Having lived through three of them myself, I can fully attest to the fact that Colorado autumns are the most magical location/weather duo you will come across. Ever. Anywhere. The colors are phenomenal and the weather is better than perfect. All the makings of a wedding day for the books. And when Sapphire Celebrations is involved, especially when Jason+Gina Wedding Photographers are behind the lens, the result is nothing short of magic. We’ve put it all right here, so don’t miss a single second of the magic happening in the gallery.
From the adorable couple … Aubrey, an avid outdoorsman, caught the trout bug from his grandfather at a very young age, and while he may have grown up, his obsession with outdoor adventures and bacon have stayed consistent. Luckily for him the love of his life Mara enjoys his thirst for adventure equally as much….and she loves, Phineas, his rapscallion retriever! Mara, a true science geek at heart, has been passionately pursuing her dreams of becoming a surgeon since she was a little girl. When she isn’t off adventuring with the love of her life, Aubrey, she can often be found munching on anti-bacon (veggies), de-stressing with a little yoga, and taking long naps on the floor curled up by the fireplace… together they make a great pair!
We first met on a “sort of” blind date set up by our good friends at an Avalanche hockey game. It was a “sort of” blind date because we both attended Boulder High School, but really only knew of each other as classmates. Since neither of us were diehard hockey fans, we spent most of the game catching up on what we had been doing for the last ten years. Aubrey was immediately enthralled with my stories of backpacking around South America, exploring the rugged outdoors of Torres del Pine, and thought to himself, now here’s a girl who might be able to keep up with me. I was instantly amazed by Aubrey’s tales of climbing Mt. Denali, his passion for the outdoors, and the stories of his remarkable talents in the kitchen, and I thought to herself, now here’s a boy I want to get to know better. Over many dinners and hiking adventures the two of us explored our common interests. Subsequently, we have shared numerous trips together backpacking around the Maroon Bells in Aspen, relaxing on the beach in Mexico, getting our scuba certification in Costa Rica, and exploring the Canadian Rockies by train.
We chose to have our wedding reception at the Broadmoor for several reasons. My grandparents lived in Colorado Springs and when I was younger I would go to the Broadmoor with them to see the holiday lights and see shows at the old theater. I fell in love with the hotel and it holds many special memories for me. Ever since I was little I wanted to have my wedding there. Aubrey knew it was the perfect place from the moment he stepped out of the car seeing the buffalo heads at the main entrance to the hotel. We both wanted a location that was in the mountains allowing our guests to get the true Colorado experience, but without the issues of altitude. We also wanted a location where everyone felt relaxed and taken care of; the Broadmoor guest services were phenomenal.
We both love Colorado and wanted to showcase how beautiful it is, especially in the fall. My theme for the wedding was bringing the outdoors in. I wanted the floral arrangements to be very organic with lots of fall colors and greenery and I wanted all different shapes and sizes for variation. The Perfect Petal did a wonderful job of fulfilling my vision. The color palate for the florals was an array of fall colors (marigold, apricot, salmon, burnt orange) and I wanted the rest of the colors to be neutrals to highlight the beautiful colors of Colorado.
Our reception was held at First Congregational Church in downtown Colorado Springs because this was my grandparent’s church and it was our way to honor them. Neither Aubrey nor I have any living grandparents and we wanted to honor them during this special day. Aubrey and I highly value family and we wanted to incorporate family traditions into our ceremony. At the beginning of our ceremony we had the whole congregation sing “Simple Gifts” the Shaker hymn because Aubrey’s parents had it sung at their wedding. During our unity candle lighting we played the Evening Prayer from Hansel and Gretel, which was my grandparent’s favorite piece.
Our Reverend Benjamin Broadbent told us to take little moments throughout the wedding day, a snapshot in time, to remember the wedding day by, which was the best advice we received. Our most vivid memories were our “first look”, it was a special moment just between the two of us, walking down the aisle seeing all our family and friends there to support and celebrate our commitment to each other, just me and Aubrey and our photographers walking around the Broadmoor grounds taking pictures after the ceremony, the wonderful and touching speeches by our parents at the reception, and partying/dancing the night away with our family and friends.
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Photography: Jason+Gina Wedding Photographers | Flowers: The Perfect Petal | Event Design: Sapphire Celebrations & The Perfect Petal | Event Planning: Sapphire Celebrations | Ceremony Location: First Congregational Church | Reception Location: The Broadmoor | Dress: Anna Be