Happy Sunday, everyone!  Hope your weekend thus far has been splendid and full of beautiful adventures.  My fiance and I are currently cruising 37,000 feet on the way to Colorado for an impromptu ski weekend in Breckenridge (big furry boots, here I come!).  This is a big weekend for us; we somehow have to cram Valentine’s Day, hubby-to-be’s birthday, and our anniversary into a 3-day timespan.  Phew!  So we thought we’d celebrate in style this year, slopeside!

As promised, I thought I’d use my space today to start in with the details of my elegant Rocky Mountain soiree!  For me, the most important, and utterly confusing, part of planning our day was finding a design and colors that would be just right for our vision.  I’ve cycled through so many palettes and themes that I could probably fill a hard drive with all the photos I’ve collected!  You certainly know what I mean, I am sure.  There is so much amazing inspiration out there that sometimes it’s very difficult to settle on something and go with it.

bouquet
Photo by Dean Thorsen via I Heart Peonies

What ended up clarifying all this confusion for me was spending some serious time at my venue.  After talking to quite a few of my friends who have recently tied the knot, the concensus was that the biggest mistake a bride can make is choosing her color palette before choosing a venue.   These ladies held their receptions at many different types of venues: ballrooms, upscale restaurants, ski lodges, and open meadows.   They were all inspired and certainly beautiful.  However, after looking at their photos, the brides noticed that there wasn’t a tie between the decor of the venue, leading to receptions that felt a bit out of place or mismatched.

With that advice in mind, I loitered around our venue until I had a clear vision of the day: from buffet tables to ceremony decor.  This helped me pull together a lot of the details that had been flustering me and create an inspiration board that I felt represented our dream day.

estate seating
Photo by Anna Kuperberg

The photo above is very similar to the colors of our venue…neutrals and chocolate browns.  Our historic venue is also so incredibly detailed with stonework and original woodwork.  They’ve also added great uplighting and chandeliers, so the evening lighting is just fantastic.  Muted greens, creams, and chocolate browns will fit in beautifully with the mountain setting, while plum and silver accents will bring some fun and elegance to the day.

china pinecones
Photo from Coe & Waito

How about you all? Did you use your venue as inspiration, or did you go about it another way?

-B