If there were ever a day to save a little extra time for a gallery, today is it. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my absolute honor to be the one to introduce you to the most beautiful wedding in Aspen. Not surprising since Bluebird Productions was behind the planning and the bride’s mother’s silver trophies, overfilling with gorgeous flowers, were acting as centerpieces. Add in a supermodel-esque couple, and Kate Holstein Photographs has filled our gallery with beauty!
From the lovely bride… Jack and I fell in love, whirlwind style, through a mutual friend when I was living in NYC and he was California dreamin’ in San Francisco. After 8 months of a bi-coastal courtship filled with creative Skype dates, taking turns doing the whisking off to romantic destinations, and becoming “locals” in both locales, we decided to plant roots on the W(B)est Coast. Jack proposed a year later on the most breathtaking viewpoint with sweeping views of the San Francisco Bay from the International Orange of the Golden Gate to the lapping shores of Tiburon. During our engagement trip to Napa, we decided to tie the knot in Aspen, where I had grown up, and where Jack and I had shared so many amazing memories hiking, skiing, and eating our way through town. Although not the easiest place to get to, we knew it would be the best mid-point for our guests who would be flying in from all over the country and the world.
We wanted a wedding that was intimate, filled with details unique to Jack and me, Aspen elegant, and most importantly, a great party. On the night that we got engaged, our family friends graciously offered the use of their exquisite private properties in the Roaring Fork Valley as our wedding gift, and we knew instantly that our three day pseudo-destination extravaganza would kick off with a rousing barn burner “rehearsal” at the Last Chance Ranch followed the next day by a black-tie wedding along the river at the Coldstream Trout Lodge and ending with a gorgeous brunch celebration at my parents’ home. This would be the first wedding and reception at the Coldstream Trout Lodge, and we would need to bring every single element from a full caterer’s kitchen to the tent to the power generator onsite. It was worth all the effort, creativity, and meticulous planning, and I cannot thank my mother and the fabulous women at Bluebird Productions led by founding partner, Virginia Edelson, enough for truly making our dreams a reality.
The morning of our wedding, I hiked with 30 girlfriends and Jack shot skeet with friends before we got to the our separate corners of the lodge to get ready. With the typical Aspen afternoon showers, Virginia advised us to initiate our rainy day plan: moving our ceremony from the banks of the Roaring Fork River to the great room of the 10,000 square foot exposed log cabin on property. It was fate. Bluebird transformed the mountain lodge into the most intimate, dramatic sanctuary in which Jack and I could exchange our vows in front of 165 black-tie clad guests comfortably (and dryly). My father and I descended the main staircase, which was covered in heart shaped florals, and my mother and father both walked me down the aisle. I could not have felt more gorgeous (thanks you Oscar de la Renta!) or loved, and could not wait to take Jack’s hand. He looked amazing in a custom Burberry Prorsum tux. Framed by 8 foot Aspen trees in front of a monstrous fire place (and under the watchful gaze of a stuffed moose head and two carved eagles), Jack and I exchanged personal promises; we thought that we were the only two standing in the room. Luckily, the rain passed immediately after the ceremony, allowing our guests to have cocktails as planned next to the roaring river.
We strove to accentuate and incorporate the beauty of the location and the town we love so much in every way possible; every detail could not have been more deliberate or more perfectly executed. For example, after our very mountain-chic ceremony, guests grabbed their custom water-colored aspen leaf escort cards from a “grove” of aspen trees matching the groves around us. The leaves looked amazing as they blew in the wind. The paper products from the save the date with high resolution images of the actual barn doors where we held the barn burner to the invitations/wedding paper suite, letterpressed with a customized gold Aspen leaf design, perfectly captured our theme of Aspen elegant.
Jack and I are big foodies, and delighted in selecting a menu that would showcase Colorado’s wide range of exquisite locavore food culture through every morsel, including Colorado lamb and, of course, trout, as our entree selections. The biggest compliment of the night was that guests could not believe that 170 entrees had been created in a make-shift tent kitchen, as it tasted as good as it would in a top-star restaurant. It was a not just a celebration of Jack and my love, but also a love letter to Aspen.
Walking into the massive tent for the reception, the mastery of the execution of every precise detail took my breath away. My very favorite elements of the entire celebration were the floral arrangements. Each table had stunning unique florals of the softest pastels using flowers I had never even seen before! Every enchanting piece teemed out of an antique sterling silver trophy which held special sentimental value: each had been hand selected by my mother from her silver trophy collection from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As I inspected each table, memories of coming home from college to rosebuds next to my bed in a women’s golfing trophy from the 20’s or seeing the giant Best in Show from the 1890’s filled with lilies in the foyer of my childhood home rushed back. It was such a personal and beautiful touch, and signified the love and effort that my mom contributed while simultaneously creating a glamorous focal point for each table. I hope to do the same for my daughter one day; this Christmas, mom started my trophy collection with my first silver piece. The lighting, linens, midsummers-night’s dream-like floral chandeliers, hanging lanterns, and perfectly tied seat bows produced the most dreamlike-gorgeous event I’d ever seen. It was the perfect backdrop for our band, Syndicate, with its three lead crooners, to bring down the house. Not one person could stay in their seat, and twenty-somethings had dance-offs with octogenarians. After Syndicate’s final tune, we had aperitifs and a cheese course in the lodge, and then jumped in buses to the Caribou Club, where guests nibbled on buffalo sliders and grilled cheese sandwiches, and danced the night away.
Jack and I cannot thank enough the many many people who made our wedding such a perfect celebration of our union, both by helping us to execute the ideal evening and by coming from around the world to celebrate with us!
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Planner: Bluebird Productions | Photographer: Kate Holstein | Caterer: Aspen Epicure | Venue: Private Residence | Floral Design: Harrington Smith | Rentals: Alpine Party Rentals | Lighting and AV: Halcyon Productions | Wedding Band: Syndicate via Starkey Productions | Cake: D’elissous Cake Studio | Linen: La Tavola | Officiant: Jill Pidcock | Transportation: CTS Transportation | Papergoods: Express Yourself Basalt