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The Offbeat Bride: Jess, stay-at-home mom (and Offbeat Bride member)
Her offbeat partner: Casey, stabilization driller
Date and location of wedding: Kendall Mountain Lodge, Silverton, Colorado — November 29, 2014
Our offbeat wedding at a glance:
We wanted a small, intimate wedding with no wedding party. Our wedding was going to reflect our personalities, interests, and whatever else we wanted. We got married in an old gold mining town in the mountains that looks like you've stepped back into the 1800s complete with old brothels.
Winter is such a beautiful time of year and we couldn't picture anything but being surrounded by snow, mountains, family, and our closest friends. Both of us also had our hair and makeup done, guyliner and all. We did a first look before the wedding at the train depot where they have an old Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad engine. It was so amazing be able to share that first moment with just each other. We just held each other standing in the snow and all the cold went away.
We love our state of Colorado and everything it has to offer. We wanted our guests to get a small taste of this, literally, by doing an all Colorado bar. Everything we served at our bar was brewed, distilled, and crafted in Colorado, even the soda we used for mixers. Our signature drinks all had names referencing our theme, Snow White & the Huntsman. Our favors tied into our bar too. They were chalkboard shot glasses we made, so everyone got to sample the libations then take home their shot glass.
Tell us about your reception:
We DIYed and collected almost all of our decorations from nature. The table names were Games Of Thrones houses and were decorated in a very earthy feel with antlers, gourds, pine cones, bottles, and birdcages. Casey found a bunch of old bottles from the early 1900s at a job he was working on and we made them into potion bottles with spells from one of our favorite video games, Skyrim.
Food is huge to us so it was no question that an over-the-top plated meal was a must. We chose to have cupcakes over a cake. Casey handmade a stand for them to sit on and our cupcake toppers were ravens, one with a bow and the other with a mohawk.
Yes, you can use Spotify as your wedding DJ
Before we got married, I read SO MANY posts about how it's just easier to hire a DJ and not worry about ceremony music on... Read more
With a rented P.A. system and a Spotify membership which allowed us to DJ the wedding. It was so awesome to be able to handpick every song we wanted. During dinner we played instrumental covers of our favorite songs, themes from video games, and songs from movies we loved. I think only one guest realized what the music was from.
Our guest book was old mirrors we found at yard sales and we made our own photo booth with some PVC pipe, a shower curtain, and some silly props. We found a photo booth software for free to run on a computer that connected to our camera on a tripod.
What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding? Any other advice for Offbeat Bride readers?
Our biggest challenge was dealing with the fact that we were going to have a much smaller wedding than we imaged. We knew we wanted a small wedding, which to us was about 50. Well our wedding ended up having about 30 guests. Almost all of Casey's blood family could not attend which was very hard on both of us. At the end of the day we had to realize that our “family” was with us, blood or not.
Another huge hurdle we had to overcome happened two days before the wedding on Thanksgiving. We were awoken at seven in the morning to be told that our close friend (pretty much like a brother to Casey) was in a horrible car accident. Since we were having a destination wedding we weren't even home, we were in the town we were getting married in trying to get ready for the wedding. We finally got to talk to him the morning of the wedding and he was able to give us his well wishes. A piece was definitely missing but we felt his love surrounding us.
Vendors
- Ceremony & Reception Site: Kendall Mountain Lodge
- Caterer and Cupcakes: The Yellow Carrot
- Photographer: Illuminarts Photography
- Dress Designer: Vera Wang
- Dress Shop: David's Bridal
- Bride's Boots: Target
- Groom’s Suit: Kohl's
- Pocket Square: JCPenney
- Ascot: Amazon
- P.A. System: Durango Party Rentals
- Suite and where we got ready: The Benson
- Hair and makeup: Salon Envy
- Transportation: Mountain Side Concierge
- Invitations and Save the Dates: VistaPrint
- Photo Booth: made by the couple
- Flowers: made by Jess
- Jewelry: made by Jess and her mom
- Rings: Makani Hawaiian
- Jewelry and decor: Sunshine Mesa Designs
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This is ADORABLE!!!!!!
Thank you!
Absolutely gorgeous!! Love the idea of an all Colorado bar too!
Thank you!! The Colorado Bar was so much fun!! Our guests enjoyed trying new libations and our awesome drinks we invented! 3 other drinks we made not pictured were: The Wicked Apple (Pommeau (which is hard apple cider aged in whiskey barrels made locally) and hard apple cider in a glass rimmed with caramel) & The Huntsman (silver rum, ginger ale, muddled basil, blueberries, lime juice, and a dash of bitters) & Evil To The Core (Hot spiced cider with Pommeau in a glass with a caramel rim).
I absolutely love this. What a gorgeous bride. Beautiful setting!
Thank you! The town of Silverton is truly an amazing place, beautiful in any season and full of history.
This is amazing. Everything is so beautiful and the details are amazing. Love the crows. This has to be on of my favorites that I’ve seen here.
Thank you so much! There are always ravens & crows all over the town of Silverton, especially in the winter. They tied into our Snow White & The Huntsman theme so nicely, plus they are beautiful birds.
Such a beautiful and intimate wedding. I think it really shows how you can have a wedding without the wic glitz. You guys are my inspiration 🙂
Thank you! The ceremony was beyond intimate. I still have not been able to put it into words, it was beautiful.
Very cool! The guest books mirrors will look great hanging up–it’s very romantic, to scrawl messages on a mirror. What a cool way to have your guest book so it’s not just tucked away forever. That last shot of the town in the mountains is unreal.
Thank you! When we were thinking of a guest book idea we thought about the mirrors to tie into our theme, then thought, WOW those would look awesome hung up by our wedding pictures! The town of Silverton is amazing, and that shot is one of my favorite wedding pictures!
AHHHMAAAHHGAADD!!!!!!!! RAVEN CAKE TOPPERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you! We couldn’t find any we liked online, they were all too “weddingy” with veils and top hats, which is so not us, so we made these. Dollar store ravens, some extra feathers, and of course a bow! Maybe cost $2.50 to make. 🙂
Those cupcakes look scrumptious!! And I love the train photos and the creative Colorado cocktails!
I’d love to know more about making a DIY photo booth – that sounds like a brilliant idea! p.s. You both look very, very happy 🙂
Thank you so so much and I’m working on submitting a submission on our DIY photo booth or making a blog or something. Ill post a link when I get it done.
We’d love to see that tutorial! http://offbeatwed.com/submissions/guestpost 🙂
The bride looks stunning with her white gown, red lipstick and black accessories. And it was really cool to step out of the norm and exchange wedding vows at the center of your guests who are sitting in their chairs.Your wedding production company really had the creativity to bring out the best and show your interests.I like the signages (ceremony, photobooth etc. )
Thank you! Our wedding production company was actually my husband and I. We planned and planned and planned, down to writing our own ceremony. We got many of our ideas from Offbeat Bride and the rest we came up with on our own. We DIYed until our fingers bled and we were covered in paint. Our catering company set up an amazing bar and served the most delicious food ever, but other than that it was all us with some help from family and friends.
Absolutely gorgeous, from the most amazing setting to the dress, the intimacy and the mohawk on a crow cake topper! It’s something straight from a tale, I love it. Also thanks for the cocktail recipes 😉