A colorful Colorado wedding with stunning mountain views

Colorful Colorado Wedding with Stunning Mountain Views – Callie Hobbs – Banks and Leaf 6

Prepare for breathtaking views my lovelies, this Colorado wedding has perhaps some of the best the Rocky Mountains can supply.

Showering their wedding day scene with colorful florals & feminine decor, Laura & Paul’s Colorado wedding is a nature-rich scene that’s a feast for the eyes. Their lakeside ceremony featured steep mountain views and eagles soaring over their ever-so-spoiled wedding guests. The entire party had the privilege to soak in all of nature’s offerings thanks to their venue being off-the-grid – sometimes no wifi is a welcomed amenity.

The crystalline lake was complemented by dusty blues throughout the decor – from ribbons, to linens to mismatched bridesmaids dresses, the color was a calming choice for the mountainous setting. Another favorite detail? Bride Laura’s mother’s wedding dress makes an appearance for the rustic reception (how sweet?!)

Our Love Story

Like many good stories, it all started with beer and golf. We had our first date on the driving range: my idea, which earned major points from Paul, an avid golfer. Safe to say, I was equally impressed the moment I saw his swing, and so began a series of late summer golf dates for the two us. Our love grew from that first golf course rendezvous in Denver to the ski slopes of Aspen and Crested Butte, the beaches of Southern California, the hilly roads of San Francisco, the palm tree shade of Sea Island, great friends & ferries in Seattle, bike rides and nights out in Vail, home-cooked meals in Denver, and eventually to the proposal in Michigan, Paul’s home state.

He took me to Michigan to show me all the places that meant something to him growing up. From his childhood home to his favorite restaurants and eventually the golf course where he learned to play. We got engaged on a perfect Michigan fall day after a day of cider mill donuts, Lipuma’s coney dogs and Red Knapps malts. Naturally, he popped the question on the golf course to which I exclaimed, “yes a million times.” Perhaps the most special part though was when we arrived at dinner shortly after he proposed. I’m very close to my family, so Paul knew I would want to share the day with them. I hadn’t been able to reach them by phone in the 30 minutes after the proposal and was dying to share the good news. He had secretly flown my parents in with his to celebrate with us that evening – it was so special and still makes my eyes water when I think about it.

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Photo by Callie Hobbs via Bridal Musings

Colorful Colorado Wedding with Stunning Mountain Views – Callie Hobbs – Banks and Leaf 8

Colorful Colorado Wedding with Stunning Mountain Views – Callie Hobbs – Banks and Leaf 9

The Dress & Attire

We used the inspiration of shades of blue from our invitation suite and reception decor to inform our wedding party attire. The men wore tailored navy blue suits with rose-colored ties and pocket squares. The bridesmaids each wore their preferred dress style in shades of navy, grey, light blue and floral. It allowed them to find an outfit in which they were comfortable and the variation in styles really complemented one another.

I wore a lace and English netting dress from Anne Barge. It was romantic, comfortable and fit perfectly the balance of a Colorado outdoor wedding with our feminine and soft details. For the reception, I changed into my mom’s wedding dress from 1975. I had her lace turtleneck a-line dress converted into a short dress for dancing by a local seamstress. It was a surprise and she was thrilled and touched!

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Colorful Colorado Wedding with Stunning Mountain Views – Callie Hobbs – Banks and Leaf 15

Colorful Colorado Wedding with Stunning Mountain Views – Callie Hobbs – Banks and Leaf 11

Photo by Callie Hobbs via Bridal Musings

The Flowers & Decor

Our ceremony decor was intended to be simple so as to not distract from the incredible view of the lake and the Gore Range. We chose minimal flowers crawling up modern gold stands as well as light cowhides with a modern touch of gold speckles. The florals were gorgeous in shades of red, pink, peach and butter yellow. Our florist was incredible! We got so many compliments on our florals – they were just gorgeous.

The venue was quite rustic, so we looked for soft, feminine and clean details to help elevate the gathering. we used light blue fabrics as runners and offset the runners with navy taper candles surrounded by low beautiful, soft florals in our accent colors of reds, butter yellows, peaches and dark pinks. The florals had movement in them to work with the light fabric to soften the space.

The Venue

Knowing that we’d have a lot of guests join from Michigan, we really wanted to share what we love most about our home state of Colorado. For us, it’s the breathtaking scenery, access to the mountains and amazing fall weather and colors. Piney River Ranch was the perfect venue for sharing those things with our guests. It’s one of Colorado’s most beautiful spots and offered an adventure to our guests up a long dirt road. When you arrive at Piney, the view is like no other – stunning mountains, a hillside of Aspen trees that had turned gold and a lake with canoes. It’s so picturesque.

Colorful Colorado Wedding with Stunning Mountain Views – Callie Hobbs – Banks and Leaf 1

Favorite Moments

We were able to give our guests a taste of Colorado outdoors that we didn’t expect: During our ceremony, two bald eagles soared over the lake behind us. During our reception, a family of moose approached the shoreline near our venue. They are quite dangerous animals, so while guests had to keep a safe distance, I am certain there are as many pictures of moose as there are of us among our guests. We love the mountains, so it was really special to share with our guests some of Colorado’s greatest outdoors.

Wearing my mother’s wedding dress was a very special detail for me. Seeing her joy when I showed it to her is something I will never forget.

Given our remote location, we had no wifi or cell phone service, which is highly unusual. It meant that our guests were totally present – no one was checking social media or texting during our celebration – they were just having fun and it was so nice to see. We bought polaroid cameras and asked folks to share their moments “the old fashioned way,” and some of the photos that were captured are hilarious and cute.

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The Reception

As much as we wanted our wedding to be beautiful and feminine, we also wanted it to be fun! Guests were treated to Colorado-brewed beers as they arrived at the wedding venue, we set aside a space for ranch games like horseshoes and a custom-branded cornhole (a game played with two wooden boards and bean bags) and we lit a campfire by the lake. Paul and I even went out in a canoe at one point.

Most importantly, we all danced. Live music was a major priority for us as music lovers, so we worked with our planner to find an incredible wedding band that included a brass section and great vocals. They were a huge hit with our guests.

The Photography

Photography was a priority for us. Knowing our day would fly by, it was important that we work with someone we knew would capture the big and small moments. Callie’s photography style is gorgeous and she takes both digital and film images that are stunning. The way she captured both unplanned quiet moments and full group staged shots really captured the beauty, love and joy of our day.

Photo by Callie Hobbs via Bridal Musings

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Colorful Colorado Wedding with Stunning Mountain Views – Callie Hobbs – Banks and Leaf 32

Advice to Other Couples

I highly recommend getting a wedding planner in advance and day-of. We spent a lot of time finding our planner Banks & Leaf who showcased the kinds of style choices – from florals to photography – that we really liked. Our day-of advice is to live in the moment. I also found it helpful to create a list with my husband of his top five priorities vs. mine and it really helped narrow in on things like music that were important to both of us. It helped allocate budget to the areas of most impact.

Finally, we found preparing the guest list was the most stressful time. My advice is: do it over wine and start small. Instead of creating a wish list of all the people you’d want and then prioritizing and categorizing from there, start with a small list of the people you can’t live without and expand one layer or group at a time. We started big and cut back and it ended up feeling like we had to cut so many people from our list.

Colorful Colorado Wedding with Stunning Mountain Views – Callie Hobbs – Banks and Leaf 7

The Honeymoon

We went to Hawaii the day after our wedding and spent time in Maui and Kauai. I always thought a Hawaiian honeymoon was so cliche, but now I know why. It was amazing – the perfect combination of adventure and activity with relaxation and cuisine. I highly, highly recommend the Hotel Wailea for honeymooning couples.