We caught a few shots of the many deer who frequent our property last week! Check out some favorite shots from the deer sighting, and remember to view wildlife safely in Rocky Mountain National Park. Thank goodness for cameras with a zoom lens!
Jessi and Loren held a fun and lively wedding at The Wild Basin Lodge last week with gorgeous Springtime details like this Colorado Rose Cake Company design with garden inspiration
We are so pleased to congratulate Jessi and Loren, a fun and friendly couple who wed at The Wild Basin Lodge last week! The happy pair expertly integrated a variety of fun activities into their wedding reception to keep guests involved and enjoy an entertaining evening.
Jessi and Loren held a beautiful and personal ceremony at the St. Vrain River ceremony site. Their baby, Keegan, got the opportunity to be a groomsman in the ceremony, and they integrated a unity rock ceremony in which guests were given black polished stones of varying shapes and sizes to add to a keepsake vase with white stones for the bride and groom. Check out some more information about a unity rock ceremony at this link. DJ Dave Kreider of Beggar’s Tunes performed music services for both the ceremony and reception, and the couple had a family member officiate their riverside vows.
Our staff was impressed with all the fabulous and fun activities that Jessi and Loren planned for the cocktail hour and reception. While they had their post-ceremony photos taken by Wild Basin preferred vendor, Ken Miller Photography, their guests participated in a fun video scavenger hunt on the Wild Basin property. Guests were then ushered into our Copeland level reception room for an incredible grand entrance, complete with dancing and a special grand entrance tequila toast for the adult guests. After a terrific dinner of buffalo flank steak with a wild berry demi glace and Rocky Mountain river trout with lemon caper beurre blanc served family style, guests were wowed by the couple’s lively and choreographed first dance. I’m a huge fan of the garden-themed cake from Colorado Rose Cake Company, the adorable black bridesmaid gowns with green sashes, and Jessi’s beautiful gown and hairstyle. Check out the photos in the attached gallery, and please join us in congratulating the lovely pair in today’s comments section!
Amy and Dan prepared a memorial table for family members who passed away, a special memorial section for those family members in their ceremony programs, and even linked Amy’s dad who couldn’t travel for health reasons into the ceremony via Skype to honor his role in her life. Will you honor family members at your wedding?
We are pleased to congratulate Amy and Dan, a caring and kind couple who wed at The Wild Basin Lodge last Saturday and added several unique and personalized elements to their ceremony and reception. Our staff was impressed with the way in which the couple honored their family members, their religion, and our natural mountain setting throughout the day. If you live in Colorado, you may recall that Saturday was pretty rainy, but you know what they say; rain at a wedding means good fortune for the marriage. Based on that, Amy and Dan will be very fortunate throughout married life! We also have clear Wild Basin umbrellas on site for guests to use during ceremonies so rain at our wedding ceremonies rarely deters guests from heading outside to enjoy the pristine environment and sweetly scented nature. The ceremony was held at our St. Vrain River site overlooking the river and Copeland Mountain, and everyone at the wedding was touched that the bride’s father (who couldn’t travel for health reasons) was able to view the wedding via Skype on an iPad and officially give his daughter away. Many of you know that I turn into mush over father daughter moments, and I’m so impressed that the couple was able to organize this! The pair included pine tree icons in their wedding programs and enjoyed a minister-led ceremony featuring a reading from Corinthians 13. Immediately following Amy and Dan’s vows, there was a beautiful dove release to celebrate their union, and as guests moved inside for a cocktail hour, Amy and Dan were able to have an evening photo shoot with Elevate Photography at our meadow site overlooking Longs Peak and Mount Meeker.
Guests of the wedding enjoyed a personalized reception with several well thought-out details. Their memorial table (the featured photo in today’s post) included photos from family members who passed, notes, flowers, and candles for guests to enjoy. DJ Ken Hiatt of Quality Mobile Sound performed music services throughout the day for the 65 guests in attendance. One of the most unique elements to the reception were the several cakes that acted as centerpieces provided by Colorado Rose Cake Company. The cakes provided a variety of flavors and options that the couple selected for the wedding guests and each one came with a card describing the theme of the cake. After the main cake was cut, guests were able to enjoy any number of selections.
We are thrilled for Amy and Dan, and our entire staff wishes them all the best in their future together! Check out their photo collection for inspiration on cake centerpieces, ceremony programs, and family photo shoots.
We love seeing unique unity ceremonies st Wild Basin weddings! Photo courtesy of Visual Poetry by Meghan
Today, I’m continuing my post on unity ceremonies we often see at Wild Basin weddings with a few more ideas and culturally significant ceremony aspects. Let’s get started!
- The breaking of the glass ceremony: Many of you have seen this tradition at Jewish ceremonies, and we’ve seen several non-denominational Wild Basin couples exercise this tradition as well. If you haven’t seen it or don’t know what it symbolizes, Jewish Wedding Traditions 101 has a great explanation: “The meaning of this act is disputed. One interpretation is that the marriage will last as long as the glass is broken– forever. Another interpretation is that people need to remember those who are suffering even in their greatest moments of joy, and to remember the destruction of the second temple. After the breaking of the glass, the guests yell, “Mazel Tov!” which means good luck.”
- The unity sand ceremony: This is one of the more popular ceremonies at Wild Basin ceremonies held outdoors due to the fact that unlike a unity candle ceremony, the weather won’t cause any extra stress during the ceremony. The vase with different colors of sand blended together also makes a wonderful keepsake for couples. A unity sand ceremony represents the symbolic joining of two lives at a wedding. The different colors of sand are separate before the ceremony and the individuals participating in this ceremony add their separate colors into one vase. Usually, the officiating party will say something along the lines of, “Just as the grains of sand cannot be separated, so is your life together in this union.”
- The unity cocktail mixing ceremony: The unity cocktail ceremony is similar to a unity sand ceremony in that couples blend two separate colors into one to symbolically represent their joining together. I recently saw a great depiction of this ceremony on my favorite wedding show, Four Weddings! In this episode, bride Micaela and her groom mixed two differently colored alcohols into a cocktail shaker and took turns sipping the concoction in a martini glass. The ceremony was a nice prelude to the cocktail hour and reception, which provided guests with the same cocktail as a signature drink. This is a great idea for couples and guests who love to party!
- The jumping of the broom ceremony: Many of us may think this tradition is reserved for African and African American weddings, but the tradition is practiced among a variety of cultures all over the world. Much dispute exists over the symbolic meaning of jumping the broom, and my favorite explanation of the ceremony aspect is explained by www.African-Weddings.com: “‘Jumping the Broom’ is a symbol of sweeping away the old and welcoming the new, or a symbol of new beginnings.” Some also consider the act of jumping the broom as a first leap of faith into married life together. Pretty cool, huh?
So many unique ceremonies and so little time! Tell us your unique ceremony story on today’s blog comments section!
What kind of unity ceremony do you have planned for your Wild Basin wedding? Photo courtesy of Photography G
We often see our couples organize unique and personalized unity ceremonies at their weddings, and it’s lovely to see what couples prepare to symbolize their union. As you may know, unity candle ceremonies were integrated into traditional wedding ceremonies several decades ago. Quite often, the two separate candles represent the bride and groom or the two separate families coming together, the center candle represents the marriage, and when the two candles are lit and joined together to ignite the center, the officiating party will say something along the lines of, “The individual candles represent your lives before today. Lighting the center candle represents that your two lives are now joined to one light, and represents the joining together of your two families and sets of friends to one.” I love the beautiful and symbolic tradition, and we like to remind couples planning a unity candle ceremony outdoors to remember to purchase hurricane vases so the candles don’t burn out on windy days. Many couples have updated that tradition or used other culturally significant unity traditions at The Wild Basin Lodge, and here are a few examples we saw recently at Wild Basin weddings:
- The Unity Rocky Ceremony: Loren and Jessi’s recent wedding was highly personal, and I loved the way the polished black stones for guests and polished white stones for the couple looked in their keepsake vase after the ceremony. I mentioned the rock ceremony in an earlier post, and I love that it encourages guests, family, and friends to take part in the union. Quite often at rock unity ceremonies, the officiating party will encourage the attendees at the wedding to hold the rock and make a wish or think of a prayer for the couple. Then, the couple takes the stones home to display and can remember the people who put their faith into their marriage every time they see the rocks. I love that this is a very natural ceremony that ties into the Wild Basin’s pristine mountain setting nicely.
- The Wine Box Ceremony: Anne and Josh tied an incredibly personal and creative unity ceremony into their November wedding at the Wild Basin. They created a large box, similar to a time capsule, that they added wine, letters, and memorable items to. During their ceremony, they nailed the box shut and plan on opening it on their 10th anniversary. Then, they will drink the wine, read their letters, and refill the box with new wine and letters for their 20th anniversary (and repeat for each decade!) I love that this is essentially a gift that keeps on giving and that couples can get so creative with the project.
- The tree planting ceremony: This is one of my favorite ceremonies to see at Wild Basin weddings because it ties in so perfectly with our gorgeous natural setting and gardening-themed weddings. Extra points if you offer seeds, mini trees, and other natural decorations as favors to wedding guests or a theme to enhance your wedding look! Couples who select this ceremony bring a tree, a pot for planting, some dirt, gloves, and shovels so they can plant the tree together. The tree acts as a symbol of the love they share and the new life they will “grow” together, and it’s a beautiful ceremony to see take root!
More on unity ceremonies later! What unity ceremony are you planning?
