I need to get it out on the table that when it comes to this wedding, I am totally, completely biased. I adore this wedding; when I look at the photos love and fun, not to mention an insanely gorgeous bride, absolutely leap off the screen. You see, this wedding is our Director of Digital Media’s and I was privileged to witness the details firsthand. The amazing floral arrangements, the table names that highlighted places the couple visited together, the unbelievable setting – it was a quintessential Colorado wedding with a grace and elegance that is 100% Katie.

And just so you don’t get scared by the crazy people that crashed her Photo Booth – yes, that’s me and my husband valiantly trying to throw mywedding signs, which is significantly more difficult than you’d think. Still waiting for some of Katie to rub off on me…

Big thanks to Kelli Nixon Photography for sharing their photos of Nick and Katie’s day. And be sure to keep scrolling to read Katie’s thoughts on their wedding day.

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Can you tell me about any specific details, your vision for the day, any DIY projects you both did or have special meaning….

I feel so lucky that I worked for mywedding.com while planning my wedding! It was literally my job to search the Internet for amazing wedding ideas and inspiration and I was already surrounded by planning tools and quality professionals as I searched to find our personal style.

Despite all the amazing and fun ideas I found, Nick and I felt strongly that we wanted a very classic wedding. We wanted a sense of elegance but also wanted to incorporate the beautiful mountain setting. More than anything we wanted to look back on our pictures 50 years from now and really see the people that we were.

I love the look of handmade wedding elements and while I would have liked to put my own hands to work in creating the details, I recognized that is not my strength. So instead I worked with vendors who could provide that look for me. We found the Papery Willow to hand make all of our invitations, table cards, menus and escort cards. This enabled us to custom-make paper goods to express our style. I also found Etsy to be my new favorite website. I ordered a custom-made ring pillow, wood sign and other special touches.

Did your wedding location hold a specific significance to you?

One of the passions that drew us together is our love of travel. We will always make experiencing other cultures part of our lives. So, when we got engaged our first thought was to have a destination wedding. We researched locations from Italy to Mexico but in the end decided on the mountains in our backyard because no matter how far we go to explore the world, we’ll always return to Colorado because that is our home. We chose the mountains to create a destination event even in our own state. We didn’t want our wedding to last a few hours, one day. It was very important to have our closest friends and family away together for a weekend where everyone could spend a lot of quality time together.

What was the most meaningful part of your day?

This is two part. First, the moment I saw Nick, was able to read my vows and hear his, and then call him my husband. We’d been engaged for two years and it was the most wonderful feeling to finally be there in that moment. Everything around us sort of fell away and for a few minutes it was all just about committing our lives to each other and knowing that we’d be together forever.

Second, was when I recognized that this was the only time in my life that these 100 people would all be in one place and share so much love. Our family and friends are literally spread across the globe and it meant everything to me to have them all in one place.

Did anything funny or out of the ordinary happen?

The weather was the only thing that kept me on my toes that weekend. Saturday was perfect with blue skies, warm temps and great views of the surrounding mountains. I thought amazing, this will be the only weekend this summer it won’t rain. Then I woke up the next morning to see nothing but dark grey skies and walked outside to feel just how cold it really was. I was determined not to stress so I put on my bride tank top despite the cold and then put on my smile to start what I knew would be a remarkable day no matter what. By the time my girls and I were busy drinking champagne in the salon the sun was again shining. However, by the time the ceremony started at 4:30 the clouds were back in action and there was thunder overhead. Fortunately our ceremony wasn’t a minute longer because as soon as we kissed the rain started falling and then came the hail. And in true Colorado fashion, the sun was back out within the next 30 minutes. I loved giving our guests from out of town a taste of our typical summer weather.

Also, the reception turned in to a bit of a dance party! Every time I looked around all I saw was a sea of smiling faces and people getting down. I loved it! Nick and I danced all night with each other, our friends and our family. From start to finish, it was a day and night that I will never forget.

Tell us details of the events surrounding the wedding as well.

I remember our wedding as the best week of my life. It was all about finishing up the last minute errands and details with my mom, enjoying more pampering appointments then I’ll ever get to have again, and most importantly sharing a whole new set of emotions with Nick. We made sure to have special time set aside with each of our immediate families and then also started the partying three days before the wedding so that all our friends and family knew each other before the actual wedding.

How did you know your partner was “the one”?

When I stopped thinking about myself. I experienced a brand new feeling of putting someone else’s feelings first. I’ve always prided myself on being extremely independent. That hasn’t completely gone away but now I want to share every experience with this other person. I know how corny it sounds but there is no other feeling in the world like real, all encompassing love.

Any advice you’d give new brides who are just getting started?

I am not great at being the center of attention. It was hard for me at first to allow the spotlight to fall on me and our plans. At first, I was uncomfortable at the idea of showers and parties thrown in our honor. But now I’d say soak it all in. It doesn’t mean that you are attention greedy or arrogant. I finally understood that it was about celebrating with those closest to you and realizing their love and excitement.  And as far as I know, I’ll never experience anything like that again.

Keep perspective. I’d say there is never a better time to be easy going. I’m not saying be a push-over but decide what matters the most to you and then let the other stuff go. Do not get worked up about every little detail and make sure to let your family have some of the things that matter most to them. Remember, they are experiencing this time with you.

Vendors:

Videographer: Sky Focus Pictures, (check out Katie and Nick’s video here)
Florist: Floral Design of Europe
Cake: Colorado Rose Cake Company
Paper goods: The Papery Willow
Day of Coordinator: Jennah with Events Extraordinaire

To see the rest of the photos from Katie and Nick’s day by Kelli Nixon Photography, click here.

Proud to say Sky Focus Pictures is a mywedding.com member.