Spending most of my youth and young adulthood in both the Bay Area and Northern California I was given the opportunity to be exposed to a very diverse group of people. From my friendships (and actually family ties as well) with a variety of people of a different cultural heritage than my own I learned a lot about their cultural traditions, including some very cool wedding traditions.
I lived for a short period of time with my aunt and uncle. My aunt, being Japanese, draped one of our walls with a familial wedding kimono, the Uchikake. It’s a stunning coat-like garment worn by brides. My aunt’s was white with lavender flowers and peach tinted swans, but many are incredibly colorful and often times red. I was enthralled with the different cultural aesthetics that I was introduced to through weddings.
The first non-Western or non-Christian wedding I attended was an Afghan wedding. We began the morning with the couples’ traditional Muslim marriage ceremony. It was stunning. Traditionally the bride and groom sit at a long table with their mullah and immediate family to agree to the marriage contract; this ceremony is called a Nikah. What I found most stunning about this ceremony was the brides’ traditional dress. It was a heavily beaded traditional middle-eastern gown, in green. Our Western eyes seem to only see white when it comes to a wedding gown, to the extent that even something as demure as blush seems avant-garde. The Afghan wedding reception is not only a celebration of the joining of two families but of cultural heritage; including traditional food, dancing and music.
My best friend is currently planning her wedding. She is of Swedish decent and her fiancé of Irish and Portuguese. I am so excited to see what they incorporate into their ceremony and reception! I know for sure she is going to incorporate her familial Swedish bridal crown.
I love cultural diversity when it comes to weddings, especially when two cultures come together and share with each other their traditions.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
XO Nikki
Greetings friends! It is my privilege and honor to report to you from my very first week here at The Wild Basin Lodge and Event Center. Moving to Colorado from Illinois is a dream come true for me and I look forward to joining everyone here in planning gorgeous Rocky Mountain Weddings. The Wild Basin Team has spared no expense in making me feel welcome and part of the family.
For all those brides to be, The Wild Basin Lodge offers spectacular scenery for your special day. Hummingbirds are constantly fluttering by the numerous feeders surrounding the building. If you’re looking for even more seclusion, reserve our King Suite and enjoy your own private deck overlooking Mt. Copeland and the St. Vrain River.
Peak wedding season will be here before we know it, so stop by and say hi! We look forward to seeing you soon!
Best Wishes Anna
As I was taking my daily walk around the lodge this past weekend a wonderful thing occurred to me. It’s sunny, the sky is blue, and there’s, finally, no more snow on the ground! Spring has finally arrived, although apparently she had trouble putting on her lipstick, because she is fashionably late! Spring at the lodge seems to have brought some major changes, both in the natural world, as well as in the form of renovations on the lodge herself.
Trees are budding and some plants are looking pretty fuzzy all around the lodge.
We’ve been able to redo the deck that sits atop the St Vrain River, whose bubbling happily these days, as well as the Copeland level deck and the Meadow is even getting a spring time makeover. They’ve added lush green pine needles to fresh golden bark; it smells lovely.
I can’t wait to meet all of our spring brides and grooms! And for those of you considering a Wild Basin wedding it’s a perfect time to come visit!
XO Nikki
Recently we have received many inquires as to where the most convenient places to obtain marriage licenses are. Most couples travel to us through Estes Park or Boulder/Lyons so those are the two cities we generally suggest. For our couples coming to us from out of state, these are the closest and most convenient, especially since Estes Park offers an online option to fill out the marriage license. For our in state couples, no matter how far out of town you are traveling from, there is no reason to drive all the way up to retrieve your marriage license because, in the state of Colorado, you can utilize a marriage license attained in any county of Colorado.
There is no waiting period, so some couples, if it is more convenient for you, you may pick up the license the night before or even the morning of and be guaranteed its validity. But remember, once signed by your licensed Officiant/Pastor, your license must be returned within 60 days so that it may be filed with the county clerk and recorder’s office in the county in which you received your license.
As always, if you have questions about the wedding process or attaining and validating your license the helpful staff at Wild Basin are always available to answer phone calls or emails! Can’t wait to see all of your special days come to fruition!
XO Nikki
Everyone is aware of how incredibly expensive weddings can be from the venue to the attire; some couples are getting creative when it comes to saving money. One way is to save money on the cake. A huge cake trend, as many of you know, are cupcakes, but what if you want the classic aesthetic of a tiered cake without the price? A budget friendly option is the faux cake.
Not only can you find faux cakes from online retailers, but if you are nimble fingered you can easily build your own by creating tiers of styrofoam and, depending on the look you prefer, you can decorate it with the satin draped finish of fondant or with the endless textural possibilities of buttercream. Now what do the guests eat? A great option is to get a delicious frosted, but undecorated, tiered cake, or even a sheet cake. For those of you brides marrying in the summertime this is a wonderful option as your faux cake can sit out for hours while your edible cake remains fresh, and frosting cool, in the refrigerator.
Recently we had a couple utilize this faux cake trend with a beautiful aspen textured cake (pictured above). A really cool aspect of their cake is that it hid a small compartment where a slice of real cake could be inserted so they could still, easily, participate in the cake cutting tradition. I love budget friendly ideas!
What are your favorite budget friendly ideas? Have you found creative ways to save on your special day?
XO Nikki
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