Sara and James utilized a colorful cake and a fun candy bar setup at their reception to keep mountain wedding guests involved
We are pleased to congratulate Sara and James, a lovely couple who recently wed at our St. Vrain River ceremony site and then moved their guests into our Copeland level reception room for a fun and activity-filled reception! We were happy to see the couple add their dog, Arnie, to their outdoor ceremony with 65 guests in attendance for an intimate and personal touch. The ceremony, which included a very special tree planting addition, included performances by our friend Dave Kreider of Beggar’s Tunes, who also performed DJ services at the reception.
I was excited to know that Sara and James prepared activities for all ages at their reception. Along with the colorful candy bar you see pictured in this post, the couple hired Colorado Rose Cake Company to create an absolutely amazing multi-colored six-tiered cake and cupcake design with spring colors, multiple flavors, and their signature pine tree frosting design elements (check it out in the gallery below). We can’t wait to see more pictures of these adorably sweet elements!
We are so happy for Sara and James, and the entire Wild Basin staff wishes them all the best in their future together!
Cinco de Mayo has passed, but we’re still celebrating Heather and Will’s gorgeous summer wedding at The Wild Basin Lodge with Mexican and Spanish décor! Photos courtesy of Jenn Stone Photography
Angie and Brandon planned a snowshoeing photo shoot following their winter ceremony at the lodge. Do you have activities planned as a couple or with your Wild Basin guests this winter?
The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the weather is warm here in Colorado! As our staff gears up for another fabulous and jam-packed summer season at the lodge, we are also keeping in mind that many of our guests are in the planning stages for winter and early spring nuptials high in the Rocky Mountains. With that in mind, I’d like to relay a few tips for snowshoeing photos and trips in Rocky Mountain National Park and the Wild Basin area. Cools me off a little just to think about it!
- As always, Rocky Mountain National Park’s website has excellent tips for outdoor activities of all kinds, including snowshoeing. I love that you can even schedule a ranger-led snowshoe tour in select areas of the park for a safe, picturesque, and fun day of adventure in the Rockies! Check out this link for more activities and snowshoe tour information.
- If you’re interested in venturing out by yourself and have the experience to back it up, you can rent snowshoes in our neighboring Estes Park for next to nothing!
- Occasionally, wedding photographers have snowshoe equipment as part of their winter wedding photography packages. The Wild Basin Lodge does not have this equipment, so we highly recommend planning ahead with a snowshoe rental shop or asking your photographer during meet-and-greets if they have this equipment. Your photos can be just as adorable and nature-themed as Angie and Brandon’s!
- You can even snowshoe in the park by moonlight with a ranger-led full moon walk! That’s a romantic and unique way to experience the park, just make sure to leave the werewolves at home!
Do you have a special winter activity planned for the big day? Tell us about it and post comments to today’s post comments section!
Are you going to go mountain biking on one of Rocky Mountain National Park’s many trails during your Wild Basin wedding getaway? Photo courtesy of Visual Poetry by Meghan
Many of the wonderful Wild Basin couples we get the opportunity to work with absolutely love our area because of the many trails and roads that are perfect for mountain biking tours. As you can see in this blog post’s photo, Wild Basin couple Steve and Megan even integrated a biking theme into their meadow ceremony, and I’ve mentioned the bicycle cake decorations they added to their Copeland level reception cake from Colorado Rose Cake Co. Adding an outdoorsy or activity theme to a mountain wedding at the Wild Basin really pops up the personality and interests of our nature-loving couples!
Wild Basin wedding couples and their guests love planning mountain biking trips in Rocky Mountain National Park, and keep in mind that the park charges a $10 per week, per bike fee to venture throughout the many off road trails in the park. Check out the RMNP website for more details and tips on biking throughout the area. I also like the biking trail recommendations from the Rocky Mountain National Park Hiking guide (appearing about 3/4 down on the linked page), which includes information and difficulty levels for Bear Lake Road, Trail Ridge Road, and the popular Horseshoe Park/Estes Park Loop Trail. We often see bikers on our scenic Peak-to-Peak Highway, and I’ve biked a 6.5 mile portion of the road to and from work for some fun and serene exercise! There are a lot of hills to climb, and much like a marriage, the adventure is worth the extra sweat!
Have you found your destination honeymoon location yet?
I just got back from the most incredibly epic vacation I’ve ever experienced! Denice and Nils, the owners of The Wild Basin Lodge, let me and six of my friends stay at their amazing house in San Pancho (or San Francisco), Mexico; a little beach town that’s located about 25 miles north of Puerto Vallarta. The house is called Vista Celeste and it features three bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a full kitchen, a pool overlooking the gorgeous sparkling ocean, an outdoor grill, several patio areas, and (in the true style of Denice and Nils) every meticulous and well-thought-out detail one could imagine. While staying at Vista Celeste, we cooked some of the most amazing organic food we’ve ever tasted after purchasing affordable produce, fish, and meat from local vendors, marveled at the super moon on Cinco de Mayo, relaxed and read in and next to the perfectly heated pool, boogie boarded in our very-private section of the beach (pictured above), and drank our fair share of blended cocktails (there’s a great blender at the house), cerveza (beer), and of course, tequila!
My friends and I couldn’t get enough of the views, swimming in the pool and the ocean, boogie boarding, and the friendly locals who helped us with everything from organic dining to whale watching off the coast of Puerto Vallarta! We ventured out quite a bit to the neighboring “party town” of Sayulita to sample food from several beachside restaurants, bars, and taco stands (I’m now obsessed with the chocolate and toasted coconut-covered frozen bananas in the town, which are only 20 pesos, or about $1.60 USD), admire the local artisan and clothing shops, and have fun on the beach (which boasts many surfers, jewelry vendors, and friendly locals). We were all so impressed with the fact that the area has something to offer guests with all kinds of interests and activity levels. One of our favorite activities was a full-day boat tour that provided meals and complimentary drinks. On that tour, we were fortunate to see whales, dolphins, and sea life while dancing and mingling with the guests (including families with children and honeymooning couples). We snorkeled and kayaked to a private island and checked out some amazing caves, then returned to the boat to fish, eat lunch, and marvel at the coast line of Puerto Vallarta. We were also fortunate to swim with the dolphins in Puerto Vallarta, and I even got to kiss and dance salsa with one (FYI; dolphin kisses are pretty salty). A couple of my friends participated in a full-day zip line adventure that ended with a tequila tour, and they couldn’t recommend that more highly! Our experiences in Mexico were absolutely wonderful; I personally was reminded to savor every moment with loved ones and occasionally take a break (as many of you know, I work quite a bit! It’s so important to stop and smell the roses once in awhile)
Why am I telling you about my vacation? I’m glad you asked! Denice and Nils have agreed to offer Wild Basin wedding couples 20% off of their stay at Vista Celeste, making it one of the most affordable destination honeymoons available! Check out the availability calendar for the house to start planning your incredible honeymoon getaway, and make sure to contact The Wild Basin Lodge if you have any questions. You may also contact me at hillary@wildbasinlodge.com if you have questions about my trip to the area, and I would be happy to post some more information online. Once we have all of our (hundreds and hundreds) of photos and videos uploaded, I will make sure to post some more photos on both this blog and Vista Celeste’s gallery.
Viva Vista Celeste!
