Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Destination Wedding Vail: A Mountainside Event

Words by Courtney Kellar
Photos courtesy of Lauren Brimhall Photography

Jason and Kendyl achieved the mountainside destination wedding of their dreams in Vail, Colorado. Since a large portion of the couple’s guests would have to travel anyways, they decided to make the best of it. “Our friends and family live all over the globe, so since they were all going to have to travel to reach us, we wanted to be sure to drag them somewhere great,” recalls the couple. While Vail is unquestionably gorgeous, it did come with a unique complication.

“It was a little tricky navigating altitude issues – our flatlander friends struggled in the town of Vail, so we knew we couldn’t have a mountaintop ceremony or reception,” says Kendyl. “Larkspur Restaurant was our venue of choice as much for its location in town as for its great microbrews.” Larkspur was also one of the few venues the couple could find which was large enough to accommodate all their guests.

Kendyl and Jason confess that planning their destination wedding was pretty easy, but that they couldn’t have done it without a longer engagement and a few fabulous friends to help plan. “It was a great excuse to head up to the mountains more regularly than we otherwise would have,” says the couple. “But we should confess that we had a lot of time [to plan], given our 21-month engagement.

“[Also,] our friends pitched-in in every direction. Allison and Rachel made the centerpieces using photos from our travels, old books from the local bookshop, local flowers and, I believe, 75 rolls of twine. The two of them wrapped wine bottles, pens and mason jars with twine until their hands bled – mind boggling and so rustically beautiful. They also made a dozen blackboards and commissioned yet another friend to use perfect print to write out our ceremony, table labels, etc.”

Come W-day, things went relatively smoothly for Jason and Kendyl – with one exception. “The one hitch was that our band came in from Albuquerque, New Mexico and got lost on the way,” says the bride. “Halfway through the ceremony my little sister was collaborating with friends to build a dance playlist and the kitchen staff was taking stock of their musical talents – one sous chef volunteered to play drums. Vanilla Pop arrived just in time, though, and sounded great.”

This couple has some final advice for other couples planning their dream destination wedding. “Make sure you’re not busy the day of the wedding. We went for a walk together before we went our separate ways to get dressed and it made the day feel so much more about relationships than about fanfare. The less you think about the details of the day, the better it will be.”

Vendors:
Photographer: Lauren Brimhall Photography
Ceremony/Reception Site: Larkspur Restaurant in Vail, CO
Wedding Planners/Décor: Allison Hastey & Rachel Greiman
Florist: Cedars Flower Shop
Band: Vanilla Pop
Invitations: Jason (the groom)