On July 13th 2019, Melinda and Charlie shared their vows at one of Colorado’s best wedding venues. Spruce Mountain Ranch boasts beautiful rolling hills, a truly gracious and accommodating staff, and multiple site options for the ceremony and reception. This was one of the most amazing Colorado weddings I have ever photographed. The weather this day was crazy. In the middle of the ceremony it started to rain so the wedding couple decided to move the ceremony into the cocktail area and it was amazing as it felt like everyone was in this ceremony together and they could really share it with their family and guests.
Melinda and Charlie met and lived in Breckenridge where they both worked for a ski season. They quickly took a shine to one another and spent most of their time their together.
Melinda was a student teacher in Denver and she and Charlie both lived close to Union Station. Often they would walk around there and choose a place for dinner. One evening, when they were in front of the station, Charlie popped the question. He had a friend in hiding with his camera to capture the moment. To make the event even more extraordinary, Charlie had arranged for both of their parents to fly in from the east coast and surprise Melinda for the occasion. She was beyond thrilled. Together they all shared and enjoyed this most memorable weekend.
Melinda and Charlie chose Brindle + Oak for their wedding planner. Melinda says that Kristen Leite completely made her vision come to life. There were so many special touches and details which I’m sure many will find so impressive as they see them in all of the compelling photos Danna took of the reception which took place in Spruce Mountain Ranch’s Albert’s Lodge. Dj Tasos with TH Entertainment, provided the perfect sounds and her gorgeous cascading flower bouquet was created by Lale Florals. Melinda’s comment on it all: “AMAZING”.
Melinda had a lot of fun trying on many different dresses before finding ‘the one’. She found her special dress, designed by……….. at Little White Dress in Denver. She said “I love my dress because it showed off my form, had an unlined top, a gorgeous train that I feel like you only get to wear on your wedding day, unique/nontraditional lace, and undertones that complimented my skin. I tried it on once and I FELT like a bride.”
On site at Spruce Mountain Ranch, and before the wedding, the girls were pampered by Liana Kathryn Hair and Makeup while the guys enjoyed a game of pool in another area set up for them. Melinda and Charlie loved the intimacy of doing a first look and the chance it afforded them to spend time together just the two of them with photographer Danna Frost, their Colorado wedding photographer of choice.
This Jewish wedding, performed under the Chuppah, took place in the Spruce Mountain Ranch Grace’s Chapel area. The bride and groom did the seven blessings, broke the glass, and did the chair lift, called the Hora. Their favorite moments were when the clouds began to rain down on everyone and pushed the whole wedding into the cocktail area in the Colorado Room where everyone huddled together creating an air of incredible intimate closeness which caused Melinda and Charlie to feel enveloped by all of the love of their most dear family members and closest friends.
Something Melinda says was important to them was feeling comfortable with their wedding photographer. “You spend almost every minute of your wedding day with your photographer” she says. “We never felt at all self conscious or embarrassed to tell you, Danna, what shots we wanted. We LOVE all of our photos and a couple of my favorites are the ones I specifically requested having like my veil flying in the air around us. Some of the other ones we requested look silly and we won’t be printing those out or anything, but that’s why you hire a professional – she knows what to do even when you don’t! Danna took all the time she needed to get all the shots and still managed to stay ahead of schedule.”
“Also”, she said, “you kept checking in throughout the night to see if there were any shots we wanted so we wouldn’t miss ANYTHING. You were very ‘go with the flow’ as the timeline changed and helped everyone feel at ease even when it started to drizzle during the photos. Working with you was one of the best decisions we made.”
Thank you Melinda for your high praise.
Melinda felt the best advice she got came from her sister who told them to stay together as much as possible throughout the wedding so that when they look back they will be sharing the same memories of their special day. Too when it started raining she told Melinda to take a moment to let herself feel her disappointment at how months of planning and hard work had gone awry… but then to ‘get over it’ because you only have one wedding and you can only control things so much. Then it’s time to just let go and have fun.
Her tips for future brides:
No sunglasses for the ladies who have their makeup done – they leave lines!!! And…
Pick vendors you communicate well with. Mine were completely top notch.
Location of Wedding
Spruce Mountain Ranch Grace’s Chapel Larkspur, CO
Location of Reception
Spruce Mountain Ranch Albert’s Lodge Larkspur, CO
Videographer
Bokeh Company
Wedding Planner
Kristen Leite from Brindle + Oak
Florist
Lale Florals
Hair and Makeup Team
Liana Kathryn Hair and Makeup
Cake Baker
Small Cakes
DJ
Tasos from TH Entertainment
Dress Boutique
Little White Dress
Caterer
Epicurean
