I’m ready to favourite this post, and I haven’t even written it yet! You see, as a self-confessed ski nut, any wedding that includes a bride and groom atop a chair lift, a mountaintop vista, cable cars as wedding transport, an oxygen bar (yes really!) and a beaming bride and groom is a winner in my book. And thanks to the talents of Daniel Lopez Perez Photography, this Colorado beauty is all that plus SO much more.
Aly and Zach decided to have their ceremony 10,700 feet up a mountain. You see, you really can have a Jewish wedding anywhere! Aly’s skied down Winter Park Mountain every year of her life since she was five and the region means so much to her. What better reason to choose it as her wedding venue?
Frankly this W Day looks like it was a blast with so many cute details (like blue sunglasses as wedding favours) not to mention the sweetest dress and the most besotted groom I’ve seen in a while. I think you’ll love it all!
Take it away Aly…
how we met
Aly, the Bride: Zach and I met at a small dive bar that our mutual friends were playing a live show at. I saw him at the end of the bar and told my friend I thought he was cute and asked her what I should say to him. My friends’s answer: “hello.” So I did. The rest of night included giant jenga, funk music, three bars, dancing, a few drinks, and a lot of laughing…. We moved in together three months later, and never looked back.
Getting married 10,700 feet up a mountain!
We got married in Winter Park, Colorado, at a venue called The Lodge at Sunspot. It sits 10,700 feet on top of a mountain and we got married there because I skied down Winter Park Mountain every year since I was five and am in love with the place! I learned how to ski there and it’s where my family holidayed. Now every year we have a reunion there with family and my dad’s old friends from childhood. Generations of people come.
The importance of Lavender!
The only big request I had was lots of lavender, because I wanted our wedding to smell nice! Other than that there was no colour scheme or big theme.
We didn’t technically have a wedding planner, but Emily Jackson (the wedding guru of Winter Park) really walked us though it! She was amazing.
Hair + make up
My hair and makeup were done wonderfully by someone local to the town: Elizabeth from Fraser Hair Company. We met for the first time when I was doing the trail and found we had a lot in common. She did a great job and recommend her to anyone in the area.
An art deco / art nouveau style wedding dress
I wore a Watters dress. I choose it for the design. The dress looked like a combination of art deco and art nouveau style, which made me think of my late grandparents who were lovers of the arts and thier home was decorated in that style.
Wearing jewellery that belonged to my mother and grandmothers
All of my jewellery was a combination of both my grandmothers and my mother’s jewellery. Since my grandparents could not be there (they all have passed) I wanted to represent them in spirit. The most elaborate piece of jewelry was an art nouveau necklace I inherited from grandmother.
Shoes
I wore wedges for the ceremony that were just painful. So, I slipped into some Teva sandals later on in the evening.
The handsome groom
My now husband wore this rock-star looking grey suit jacket. (I don’t remember the designer) but he looked like a stud!
chuppah design
My dad built our chuppah. The venue didn’t have one, and we need to transport one from Nebraska to Colorado. So he designed one that could be easily collapsible and a quick set up out of Birch tree branches. It looked beautiful and was really sturdy. Thanks Pops.
The ceremony
We had some of our closest friends and family do the blessings.
One of my favourite moments was when the sun was setting… I turned around to look at everyone. They were all wearing these baby blue ray-band like glasses at the same time (we had given out to everyone), and I lost it. I laughed so hard. My husband smiled the whole time, and I couldn’t stop giggling I was so giddy with happiness.
Our fabulous photographers
Our Photographers were GREAT! We asked our close friends Daniel Lopez Perez and Mellissa Ballarin (who do photography professionally) to shoot our wedding. Daniel and Melissa flew in from Guatemala, where they now reside, as well as Alex Hopes from Austin Texas. They all took such beautiful pictures, each capturing a different moment. They have different styles, which was exactly what we wanted and we got a great variety of photos.
Entertainment
Our music was played by a wedding band called The Fever based out of Boulder and they were great. We played a lot of oldies from the 50s 60s 70s & 90s.
Three types of wedding cake!
We had Carrot Cake, Lithuanian Torte Cake, and a chocolate Flourless Torte Cake
Oxygen Bar
We had an oxygen bar which was entertaining, necessary, and hilarious. An oxygen bar is just as it sounds, you go up to it and you use an oxygen nose tube (like you see in the hospital), you get to select a smell (apple, pear, grape etc.) and then you just breathe. We chose it because we had a lot of older family members and friends coming, as well as a lot of people coming from sea level and Nebraska. The altitude change is so rapid that a lot of people get altitude sickness.
advice to brides and grooms currently planning their wedding
Destination weddings really cut down the number of people who come. It’s a great option if you are looking for a smaller wedding.
Aly & Zach’s LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography — Daniel Lopez Perez Photography and Alex Hopes
Venue — The Lodge at Sunspot
Bride’s dress — Watters from Rhylan Lang
Hair + Make Up — Fraser Hair Company
Oxygen bar — Summit Oxygen
Band — The Fever
