Outdoor wedding in Pine, Colorado
The year 2020 really threw us for a loop. Between the virus and wildfires, it seemed as though our dream wedding would be impossible. We promised each other not to let circumstances outside of our control stop us from getting married… and so we did! On June 15th, 2020 (our original wedding date), we eloped on top of Loveland Pass with our outstanding photographer.
Although we were already married, we were determined to celebrate our marriage with close family and friends to seal the deal. Many of our original plans were thrown out the window, but as the summer came to an end, we put the finishing touches on our diy decorations and ironed out the details for a scaled back September wedding (all without a wedding coordinator/planner)!
When the day finally arrived, family and friends met at Meadow Creek Lodge & Event Center; a historic 3-story stone bed and breakfast with 7 full bedrooms, an outdoor, picturesque ceremony gazebo, and a rustic, yet modern reception hall. Getting ready with the wedding party before the ceremony was one of the most memorable parts of our day. Fathers and son, mothers and daughter, and friends together helped prepare for the special events that were yet to come.
Our barely-rehearsed ceremony in the outdoor gazebo went better than expected with candid moments, laughs, and love. Devon’s best man, Cameron, acted as an officiant. Cameron was nervous and misread a few of his lines, but it just made the ceremony more endearing and added character. Flowers provided by The Holly Berry adorned the gazebo and created a lovely scene.
As our guests gathered for chips, salsa and drinks, the wedding party ventured into the woods with our photographer. We scaled mossy and rocky terrain in heels, dresses and suits just to get the perfect shot. Following our woodland adventure, we gathered with family to capture all of those obligated moments. It didn’t last long because we were becoming very hangry (and needed a drink).
On our very diligent mission to arrive at the reception hall to devour some delicious street tacos (provided by McDevitt Taco Supply) we were elated to witness both of our families gathered together with smiles. They were laughing, drinking, hugging and playing bean bag toss.
To briefly sum up the reception, we had the usual clinging cups for kisses, awkward first dances, cake in the face smashing (cake provided by Alpine Pastries) and some very eccentric speeches. The groomsman particularly went all out for this portion. A notable moment would be when Devon’s father momentarily ceased to breath due to laughing. All of this was followed by extremely enthusiastic dancing. We have to give some credit to our dear friend Richard for providing a professional MC/DJ setup.
The party certainly didn’t end there. Visualize 3 hot tubs, 2 saunas, 34 acres to ourselves and an excess amount of liquor. We should highlight the fact that many of our stay-over guests were musicians and an empty reception hall has some great acoustics. As the night progressed into early morning, we gathered around the fire-pit for off-key singalongs and copious “I love you’s”.
When the sun rose to force our tired bodies out of our suites, we had a full course breakfast waiting for us in the dining room of the B&B. Exhausted from staying up, but thrilled to be together again, our lovely group enjoyed breakfast and reminisced of the night before. It just so happened that while we had perfect sunny weather for our event, we embarked from this lasting memory with snow up to our ankles. Not a blizzard, but a peaceful and iconic way to end our wedding.
There are many things that we can take away from this entire experience. In the face of adversity, we managed to bring everyone together. Sophia’s father didn’t necessarily get the big fat Greek wedding he imagined, but we’ve never seen him smile so genuinely. Devon’s beloved Pa was not able to attend because his doctor wouldn’t allow it, but he was there in heart (and the entire event was streamed live straight to his living room). Through literal sickness and health, fires and toxic smoke, everything turned out better than we imagined. Our very own version of happily ever after.
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