Q&A with the bride and groom:

Tell us about your wedding! What was the inspiration behind your day? Did you have a specific theme, style or color palette? Did you incorporate any cultural or religious traditions in any part of your day?

Our theme/color scheme was selected after we found our venue. The Lodge at Breckenridge has an amazing view of the mountains off of their deck. Since our wedding was set in the fall, we selected colors that would compliment our surroundings. The suits were actually picked first. We loved the Allure Men suits in the dark grey and then selected mahogany ties/pocket squares. Since we picked the suits first, I was super worried that I wouldn't get anything to match. But the Store Manager of Tip Top Tux was generous and allowed me to borrow a pocket square. I used the pocket square to pick out the wine colored bridesmaid dresses from David's Bridal. We also matched the pocket square to burgundy colored Vans that our whole bridal party wore. We wanted our wedding to have a comfortable and intimate feel.

Let's talk wedding decor. How did you decorate your space for the ceremony and the reception? Was any part of the decor DIY?

We wanted our  decorations to be mostly easy to transport since we came from Kansas City and nothing too tall because we didn't want to obstruct the view. Up front, we decorated with wooden crates, lanterns, real wax candles and fake flowers. We stained the crates a medium brown color and painted the lanterns black. For the isle, we stained a chalkboard sign to match the crates and wrote "It's all love,  please sit where your heart desires". Since the weather in the mountains can be unpredictable in fall, we prepared for the cold by placing blankets in some baskets for our guests to use. We also made re-usable hand warmers as our guest favors. For the wedding programs, we found a template on Etsy so we could fill in our own info and print at home.

Did you personalize the day in any way (food trucks, guest entertainment etc.)? What were some of your favorite parts of your wedding

A key part of our ceremony was the love letters/wine box. In addition to Aaron and I writing letters to each other, we also asked our parents, best man and matron of honor to write marriage advice letters as well. To personalize, we we had our wine box engraved with our names, date and an A-Frame house. Aaron and I have a goal to move to Colorado and build a cabin or A-Frame within 5 years. Since we can't open the box to read our letters until our 5 year anniversary, we wanted it to not only serve as a reminder of our love but also as a reminder of our common goals.

How did you meet? Tell us about the proposal.

Last winter, Aaron was teaching me to snowboard at Loveland Ski Area. The first 3 days on mountain I spent a lot of time learning and I was really sore from falling and using muscles that I don't utilize daily. During our first run on day 4, I fell pretty hard on a flat area and wanted to be done because I was exhausted and sore. Aaron kept trying to convince me that we needed to go up to Ptarmigan Lodge so we could take tourist photos off the deck. But I was adamant about being done so Aaron suggested that we grab a couple of beers a the base lodge and see how I feel after. Needless to say, we can say thank you to beer at altitude and the promise of food at Ptgarmigan for me going up there. I remember eating potato soup and chatting with some other people at our table who were from out East. Aaron raved to them about the chili he was eating and when we finished we went to the deck to take some photos. I had thought we were finished with photos so I put back on my googles and gloves when Aaron asked a lady to take a picture of us. But then Aaron kneels down and pulls out a ring box to ask me to be his wife. I was completely surprised and excited that my best friend wanted to marry me. I of course said yes and thanked the lady who was surprised to be taking our proposal photos. I was crying because I was happy and my wonderful husband had laughed at me and said "don't cry too much or you'll fog up your goggles".

Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you'd like to share with other couples planning their day?

I think it's important to remember that your day should be about you two, as a couple. Don't let other people's opinions discourage you from doing what you really want. If you want a small destination wedding even though your family wants a big event, do a small wedding. In the end, you need to be happy and do what feels right as a couple. Something else that is important is making sure to set aside time for yourselves throughout the planning process. Aaron and I both worked full-time jobs and were working on our second bachelor's degrees while wedding planning. But no matter your situation, life is messy so things can get chaotic and stressful. Take time to do something together as a couple at least once a week. It can be something as small as watching an episode of a TV show or as much as a full date out. But you'll both need a moment every week to decompress and just enjoy spending time together.