, ivory chiffon Jenny Yoo dress. I actually had a difficult time finding a dress until one day while skimming through Martha Stewart Weddings magazine, I saw an ad with a model in a fabulous muted teal bridesmaid dress. I went online to the designer’s web site and found Jenny Yoo’s line of Bridal Alternatives. I knew that Anna Be in Denver had the bridesmaids dresses, but it wasn’t until I started talking with the staff and they mentioned “You know, we have this new line that you might like,” that I found the dress. As it turns out, I ended up with the bride’s version of the teal dress I found in the ad. It was serendipitous!

It suited to the location and occasion perfectly and was comfortable throughout the day. A friend of my mother’s knit me a wrap sweater to put on as the temperatures dipped in the evening. You can’t tell from the pictures, but it was ivory with flecks of metallic in the yarn and will forever be a treasure!

The groomsmen were asked to wear navy or grey suits and white shirts and we provided each of them with a different navy or blue tie. They coordinated, but didn’t match.

That, I suppose, was the idea–unmatching comfort for all!

photography: Tyler Jones Photography

cinematography: Rising Moon Video Productions

flowers: Cori Cook Floral Design

location: Planet Bluegrass, Lyons, CO

catering: Greens Point Catering

cake and desserts: Teacup Shop

makeup: makeup by janine

hair: Girls and Curls

bride’s dress: Jenny Yoo from Anna Be Bridal Boutique

wedding design and planning: Talia Events