This Couple Lost Their Home and Had a Comeback Wedding

Melissa Hammam
October 12, 2022
Categories: Real Weddings, Romantic, The Blog, Traditional Elegance

This wedding is proof that love conquers all. Despite losing their home in the Colorado Marshall Fire, our couple persevered through wedding planning and the result is truly something worth celebrating. Kate Alexandra Events beautifully planned the elegant day and Callarose and Co filled it with endlessly romantic blooms. The love and happiness of the day shines in imagery by Jacqueline Benét Photography, take a closer look inside the full gallery.

From Jacqueline Benét Photography… I will never forget when my bride Stephanie reached out saying that she was sorry for the delay in getting back to me, and that they want to choose me as their photographer, but they just lost their home in the Colorado Marshall Fire. She said they lost everything, left the house with the clothes on their backs, their laptops, and their cat Holly Golightly. Not only did they lose their house and all that they own, but the groom’s father in the same neighborhood also lost his house as well. She wanted to still continue planning their wedding, but they needed some extra time to pick up the pieces and figure out what was next for them. I had chills reading their email, and cried for them at the thought of losing everything. I felt like their beautiful wedding day was their comeback story and made all the joy that much sweeter!

From the bride… Six months before their wedding, on December 30th, 2021, Stephanie and Chris lost their house in the Marshall Fire in Boulder, Colorado. They got out safely with nothing but their passports, computers, and their beloved cat. The following day, along with over 1,000 other neighbors, they learned that the wildfire had completely destroyed their home. Right away, we agreed that our wedding would remain our top priority. We continued to travel to Seattle to meet with vendors and for site visits at our venue, The Seattle Tennis Club, located on Lake Washington. The overall inspiration for the wedding was to create a feeling of relaxed luxury. A black-tie encouraged, al fresco reception with a large sailcloth tent, a mix of circular and rectangular tables, and lots and lots of flowers. I chose the Anne Barge La Femme dress from LWD Bridal shop in Denver. A strapless Chantilly lace ball gown with sequined appliques and a deep V-notched neckline with a matching veil. It was the 3rd or 4th dress I tried on, and was the easiest wedding planning decision I made. My favorite part of the gown was the sheerness of the skirt in the sunlight and how lightweight and easy to wear it was. 10/10! Choosing the flowers with our florist, Callarose and Co, was both the most fun and the most stressful pre-planning activity and the result, which drew on the colors of the wedding’s outdoor location, was spectacular. The color palette included the blues of Lake Washington, the greens of the tennis club grounds, pale yellows to complement, and a mix of whites to soften. A classic combination with a whimsical touch. I chose a beautiful sage-champagne color for the bridesmaid’s dresses that coordinated with the color scheme.

For our cake, we chose a 3-tier all-white lemon pound cake with blackberry filling as a nod to Washington state. One of my favorite details of the wedding was using my grandmother’s silver cutting knife and cake server to cut our cake as our Something Old. Another favorite detail was my wedding gift from Chris, a pair of blue topaz stud earrings that have special meaning. While Chris was sifting through the rubble after the fire, he miraculously found the gemstones from his late Mother’s blue topaz earrings. She passed in 2015 from cancer, and the earrings had become a family heirloom. He took the stones to Miro Jewelers in Denver, who also created our custom wedding rings. They were able to clean them up and reset the stones to create a new pair of stud earrings which Chris surprised me with the day before the wedding. A beautiful sentiment to have a piece of jewelry from Chris’s late mother and my Something Blue. My favorite moment of the wedding was doing the first look. It felt so special and beautiful and felt like time had stopped just for us. One piece of advice that we took to heart (and I would suggest to all brides-to-be) is to invest money in the best photographer you can find that fits your wedding day vision because that’s how you’ll remember and preserve your wedding day. They’ll know how to capture you (and your wedding) in the best way and will create a lasting memory of everything that happens throughout the wedding day.