December 30, 2024

This Monet-Inspired Floral Wedding at 10k Feet Wowed Guests with an Oxygen Bar

Donovan Pavillion

Originally posted on https://www.stylemepretty.com/2024/12/30/this-monet-inspired-floral-wedding-at-10k-feet-wowed-guests-with-an-oxygen-bar/

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Design / Vibe / Vision

The pastel-rainbow color palette was inspired by Claude Monet’s water lilies series. The couple wanted to bring a the feeling of a French country cottage garden to the mountains of Colorado.

Proposal Story

After dating for almost 6 years, Jenna had casually planned a trip to Napa, CA, for her birthday and Joe decided to surprise her with an engagement on the last day! They had plans to go to one of their favorite wineries, Blue Oak Vineyard, but when they arrived they had the entire place to themselves. Joe proposed and it was incredibly intimate, but he had also secretly hired a photographer to document the whole thing. After saying yes and taking some fun proposal photos together, Joe surprised Jenna yet again by letting her know he had also hired a private chef to serve them a 4 course meal at the winery. It was a beautiful day!

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The Details

Food & Drink

The couple provided a fine dining, farm-to-table experience for guests by hiring GB Culinary as their caterer. Cocktail hour showcased classic Colorado staples like smoked trout dip and seared lamb loin while dinner included a summer salad with fresh Palisade peaches and a choice of red wine braised beef or an asparagus and mushroom gnocchi with a white wine cream sauce. As a special treat to their guests, the bride and groom provided “his and hers” cocktails made and served by Peak Beverage. The groom decided on a spicy jalapeño margarita and the bride went with a lavender Tom Collins. Within the tradition of a classic Italian wedding, a digestivo was also offered to guests after dinner in the form of a shot of sambuca.

Florals & Decor

All of the florals were provided by A Florae and flawlessly encompassed the whimsy of a French cottage garden. With their ceremony held at the wedding deck atop Vail mountain, a floral ground-arch installation was designed in lieu of a traditional wedding arch to enhance the panoramic view rather than distract from it. At their Donovan Pavilion reception, the outdoors were brought in by saturating the space with 4 large floral chandeliers that hung over the dance floor. Tables were alternately bathed in linens of blue floral-print and solid blue satin. Tablescapes were highlighted with pops of color from the lush floral centerpieces and various sizes of pink candles.

Wedding Cake

Honoring the groom’s Italian-American heritage, the couple chose to serve guests lemon olive oil cake garnished with pistachios and lemon curd. The elegantly minimalist, 3-tier cake was surrounded by an explosion of color in the form of a meadow of flowers.

Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs

The ceremony music was composed of instrumental solo piano covers of the bride and groom’s favorite songs. The groom walked to the alter, escorted by both of his parents, to God Only Knows by The Beach Boys. The bride walked with her father down the aisle to Across the Universe by The Beatles. The bride and groom danced their way into the reception with their wedding party to We Are Family by Sister Sledge. With everyone cheering around them on the dance floor, they began their first dance as husband and wife to This Must Be The Place by The Talking Heads. After a beautifully choreographed dance, they invited all of their guests onto the dance floor to join in on the fun. Exclusive Events’ fantastic DJ kept guests glued to the dance floor throughout the night with a mixture of classic disco, new wave, and psychedelic rock.

Special Detail #1

All of the paperie and signage was designed and handmade by the bride. One of the most noticeable moments of her creativity was the escort card display which was comprised of garden trellises and floral seed packets showcasing Colorado native wildflowers such as Rocky Mountain Columbine, purple coneflower, blue flax, and more. The escort card seed packets doubled as delightful wedding favors for guests.

Special Detail #2

Having a wedding on top of a mountain at almost 11,000 feet of elevation means that the atmosphere is thinner and thus there is less oxygen available to breathe. With most of their guests arriving to Vail from out of state, the couple wanted to provide an oxygen bar! Guests could socialize, drink, and most importantly increase their blood oxygen levels by breathing through a nasal cannula. Guests were able to monitor their blood oxygen levels increasing in real time by reading pulse oximeters on their fingers. Oxygen could be inhaled normally or with the addition of 4 scents: lemon, berry, eucalyptus, or peppermint.

Special Detail #3

Since the bride loves to garden, the photographer selected white faux butterflies to enhance the invitation suite and flatlay details. Additionally, the photographer created hand-torn petite scrolls and wrote the bride and groom's names with dusty blue calligraphy ink.

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