A Black Tie Aspen Wedding

A Black Tie Aspen Wedding

CATEGORIES

April 27, 2022
Words by Lauren Ertl
Photos courtesy of Megan Wynn

Kari and Carson’s worlds collided when they met at their local gym in Florence, AL. Kari taught as a spin instructor in the small town and up until then thought she knew everyone around her age there. That is until Carson came home from living overseas and took a spin class with a cute instructor named Kari. “…And the rest fell into place. It was really love at first sight for both of us,” the couple tells us. Read on to see how Kari and Carson came to wed in the picturesque destination of Aspen, Colorado (one of our favs)!

Q: Why did you choose to do a destination wedding?
A: Aspen is a very special place for us and we wanted others to feel that and see why just for what the city is and its surroundings. We had the welcome dinner at Jimmy’s with an “upscale western” theme, encouraging guests to wear boots and hats which felt fitting for the atmosphere around us and was super fun, allowing guests to be more casual and colorful. The decor mimicked this with more colorful florals, and western embroidered tablecloths, and transformed the space. The wedding day was black-tie so it was very formal and super beautiful. We wanted to let the natural beauty of Aspen shine, so did not want to overcomplicate with a variety of colors in florals, for example, keeping it all whites and neutrals. We wanted to allow guests to capture the scenery and sunset on top of the mountain and all the components to accent the simplicity, not take away.

Q: How/why did you choose the location/destination? Did you run into any issues specific to this destination and how did you resolve them?
A: Aspen has always been a very special place for my husband and me. We researched online various wedding venues and came across The Little Nell’s Wedding Overlook on top of Aspen Mountain. After making a trip to visit the location, we immediately knew it was where we wanted to have our wedding. We did not face any specific issues with this destination aside from the potential risks associated with Covid, but luckily, we were able to celebrate our big day without any major hiccups.

Q: What helped you the most in the planning process?
A: 100% hire a planner if you can, it is so worth it and if you’re lucky like us, it’ll be someone who you’ll be able to keep in contact with afterward and build a relationship. The coolest thing is speaking to someone about your vision and getting that executed to have the wedding of your dreams.

Q: How do you think your wedding would have been different had you not held it away from home?
A: Aside from Aspen, our other thought was to have our wedding in Alabama where we are from. Although Alabama is very important to us and we have a lot of pride in our hometown, we believe that we made the right decision to have a destination wedding. We were able to keep the wedding smaller in size and for our guests, it was very special for us to share our favorite place in the world with them. They were able to get an understanding of why Aspen is such a magical place and having our wedding there made it even more fantastic and meaningful. Now when we go back, it feels even better knowing that is where we exchanged our views and had a party weekend of a lifetime.

Q: Overall, do you have any special advice you would like to share with our readers to help prepare them for their day?
A: Enjoy the experience – from the planning process to the big day and after. We are still on a high from our day months later, because we took the time to really sit back, pause, and observe each moment. We would grab each other and for a few minutes soak in our surroundings from the music to the tablecloths to the florals, and it really helped to slow us down. It does go by fast, of course, as you’re having so much fun and there is so much going on, but if you’ve got each other and those around you who love you, that’s all that matters.