Colorado Wedding from Julie Afflerbaugh Photography
We have stumbled across a wedding that boasts our newly declared (because I just declared it) "IT" color palette for fall weddings. Warm oranges, oxbloods, and apricots paired with a turquoise so pretty my heart melts a little. And the bride who dreamt up a wedding so beautiful? Stunning herself. This is her big day, captured brilliantly by Julie Afflerybaugh Photography, and I have been hiding out in the full image gallery avoiding emails for longer than I should admit. Care to join me in the pretty?
Click here to see the full image gallery!
We had been dating for just over three years when David popped the question during a camping trip near Telluride. We were on a beautiful hike in Lizard Head Wilderness and stopped at the summit to ask some fellow hikers to take a few photos of us at the top. Soon after the hiker descended, and we were alone at the summit, David knelt down on one knee and said “Sara, will you spend the rest of your life with me?” My response was “Of course!”
Our photographer recommended we take a look at the Colorado Mountain Ranch (CMR) and described it as rustic. We felt the venue really embodied the Colorado theme we hoped our wedding would represent. The CMR and its majestic views provided the perfect setting for our event. Our aim with our wedding style was to set a mood that represented us. The decorations, theme, and colors helped us to create our mood. We met in Colorado and enjoy the natural beauty of this state and wanted our love for the outdoors to be reflected in our venue and the details on our big day.
Because our wedding was held at a ranch all of the females in the bridal party, myself included, wore cowboy boots to show the casual, fun, and simple style of our wedding. We used bright yellows and orange colors in our floral arrangements to depict a field of wildflowers on each dining table. We chose cupcakes rather than cake to avoid a cake cutting ceremony and keep with the fun, simple, and natural theme. One cupcake was vegan and gluten-free and the other had bacon in the batter and real bacon bits on top of the icing.
As far as traditions were concerned although we wanted a secular event, we incorporated the Jewish tradition of the breaking of the glass to represent David’s roots and my father blessed the reception meal with a Christian prayer to represent my Christian upbringing. Our officiant is a close friend of to both of us. We also incorporated a statement about equality in marriage into our ceremony to articulate our dedication to equal rights for all couple regardless of sexual orientation.
My most vivid memories were focused on the amount of love and happiness we felt on our special day. Family and friends traveled from near and far to celebrate with us in Colorado, and it meant the world to us. One of the most surprising memories of our wedding was the flash mob that my sister, the maid-of honor, orchestrated with choreography from my cousins. It was spectacular! As far our favorite photos, where do we start?! We have so many favorites and absolutely loved working with our photographer and her assistant. They were so much fun and worked well with children and adults alike while capturing the very essence of our special day. We especially love the shots taken in Gold Hill nearby our wedding venue that were carefully selected by our photographers prior to the ceremony. These photos of our wedding party are really special.
Photography: Julie Afflerbaugh Photography / Dress: Vera Wang / Cake: The Denver Cupcake Truck / Day of coordinator: Seize the Day Events / Florist: Petals from Heaven / Ceremony and Reception Location: Colorado Mountain Ranch