• Real Weddings

Bob and Kristie got married in their beautiful home state of Colorado at Mount Princeton Hot Springs. Sounds like bliss to combat some of the stressful moments before your wedding day with a nice warm soak in the hot springs! Their wedding day was full of elegance and romance surrounded by the majestic Colorado peaks. Tons of darling DIY details, set to a navy and pink color scheme, made for a gorgeous and unforgettable event.
Falling fast for all of the amazing aspects of this elegant pink and navy Colorado wedding? So are we! See more in the full gallery here, perfectly captured by Laura Murray Photography.

From the Bride:We had been together 7 years when Bob proposed to me on Christmas Eve. Both being Colorado natives, we knew we wanted to get married in Colorado, and of course, outdoors. We hadn't done much research on venues, and then for a weekend getaway following our engagement, we went to a long-time favorite hot springs up near Buena Vista. While we were up there, we asked about their wedding venue and availability, and actually set the date then and there. We knew it just felt right to have it there, in the gorgeous collegiate peak setting.

Saturday morning of the wedding, the sky was blue and there was not a cloud visible in the valley. It was definitely a surreal morning, having everything catered towards what I wanted or needed, and having my best friends and closest family right by my side. By the time of the ceremony, I knew there would be no backing out of having an outdoor wedding in case of rain (our backup plan by this point was to have a rain delay). But with moments before the official start time of the ceremony, a big clap of thunder rang out, but there was still not a cloud in sight, and with a fearful look to my bridesmaids, they assured me it would be fine. The sun was still shining and it was time. We did a traditional tying of the knot, where two pieces of ribbon are tied together to signify the couple becoming one.

Getting everything ready for the wedding was an entire family project. My brother cut down Aspen trees on a friend's property in order to make the rustic candleholders to use as the centerpieces. My mom and I collected jars and bottles from the kitchen to paint and tie ribbons around for the table vases. My dad took an old ping pong table from my grandmother's basement to make the corn hole game boards, and my mom sewed the bags to go with them. My bridesmaids spent a day helping make the hundreds of paper pom flowers that we strung across the ceiling in the pavilion for the reception. As a designer, I loved undertaking all the assets that went into the wedding, including our Save the Dates, our wedding website and the entire process of having our invitation suite letter pressed, and hand addressed in calligraphy.

At the end of the night, I was so thankful for everyone who not only attended, but helped with all the details, big and small, leading up to our wedding day. And despite all the time and stress there was for planning, I also had a great time during it, and was able to see it all pay off with how smoothly the weekend went. Some of the best advice I got, and now share, is to just enjoy yourself throughout the day, have fun, dance if you want to, and don't worry about talking to every single person at the wedding. With over two hundred guests, it would have been nearly impossible to do it all, but we still acknowledged and appreciated everyone who was there.

With the wedding expenses, I knew I was willing to invest with photography, since that was ultimately the most important on my list, something we could both cherish forever. With that being said, I knew I needed to adjust in other areas, which is partly why I wanted to do so much on my own. (That, and I really enjoyed all these projects I got to do with my family.) The largest cost of the wedding was the catering, which ended up being about $10,000, and we had 220 guests. Our total expenses ended up going slightly over our initial budget, but we also ended up having a larger guest list than initially planned too. We were able to do it all for well under $30,000. Having the help and willingness of so many close friends and family made having our (what I would call large) wedding possible and within a reasonable budget for us.

• Cake: Victoria Dent
• Dress shop: Little White Dress
• Flowers: Bare Root Flora
• Groom & His Men: J.Crew
• Groom's Attire: Joseph A. Bank
• Hair: Alex Sternberg
• Jewelry: Kate Spade
• Makeup: Kelsey Zabawa
• Mens Ties: Land's End
• Photobooth: Robin Cain Photography
• Photographers: Laura Murray Photography
• Shoes: DSW
• Stationery: Kristie Carney Design
• Venue & Caterer: Mount Princeton Hot Springs
• Wedding Dress Hanger: Get Hung Up