You can file this wedding under rainy-day charm fest (assuming that is one of your files, it's totally one of mine). By looking at the super sweet images by Ashley Davis Photography, you wouldn't even know they completely lost power during their reception due to torrential rain! This couple made the absolute best of their day when things didn't go exactly according to plan, and boy did they look good doing it! See the entire charm fest in the full gallery.
click here for the full wedding gallery!
Phil and I met July 4th 2006 while camping with some of our mutual friends. It was that night we shared our first kiss. Then 2 years later Phil proposed on the 4th of July while camping in Estes Park while looking for a fly fishing spot. It only seemed fitting for us to get married on July 4th 2009. Since we got engaged in Estes Park, we decided to start our search of a venue there. After long days on the internet and many frustrating conversations with venue managers, we decide to make things easy (or so we thought) and have it on my parents property in Franktown. I had previously been a wedding planner and new the look and feel I wanted to capture (rustic, romantic, and fun).
The day of was not only a day I will never forget, but I am sure it will stay in the memory of our guests for a long time. Everything was perfect. I had spent the last year mastering my dream wedding to my dream man. However, the one think you can’t pay for is to have perfect weather. Our ceremony was outside under a huge pine tree. As we were saying out vows, I could hear the pitter-patter of little rain drops but luckily we were able to get through the ceremony. Our exit to get our pictures taken was on our Harley through our family and friends followed our wedding party in my dad’s 1956 Ford Galaxy. We went off to get our pictures taken and the sky was the darkest I had ever seen it. We knew we didn’t have much time. We got some shots out in the field when Ashley was like “we should head back” We had not even gotten in the garage and off the bike when we looked back at the torrential downpour that had unleashed. In Colorado, rainstorms might last an hour at the most, but on this 4th of July it wasn’t going anywhere. In fact it rained 4 inches in 2 hours and even had some nice marble sized hail. But this wasn’t going to stop us from having a great time. We got all our guests from the barn to the tent using an assembly line of umbrellas and because of all the rain we now had a river going through the tent. The ground was so wet that our guests chairs were sinking into the ground. Then came time for the speeches, and just as we were getting started, the electricity went out. I wish we could say that loosing the mic was our only problem but since my parents’ property is run on a septic tank, the toilets are controlled by electricity. So all our guests….including myself in my wedding dress….. now had to find a tree. We had a band, but because again we had no electricity, they couldn’t play. So we had to improvise. Luckily my sisters boyfriend had his guitar. Guest surrounded us with candles as we danced our first dance song to Wilson Philips “Hold On For One More Day”. Not our first pick, but hey, we didn’t care. Finally we got some generators and the band stared up and finished the night off with songs by Michel Jackson and Journey. And even though the day didn’t go exactly as planned, I wouldn’t change a thing. Because, anyone who says sunshine brings happiness, has never danced in the rain.
As far as details go finding the dress was the easiest feat. I had found a picture on the Knot.com and only one bridal store in all of Colorado carried the dress. My thoughts were “What are the chances it going to look as beautiful on me as it did on the gorgeous girl in the photo?” I went to Bea’s bridal and tried on the dress and fell in love. It was perfect. Just to be sure, I went to 3 other bridal store and nothing came close. To add a fun flair to my elegant dress, I had avocado green shoes. Since Phil is a huge Colts fan, I had my something blue be the Colts blue garter. My something borrowed was a pin that was my grandma Jean’s which my mom lent me.
Since I had been in the wedding industry, I had my heart set on a specific photographer. Since we had worked together in the past I was sure she was going to be able to cut me a small deal since we were on a fairly tight budget. Unfortunately, that was not the case so I was at square one looking for a photographer. While looking for venues in Estes Park, Ashley Davis’s name kept popping up. I fell in love with the photos on her website decided to meet in Boulder for coffee. Instantly there was a connection. Ashley was relaxed fun and overall gave off a great vibe. Our DIY consisted of making the fans/programs for the guests. Instead of using tongue compressors like I had seen before, my dad came up with the idea to use twigs from the property to add a rustic flair. I also wanted to make name place cards using pinecones from their property. My mom added a fun touch of chocolate brown flip flops by the door of the barn labels Dancing Shoes for guests to wear. For months before the wedding, we collected mason jars from spaghetti to jam to chocolate fudge and for the wedding, we filled them half way with sand and used them as lanterns around the property. Phil’s dad even made Sheppard’s hooks to make a path from the tent to the dancing barn. My dad had taken old pieces of barn-wood to make signs directing guests to the ceremony to the reception and of course to the bar! Instead of having guess sign a guest book, we had them sign a piece of wood which we then turned into the tabletop of our bar at home. I was having a hard time deciding what kind of cake stand to use that would pull all of our elements together so my dad surprised me by making our 3-tiered cake stand out of logs and branches from the property.
My Godmother owns the Stationery Company in Cherry Creek, so I knew our invitations were going to be incredible. We even had a graphic designer create an adorable map on how to get to my parent’s house. Our flowers were done by a family friend Sharon Sullivan who did an incredible job. The center pieces and bouquets were the perfect combination of elegance and rusticness which also incorporated my colors of cream, brown and green.My expectations of the photos were pretty low because the weather was sooo nutty. So when Ashley sent me my slideshow, I held my breath. I immediately I started crying. They were INCREDIBLE. She had captured everything and more. I seriously don’t think they could have been any better.
Venue: Brides Parents backyard, Franktown Colorado / Photography: Ashley Davis Photography / Dress: Anjolique from Bea’s Bridal / Bridesmaid Dresses: Priscilla of Boston / Rings: 5th Avenue Jewelers /Brides shoes: Nordstrom / Catering: Gourmet Fine Catering / Invitations: Dauphine Letterpress from Lin Logan of The Stationary Company / Floral Design: Sharon Sullivan & Christin Schultz / Cake: Gourmet Fine Catering / Lanterns, Wooden Signs, Barn Decorations & Programs: DIY from the entire family / Band: Phat Daddy / Candied Apples: Erica McNeish / Rentals & Tent: Butler Rentals