Romantic Mountain Elegance, a Wedding at Stanley Hotel

June 11, 2015

Romantic Mountain Elegance, a Wedding at Stanley Hotel

Some of the most magical wedding days include a torrential downpour that, contrary to the hourly forecast, clears just in time for the marriage ceremony. The sun shines brighter as vows are exchanged and guests feel a sense of awe and appreciation at the timely cooperation of nature. Casey of Two One Photography captured just such a wedding day with us this past May.

Meg and Bryan, doctor and lawyer by trade, flew from Chicago to Colorado during the third week of daily lingering rainstorms, an out of character weather pattern for the normally sunny western state. The wedding day forecast noted a 100% chance of rain, right at the ceremony time. Clearing skies clouded over again and at ten minutes to go time, we decided to bank on a patch of blue on the mountain horizon and were rewarded with sunny skies by the exchange of rings. Meg’s father officiated the ceremony that included movie quote readings (followed by the audience guessing which movie the quote was from), a fun interaction inspired by Meg & Bryan’s love of movies. The rain didn’t start again until guests were enjoying cocktails in the cozy library of Stanley Hotel.

The Stanley Hotel is an elegant turn of the century historic landmark, nestled at the base of the towering Rocky Mountains in the charming town of Estes Park. Most noted for inspiring Stephen King’s Overlook Hotel in The Shining, the hotel offers a popular evening ghost tour and lays claim to the 4^th most haunted building in the United States, incidentally the Concert Hall where we celebrated Meg & Bryan’s reception under blown glass Chihuly chandeliers.

As guests entered the Concert Hall for dinner, they were greeted by a hand-painted sign from one of the couple’s friends and adorable pine cone escort card holders created from Texas pine cone tops mounted on Colorado tree branch slices, all made by Bryan’s father.

Tabletops continued the mountain rustic elegance with candlelit lanterns set on tree slices and adorned with vases of burgundy peonies, ranunculus, and dusty miller. Vintage styled postcards were framed as table names and a clever write-up on the back of each gave the highlights and personal history of places like Portland, Texas, Notre Dame, Chicago, St. Louis, and more.

One display table was dedicated to generations of marriage and it included a photo of Meg and Bryan surrounded by wedding photos of siblings, parents, grand-parents, and even great-grandparents, some ornately framed while other photos were displayed on a digital frame slideshow.

Meg incorporated one of her grandmother’s beautiful brooches into a striking feather hairpiece, complimenting the exquisite Omelia gown from designer Catherine Deane of London. Her stunning bouquet of burgundy peonies added a lovely richness to the timeless elegant look.

Guests enjoyed the celebration so much that Rob of Elite DJ got an encore at the end of the night. Twice! Friends and family circled the dance floor with arms around each other, swaying and singing together, ending the night in full appreciation of the timely sunshine, the sumptuous four course dinner, the wine, the mountainous beauty, and the warmth of a kind-hearted, stylish, brilliant couple.