Q&A with the bride: 

How did you meet?

We met through a friend of a friend back in 2010, and while we saw each other occasionally over the years, we didn't really connect for a few years after that. Little did we know back in 2014, we lived 5 blocks away from each other in Denver. As luck would have it, we ran into each other one night at a neighborhood bar, reconnected, and that's where our story really started. We've been inseparable ever since!

What is your proposal story?

After a week of camping, hiking, and canoeing around Grand Teton National Park, we headed over to Jackson Hole for our final few days of vacation. Riley would not stop talking about a famous ski run - Corbet's Couloir - so of course, we had to go see it. Hiking around the top of the jump, with beautiful panoramic views, Alani set up a self-timer photo. When she ran back to Riley, he started moving away (what the heck?!), only to get down on one knee. Of course, she said YES!!!

Tell us a little a bit about your wedding (your vision, color, style, and location choices).

Living in Colorado, it was really important to us to have an outdoor wedding to use the beauty of the mountains as part of our decor... we were hoping for a mountain chic vibe! Anyone who has been to Colorado in the fall knows that there is about a two-week period where the Aspen leaves turn peak yellow. With that in mind - we took a chance on the first weekend of October. We picked the most beautiful venue just 45 minutes outside of Denver (easy for our guests and yet still away from the hustle and bustle of the city), Blackstone Rivers Ranch.

The ceremony site is right along a creek, and the entire venue is full of Aspen trees. We knew right away that it was where we wanted to get married. Our color palette was centered around two things we love very much: Coffee and Tea. Our flowers, table decorations, and attire were full of latte, cappuccino, and earl grey colors with some natural greens to play off the venue. It was perfect!  

When the day came, it was a beautiful sunny and 65 degree fall day in Colorado... and the Aspen leaves were in peak yellow. We couldn't have asked for anything better.

Tell us about your attire choices.

Wanting to stick to a mountain chic vibe, we chose formal attire. The bridesmaids wore Taupe floor length dresses, the groomsmen wore navy tuxedos. For my dress, I wanted to stick to a classic, and timeless bridal gown. I ended up picking a Pronovias gown with  a bateau neckline, that had a deep scooped back and unique pattern in the lace. It was both classic and fit our outdoor vibe perfectly.

What was the most important to the two of you while planning? Was there anything that you chose to splurge on or skip?

The venue was most important to us, and definitely our biggest splurge. It was so important for us to be up in the mountains and outside (a big part of our lifestyle), that we were very specific in what we needed from our venue. Another requirement of ours was to have a live music component of some sort. We lucked out with String and Sound, who played beautiful live music for the ceremony and first dances, and kept the dance floor full the whole night by switching to DJ after dinner. We got so many compliments on the band and the venue, so both were well worth it!

What were your favorite parts of the day? (memories and stories)

The first look was one of our favorite parts of the day. We were both so nervous! It was emotional, intimate, and got rid of some of our jitters.

It was also amazing to drive up the mountain for pictures after our ceremony - although hiking in my heels was quite difficult - we were going to get our perfect shot with the aspen leaves we had always wanted.

Honestly, when we think back, the entire day went better than we could have imagined. Nature was on our side with a beautiful sunny day and peak fall colors. Our family and friends were able to join us from around the world in this beautiful spot to witness us exchange vows and dance the night away. The decor came together flawlessly, and probably even better than we envisioned.