Winter Park, Colorado wedding

Hi everyone! It's a snowy day in Colorado. I did a wedding in Winter Park, Colorado, at the Devil's Thumb Ranch. With the snow on the mountains, and coming down, it was a wonderland, if you didn't have to drive in it!

I'd like to tell you about this wedding. It was the perfect wedding! The bride arrived in a horse-drawn sleigh (with wheels) to the church. The snow was softly falling, which made for a beautiful picture. (The sleigh was provided by Aspen Carriage and Sleigh (Sandra Dieterich). There were two of the most beautiful Percherons I've seen pulling the sleigh.

The photography was done by two very talented photographers from Salida, CO, Wild Iris Studio (Kristy Watts). I understand they do portraits as well.

The ceremony was at Our Lady of the Snow, Catholic church, in Granby, CO. The priest, Father Bogdan Siewiera, and the pianist DiAnn Bourget both came from their home church in Salida.
The bride's beautiful bouquet, of deep red roses and the reception decor was provided by Pick Me Floral in Winter Park. Rami Carter did a fabulous job. 970-531-2479.

After the ceremony, the reception was at Devil's Thumb Ranch in The Barn, which is a historical barn, worked into the Ranch and a beautiful place for a reception. The cake, beautifully done, by Paula Thomas of Tea Cup Bakery. The bride, her family and attendants stayed at the beautiful Snowy Mountain Ranch (also a YMCA).

What made this a perfect wedding? Let me back up to the day before the wedding. I met with the bride and groom to finalize any last minute changes, which is the norm. It was then I found out that the seamstress, hired in July of last year to custom make the wedding and bridesmaids dresses, hadn't accomplished the project! The bride had the foresight to purchase a backup dress, but had expected the bridesmaids dresses to arrive, along with the seamstress, the day before the wedding. They didn't get done! There were NO bridesmaids dresses.

We immediately went into action to find a solution. Being aware of what most of the bridal shops in the area (meaning Denver 100 miles away) carried in sizes in their samples, I immediately called Lisa at Celestial Bride (8262 S. University Blvd, Centennial, CO 80122 720-529-2000. Lisa agreed to reopen her bridal salon to my clients late that night. She did go to the shop, but received a call from the bridesmaids telling her the weather was just to bad they weren't going to make it b y 10:30 pm! Lisa did agree and did open the salon Saturday morning (the day of the wedding) and met the bridesmaids there around 7:30 am. (Talk about going over and above!!!!) When the bridesmaids arrived back at the ranch, each had a dress to wear.

While the overall picture wasn't her vision, and she could have been upset all day about it, she wasn't. (One of the things I cover with clients is that you are dealing with humans and anything can happen!) She was truly a princess in all meanings of the word. She was gracious, smiling, and above all, enjoyed her day.

We stayed at the Olympia Lodge in Winter Park. This lodge is owned by Albert and Carol Gasienica, who I might mention were great hosts! The rooms were very large, extremely clean and very comfortable. They include a continental breakfast along with the room. http://www.olympialodge.com/. 970-726-8843. This Olympia is within walking distance of restaurants, and just a short drive from the slopes. I highly recommend this lodge if you are staying in the area.

The point to my writing this is that while things can go wrong, the bottom line is "YOU ARE GETTING MARRIED"! As long and the officiant, bride and groom (and hopefully me :-) are there, nothing else matters...it's all icing on the cake.

In closing, (1) if you are working with a coordinator, let them know at the first sign that something may not be going right. We are there to help solve problems. Trust us to do so.
(2) If something goes wrong, let it go. You probably can't do much about it. It will certainly make your day memorable! (3) Enjoy your day, even if it's not quite the dream you had, few weddings are!

For help planning your wedding, call me! I not only travel in Colorado, but I do destination weddings anywhere in the world and US you want to go! http://www.weddingsbytanya.com/ or Tanya@weddingsbytanya.com. I look forward to hearing from you!