Aspen has rightfully earned its reputation as a luxury hotspot. With breathtaking scenery and majestic mountainscapes, there’s only one thing that could make it better- the lead designer and planner at Calluna Events creating her own special day. Our bride turned to Wandering Poppy Co. for floral design to help beautifully bring her vision to life, and Vanessa Tierney artfully documented each and every carefully curated detail. You’ll love every magical moment inside the full gallery.
From … Lindsay and Ken’s relationship started under the 6 Train Subway track in The Bronx, NY with a fireball shot, a bag of lollipops and New York Yankees victory. “In May of 2018, my best friend and I went to a Yankees game, her last before she moved back to Colorado to go to law school,” Lindsay says. “After the game, she convinced me to go to Stan’s, the local pre and post-game bar for “just one drink…” and there was Ken, with his brother, his friend and a giant bag of Dum-Dum suckers.” After asking to share a table, the two struck up a conversation, exchanged numbers, a couple Dum-Dum’s and a kiss. Two years later, Lindsay & Ken moved from New York City to Lindsay’s home state of Colorado. When the pandemic hit, they didn’t get to do as much exploring as they wanted to in the first 6 months of living there but the first “mountain-town” they visited together was Aspen, Colorado and they both fell in love with its charm, culinary scene and views. When Lindsay and Ken and her family surprised her mom with a trip to Napa for her birthday, Ken decided to take advantage of their time together in Napa and propose. “I planned a family photoshoot, which is a family tradition when we travel, we treat it as our sort of souvenir,” says Lindsay. “Ken took advantage of the pre-planned “family photoshoot” and to my complete shock, got down on one knee in the most beautiful vineyard and asked me to spend the rest of our lives together. It was the most perfect morning.”
When planning their wedding, they knew there was only one place in Colorado they wanted to say “I do” and that was to head back to Aspen for a black-tie, ranch wedding surrounded by picturesque Aspen trees and views of the Maroon Bells. For their wedding, the planning came easy for Lindsay Hayden, a lead planner and designer at Calluna Events. They knew they would celebrate their wedding in Aspen, lean into an elevated black-tie celebration but since Lindsay plans weddings professionally, she immediately knew she wanted a celebration at a venue she had never planned a wedding at before. While on a site visit (for another couple) before she was engaged, she fell in love with T Lazy 7 Ranch. Its stunning views and the ability to create the entire environment from the ground up made it the perfect venue for their wedding.
“Planning your own wedding in the midst of one of the busiest wedding seasons of my career was definitely not a task for the faint of heart,” Lindsay says. “But to get to share my passion for design and give our friends and family from all over the country a glimpse into what I get to create for other families, was really special. I was so thrilled how everything turned out. It truly was our dream wedding.”
Lindsay & Ken’s weekend kicked off with a welcome party at Silver City Aspen in downtown Aspen complete with BBQ, signature old fashioned cocktails, wild west inspired florals and line dancing to Shania Twain on the jukebox before the Black-Tie celebration in the meadows of the Ranch. “We really wanted a fun, casual, welcome party with great food, great drinks and great music,” the bride says. “To see all our friends and family in our favorite place was really the best way to kick off the weekend.”
Lindsay designed the color palette to be completely neutral tones so that the venue and being surrounded by nature could really shine. “People would always ask what my color palette was and the best way to answer was it’s the lack of color,” says Lindsay. “I really wanted to keep everything white, minimal greenery and very neutral so that the landscape we were surrounded by could really shine.”
Because she is a wedding planner, Lindsay had a pretty good idea of all the vendors that she wanted to help bring her vision to life. She started by getting her Carolina Herrera gown at Little White Dress Bridal Shop. “Being a planner, I had never been the one to try on wedding dresses,” the bride says. “I had no idea what I wanted or what I would look good in but the second I put on my gown, I knew it was the one.”
The ceremony decor was simple but dramatic as Lindsay wanted to keep the focus on the stunning backdrop so she opted for an aisle full of flowers, designed by the talented ladies at Wandering Poppy Co. And two simple acrylic pedestals at the altar that complimented the ghost chairs. “We wanted to focus on the two of us, and the view so we opted to have our bridal party sit in the first row with our family.”
For the ceremony, which was officiated by the bride’s brother, they incorporated lots of references to their love of food and travel and of course baseball. “I surprised Ken with a custom calligraphy designed “home plate” for us to stand over at the altar,” says Lindsay. “One of my favorite quotes is “In baseball, as in life, all important things happen at home” and as a nod to where we met, our shared love of baseball and the importance of creating a home and life together, it was one of my favorite details of the day.”
After they walked up the aisle to New York, New York by Frank Sinatra, another nod to Yankees baseball, played live by the brass section of Taylor Pace Orchestra, guests headed to cocktail hour. Another really important feature for the couple was the food. “We really wanted to have an abundant cocktail hour featuring some of our favorite foods and things that our guests hadn’t seen at a wedding before,” says Lindsay. “One of my favorite elements was the roving burrata bar I conceptualized with Catering By Design, where our guests could create the own burrata dish featuring toppings like tomatoes, pesto, balsamic glaze, chilled asparagus and prosciutto. It was such a fun interactive element and everyone loved it!” The couple also incorporated a late night New York Cheesecake bar and New Haven “Apizza” station, a nod to the their east coast roots. Another favorite detail was the guest books where guests signed their “autograph” onto a baseball and threw it into a custom designed baseball bucket for the couple to read and display in their house. Guests also found their way to their seats from custom painted dice, a nod to a family game that’s been in the groom’s family for decades. “The only DIY element I wanted at my wedding were these custom dice,” says the bride. “When Ken and I first met, he taught me how to play his family game, simply called “dice” and so we sanded, primed and painted dice to for guests to find their seats and paired it with a sign that said “Roll Call”, it was one of my favorite details of the day.”
Underneath the sailcloth tent, the couple wanted to create simple but modern elegance. “The floral chandelier above the dance floor was one of my favorite elements. It was so unique and something I hadn’t ever seen before.” Lindsay says. It was paired with simple dinnerware, textured linens from Nuage Designs and custom menus by Scarlet Gilia Creative. Music has always been really important and nothing beats an incredible band. The couple hired Taylor Pace of the Jordan Kahn Orchestra who kept the dance floor packed the entire night. “Our friends couldn’t stop talking about the band,” says Lindsay. “They are truly one of the best entertainment bands you could have, and it was so important to keep our dance floor packed all night!”
Photography: Vanessa Tierney Photography | Photography: Vanessa Tierney Photography | Videographer: Reagan Lynn Films | Event Planning: Calluna Events | Floral Design: Wandering Poppy Co. | Wedding Dress: Carolina Herrera | Cake: Milk Bar Store | Invitations: Scarlet Gillia Creative | Reception Venue: T Lazy 7 Ranch | Bridesmaids' Dresses: BHLDN | Catering: Catering By Design | Make-Up: Mooi Studio | Hair: Gianna Honeycomb | Groom's Attire: The Black Tux | Ceremony Musician: Silver City Strings | Photo Booth: Bamboo Booth | Rehearsal Dinner Florals: Aesthete Floral | Rehearsal Dinner Venue: Silver City Aspen | Rentals: Nuage Designs | Rentals: Hazel Grove | Rentals: Colorado Party Rentals | Tenting: Ryan & Warren Gross | Wedding Band: jordan kahn orchestra | Wedding Dress Store: Little White Dress Bridal Shop
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