Opinions on which season...Need to start planning!

[ams0124]

First off I wanted to say this is my first thread in BWW!!! YAY!!! FI and I got engaged on Christmas, and I couldn''t be more excited and happy!! You ladies are all so helpful...am glad that I''m going to have this place and your great taste during the planning process!!!

NOW for the first hump in planning...What season do we plan for?

I have always dreamed of a winter wedding in the moutains (I live in CO) at night with a bunch of candles, purples and blues....a very warm intimate feeling. Here''s what I think my problem is going to be...Weather!

Winter in CO is so unpredicable. I want snow but I don''t want there to be sooo much snow that our guest couldn''t make it up to the moutains....or god forbid FI and I couldn''t make it up to the moutains.

So here''s my question...should I either change my season to say....late fall (October or November 09), or leave it (December 09)....and if I should change it...should I change the colors and theme of what I was envisioning? I want to start planning but without at least a set month I think that''s going to be really hard....

PS...Sorry this was so long!

Here''s my inspiration board to give you an idea of what I want.

 

[meresal]

I''m not from CO and have never lived in the mountains, but if you are worried about it, I think that early Nov would work great as well.

Are you planning on a bunch of people coming from out of town? Like flying in?

 

[ams0124]

Date: 12/30/2008 12:39:51 PM
Author: meresal
I''m not from CO and have never lived in the mountains, but if you are worried about it, I think that early Nov would work great as well.

Are you planning on a bunch of people coming from out of town? Like flying in?

We have some OOT''ers from Houston but the majority live in state. The reason I worry is because if it snows too bad then they close down the main highway to where we would be getting married and sometimes it won''t reopen for a few days...That scares me to think that our wedding would get snowed out... Do you think the colors still work for early November....or do I need to do some traditional fall colors?

 

[meresal]

Well I just did a quick search on Colorado temps in November, and it looks like they are usually between 20's and 50's. If that is correct, then I think a cool/cold night is perfect for purples and blues.

ETA: With that many guests in state, you could probably get away with mid-late November.

 

[sunnyd]

Hey ams, I still loooove your insp. board, so pretty!

We had the same issue with guests travelling. We originally wanted a Jan-March 2010 wedding which for Seattle is usually fine weather-wise, but all of our extended family on the east coast would have trouble since that''s the snowiest time of year. So we bumped it to early November regardless of season. Our colors are red, chocolate and gold (pretty wintery I think) but meh. It still works for us.

Would early December work for you? What''s a couple weeks difference in weather?

 

[sugarjo]

hey ams!
first of all, congratulations on your engagement!!! you must be over the moon!!!

i''m planning a winter wedding in Colorado, for January 30, 2010! however, it will be in downtown Denver at an art gallery, so my weather concerns are pretty slight. (we are having our rehearsal dinner at FI''s mom house in Conifer, so a little worried about weather, but it is so beautiful during the winter, i''m going to take the risk, with a backup of course).

where in CO are you thinking? do you live in the city. during my venue search, i have found beautiful, "Colorado-y" places in the city that are very reasonable.

another thing to consider is prices during ski season if you are thinking about a resort town.

sj

 

[ams0124]

Date: 12/30/2008 1:43:51 PM
Author: sunnyd
Hey ams, I still loooove your insp. board, so pretty!

We had the same issue with guests travelling. We originally wanted a Jan-March 2010 wedding which for Seattle is usually fine weather-wise, but all of our extended family on the east coast would have trouble since that''s the snowiest time of year. So we bumped it to early November regardless of season. Our colors are red, chocolate and gold (pretty wintery I think) but meh. It still works for us.

Would early December work for you? What''s a couple weeks difference in weather?

Thanks sunnyd!! I''m actually in love with yours!!!

I was thinking early Dec too...maybe the 5th. Which I don''t think would be a problem in the city but the moutains tend to get snow sooner then the city...And honestly it''s soooo random here....We''ve been known to have blizzards in April and this past November is was clear up to almost 70 one week and it snowed like 4 days later.

I think I just need to get brave and commit to a day...and then whatever happens happens I guess.

 

[sunnyd]

Date: 12/30/2008 1:52:32 PM
Author: ams0124

Date: 12/30/2008 1:43:51 PM
Author: sunnyd
Hey ams, I still loooove your insp. board, so pretty!

We had the same issue with guests travelling. We originally wanted a Jan-March 2010 wedding which for Seattle is usually fine weather-wise, but all of our extended family on the east coast would have trouble since that''s the snowiest time of year. So we bumped it to early November regardless of season. Our colors are red, chocolate and gold (pretty wintery I think) but meh. It still works for us.

Would early December work for you? What''s a couple weeks difference in weather?

Thanks sunnyd!! I''m actually in love with yours!!!

I was thinking early Dec too...maybe the 5th. Which I don''t think would be a problem in the city but the moutains tend to get snow sooner then the city...And honestly it''s soooo random here....We''ve been known to have blizzards in April and this past November is was clear up to almost 70 one week and it snowed like 4 days later.

I think I just need to get brave and commit to a day...and then whatever happens happens I guess.

Hee, thanks!

Yeah that''s pretty much all you can do. Maybe have somewhat of a backup plan, but mother nature will do what what she will. Which can be a bummer...

 

[ams0124]

Date: 12/30/2008 1:46:23 PM
Author: sugarjo
hey ams!
first of all, congratulations on your engagement!!! you must be over the moon!!!

i'm planning a winter wedding in Colorado, for January 30, 2010! however, it will be in downtown Denver at an art gallery, so my weather concerns are pretty slight. (we are having our rehearsal dinner at FI's mom house in Conifer, so a little worried about weather, but it is so beautiful during the winter, i'm going to take the risk, with a backup of course).

where in CO are you thinking? do you live in the city. during my venue search, i have found beautiful, 'Colorado-y' places in the city that are very reasonable.

another thing to consider is prices during ski season if you are thinking about a resort town.

sj

Thanks sugarjo!! I'm am totally thrilled!!

I found a chapel in Beaver Creek that I fell in love with....and the Beaver Creek Resort is right next to it. I'm right outside of Denver...Thornton to be exact, and most of the guests are in the same general area...Denver Metro.

I also was thinking Mt. Vernon County Club which is in Golden...I don't think we would have an issue with weather at that venue.

I was also thinking about prices during ski season...and as I was looking there were some places that were already booked for December...I feel like I'm already sooo far behind and I've only been engaged for 5 days.

 

[Smurfysmiles]

I just hope you dont get a windy day like day, holy freaking cow!!!!
My sister had her wedding up in the mountains at a really pretty ranch in november and it was jsut warm enough to have the ceremony outside and we all had spaghetti strap dresses and still managed to stay warm. I''ll see if I can find a picture of something from the wedding. The colors of the leaves were soooooo beautiful!

 

[Smurfysmiles]

heres a couple more, hope this helps and im not threadjacking
They got married outside in front of this cute stream that led into a lake

 

[Smurfysmiles]

mountains in november

 

[Smurfysmiles]

just a couple more pictures, it was soooo pretty

 

[Smurfysmiles]

last one

 

[Smurfysmiles]

ok just one more, these are the colors we used for the bouquets and the dresses and all that jazz

 

[E B]

Does it need to be IN the mountains, or can it be at the base?

I''d keep your scheme (which is beautiful, BTW!), a date in December, and keep an eye out for venues that are easy to get to no matter what the weather is like so you aren''t constantly worrying about snowstorms. Trust me- as a bride, you''ll have enough to worry about.

 

[Mediterranean]

Date: 12/30/2008 4:44:19 PM
Author: EBree
Does it need to be IN the mountains, or can it be at the base?

I''d keep your scheme (which is beautiful, BTW!), a date in December, and keep an eye out for venues that are easy to get to no matter what the weather is like so you aren''t constantly worrying about snowstorms. Trust me- as a bride, you''ll have enough to worry about.

I think this is the way to go! Although, Smurfy, WOW what a breathtaking venue!!!!! I especially love the creekside photo, just gorgeous!

I have family in Wheat Ridge (suburb of Denver) and it can be tough to predict this far out, but I think if, as EBree says, you choose a place that''s accessible in the snow, you"ll DEFINITELY get the ambiance you''re looking for (which, BTW is absolutely magical!)

 

[ams0124]

Thanks Smurfy for the pics. They gave me a good idea of what the weather can be like...Where in CO is that?

Date: 12/30/2008 4:44:19 PM
Author: EBree
Does it need to be IN the mountains, or can it be at the base?

I''d keep your scheme (which is beautiful, BTW!), a date in December, and keep an eye out for venues that are easy to get to no matter what the weather is like so you aren''t constantly worrying about snowstorms. Trust me- as a bride, you''ll have enough to worry about.

I suppose the base of a mountain is ok

So I thought to myself that my dream venue in Beaver Creek has had to have had weddings in December before...so I should probably just call them and ask them if they''ve ever encountered having bad weather on a day a wedding was scheduled, and what would be the proceduce if something were to happen...I''m sure they have dealt with this concern in the past

 

[Smurfysmiles]

It''s called the Sylvan Dale Ranch

here''s the website
http://www.sylvandale.com/
it looks a bit like a dude ranch on the website, but at the actual wedding the lodge didnt have any weird decorations, it was just a blank canvas and it was so fun to decorate it was very intimate and we loved it
also they have cabins that guests can stay in which is pretty cool