A jewel toned Colorado mountain wedding

What a beautiful wedding Kelsey and James put together at the Surf Hotel and Chateau in Buena Vista, Colorado!

The weather in Colorado this summer has been unusual (or so I’ve been told by my Coloradoan family and friends). It has been raining more than is typical and the week of Kelsey and James’ wedding was no exception. You could look at the weather app in the morning and an hour later it would be totally different. This made it a bit unpredictable as we were trying to determine, tent or no tent, umbrellas or no umbrellas, is it going to pour or is it going to be the sunny day it is every morning? We got a little bit of everything.

The morning of the wedding was a gorgeous sunny morning. We grabbed some breakfast in town (which is a 10 minute walk from the hotel) and dropped off breakfast for Kelsey and checked in on the ladies who had started getting ready at the Inn. The venue was ready a bit early to begin setting things up, which was super helpful for the timeline. As we were finishing up the ceremony site it started to lightly rain. The staff at the venue wanted to know if we would change plans and move the ceremony inside, but Kelsey was determined to go forward regardless of the weather, which was definitely the right choice.

The wedding theme was jewel tones and the theme was woven into all aspects from the wedding party, to the florals, to the decor. Even though it was a bit on the wet side, the wedding party made the ceremony bright and cheerful. There had been a flurry of umbrella buying prior to heading up to Buena Vista, so we had clear umbrellas ready to go for almost everyone. And since the ceremony site was flanked with the doors of each of the chateau rooms, there were several overhangs for people to huddle under before the ceremony started. After a very touching ceremony led by Kelsey’s uncles, Kelsey and James were officially married and as they exited, the rain began to let up. Just a little good luck ceremony rain.

Cocktail hour was full of fun surprises for the guests while the wedding party took photos. There was a photo booth with instant photo strips printed out to become the guest book, a drink wall delivered guests a palermo by white gloved hand at the ring of a bell, and there were smores to roast in the fireplace.

Kicking off the reception after the grand entrance, Kelsey and James had their first dance. Then it was time for dinner, toasts and dances with the mothers. After a quick costume change, Kelsey and James delighted the guests with a choreographed dance to the Dirty Dancing song complete with backup dancers played by the wedding party. After that everyone let loose and had a great time on the dance floor. At the end of the evening it was time for the sparkler exit which really shown under the light of the hotel sign and thanks in part to the rain soaked ground. It was a spectacular party that we at Hey Darling had the privilege of being a part of!

Congratulations to the happy couple!