Florida-based Melissa and Steven come to Vail, Colorado, every year to ski and have fallen more and more in love with the mountain town over the years. So, when it came time to settle on a location for their elegant wedding with an all-white color palette, Vail was a no-brainer. Once the couple settled on their destination, they got to work on planning a wedding where the ceremony felt "angelic" and the reception felt "timeless." With this aesthetic in mind, Melissa "choose all-white florals with greenery to complement the natural mountain backdrop, with gold accents throughout. I wanted glamorous, lush, and dramatic."
Dramatic floral arrangements helped the couple bring their elegant and dramatic vision to life. "We received so many compliments on our flowers for our wedding. Our arch was lush, glamorous and huge, 8 feet tall, just how I wanted. It was all white florals packed tightly with minimal greenery," recalls Melissa of the ceremony's decor. "Our two entry pieces at the beginning of the aisle were on white pillars and were also tightly packed with minimal greenery. White flower petals lined the outer parts of the aisle. Cones of white flower petals were passed out for guests to throw as we recessed down the aisle." When it came to the reception, the couple added ample candlelight to the lush all-white floral arrangements to create a warm ambience for dinner. "I think florals played a huge part in our wedding, making it feel more extravagant, not to mention they smelled incredible." The reception decor also included " full white draping in the Great Room where dancing took place, with a white dance floor and a monogram of our initials via lighting on the dance floor," notes Melissa.
While a luxurious all-white palette made the couple's wedding day visually stunning, personalized details ensured the day was even more memorable. "We wanted our wedding to be unique and full of surprises, all while being personalized to us," explains Melissa. "Neither of us are religious, but we did incorporate the 'warming of the rings' ritual into our ceremony. Everyone passed around our wedding bands and made a silent wish for us before we placed them on each other's fingers. We also took a moment of silence during our ceremony for our grandparents who have passed. We had a live wedding painter, Julia Dordoni, paint our first kiss during our ceremony and she stayed and painted into cocktail hour." Beyond personalized moments during their ceremony, the couple packed their reception with unique details as well. "We had personalized bar signs with photos of our dogs' faces on it, since they mean the world to us, listing our signature cocktails—The Colorado Bulldog (with our Bulldog Devito's face) and the Old Fashioned Li (with our dog Liam's face). We had rainbow confetti burst out during our first dance, as well as during the last group dance of the night. We had cirque performers throughout the night—one during the cocktail hour, and two more during the reception."
Looking back on the wedding day, Melissa shares that her favorite moment was the wedding ceremony, despite some surprise rain they experienced during the outdoor vow exchange. "The most anticipated moment of my wedding day was getting to the ceremony and walking down the aisle. I had such nerves because we had no first look as it was really important to Steve to not see me until I walked down the aisle. We even slept in separate rooms the night before and didn't see each other all day until the ceremony! The most special moment of our wedding day was the ceremony- even though the rain was unexpected, Steve and I were beyond emotional and were so in the moment, just us two. Nothing else mattered."
