Today's wedding is one of the best ways to start off the week with - not only is it a gorgeous wedding, but it's a super fun one too. The wedding of Heather and Jeremy {who are animal lovers} took place at one of the most unique zoos in the world . . . Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. This zoo is built on the side of a mountain in Colorado Springs and the wedding guests arrived to the ceremony spot via a chairlift ride.

All the wedding guests were able to enjoy their own private zoo after hours and since the animals are much more active in the evening, their night was even more special. There's even a photo of the bride, Heather, cooing at the leopard as it's snarling back at her through the glass. My favorite is of the bride feeding the giraffe. What a fun and memorable place to have a wedding.  Enjoy the beautiful photos from Trystan Photography.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Happy Monday! I'm thrilled to have Chelsea of Ad Finem Flores joining me on the blog today as we kick off another week of great wedding inspiration. Chelsea is here to share with us her top 5 unique tips on how to select your wedding flowers. I now turn the blog over to her . . .

1. Consider what style of bouquets and centerpieces you want

For a bridal bouquet, there are three main types of bouquets. Consider which bouquet style fits your personality and your vision for the day. The first type of bouquet, a garden, or hand-tied bouquet, is exactly what it sounds like – a bouquet that looks like it was just plucked from a cottage garden. These bouquets often give off a bohemian or rustic feel and are ideal for outdoor weddings, weddings on a budget or weddings with a do-it-yourself feel. 

The second type of bouquet is called a cascade bouquet. These types of bouquets seem to tumble from a bride’s hand. These bouquets tend to be seen in outdoor weddings, more ornate weddings and weddings with a strong focus on flowers. They often go well with a pastel color theme, lace and more traditional feeling weddings.  

The third and most common type of bouquet is called a round bouquet. These bouquets fit well with almost every style of wedding, perhaps a reason for their popularity. These bouquets can often showcase round and star shaped flowers as well as special ribbons along the stems of the bouquet.

2. Pick a main flower

Some women knew the style, color and arrangement of their wedding flowers from the time they heard their first fairy tale as a girl. For others, flowers at a wedding seem like more of a last thought than anything necessary for a wedding. However, before you make any final decisions on wedding flowers, consider which flowers are your favorites, which ones you have a small crush on, and which ones embody beauty to you. Try on a main flower for a couple days; imagine your wedding with that flower in it. If it still flirts with you after a few days, you have your main flower to feature in your wedding.

3. Pick two or three other flowers

Once you have your main flower, consider what other flowers you might like in your wedding bouquet. Sometimes the most unusual combinations of flowers make the most beautiful bouquets and flower arrangements. Consider the shape of your main flower as well and consider finding two or three other flowers that have completely different shapes from your main flower. For example, if you have tiger lilies as your main flower, consider tulips and peonies as your secondary flowers. Your florist will be able to work with a star-shaped flower, a round flower and a more cone-like flower. Your bouquet will have variety and texture with these three flowers and will be gorgeous.

4. Roses required?

Not necessarily. However, florists often use roses as a beautiful compliment to your main flower for many reasons. Roses are always in season and easy to buy. Roses come in an almost infinite variety of colors and shapes. Roses have a very romantic, very straightforward message. There are some very beautiful types of roses that break the cliché of the traditional red rose. Before you sign off roses for some other variety of flower . . . carnations {the symbol of death in many cultures} . . . hydrangeas {possibly the most fragile and easily damaged flower} . . . consider spray roses, garden roses and cabbage roses as options for your wedding flowers.

5. Consider the symbolism of your flowers

One of the greatest things about flowers is the rich symbolism associated with each flower and color of flower. When these symbols are put together, your bouquet can contain a romantic and hopeful story. For example, cornflowers, a beautiful blue flower often used for boutonnieres was once considered a way for men to determine if there was a woman at a wedding who loved them. If their flower did not wilt throughout the wedding, that meant there was a woman at the wedding who was in love with the man. If the flower wilted, then there was no woman at the wedding who was in love with the man. Having a bouquet that has a story in it adds another layer of meaning to your wedding day. Ask your florist to include symbolic flowers in your wedding for specific purposes.

---

Ad finem flores is a small scale wedding florist company owned by Chelsea Dibble. They are located in the Denver metro area and cater to weddings in Colorado and southern Wyoming. Any and every budget is accommodated. Chelsea writes . . . "Ad finem flores is extremely unique in the collaboration we have with each of our brides. Every bride's vision for her flowers is painstakingly executed. We want to know your vision for your wedding—the colors, the styles, the small details and the intimate stories of your friends and family. We are passionate about the symbolism of flowers, the second meanings of colors and the ways that flowers can emphasize the important details of you and your groom’s wedding day. Once you become an Ad finem flores bride, you and your groom manage a planning webpage with Ad finem flores. This way, we know exactly what styles of flowers and flower arrangements you are envisioning for your big day. You will have a visual plan of your wedding flowers that you can add to, comment on and orchestrate for your wedding day. Ad finem flores’s work stands out from others because we obsess over how to see the vision of the bride and deliver exactly what she wants for her wedding day."

Today's gorgeous wedding of Alicia and Dave comes to us from Denver, Colorado. It was beautifully photographed by Carrie Butler Photography {who happened to also photograph the wedding of Alicia's sister last year}.

Vendor Credits:
Photographer: Carrie Butler Photography 
Florals: A Garden Path
Venue: Sanctuary Gold Course 
Cake Designer: Mulberries Cake Shop
Music: Moses Jones Band 
Dress Designer: Vera Wang
Make-up Artist: Laura Mercier at Brown Thomas
Second Shooter: Elevation 

I have a super sweet way to start the week off - it's a surprise proposal caught on film from Nathan of Dreamtime Images. The groom-to-be contacted Nathan about photographing his proposal to his now fiance and the beautiful Colorado scenery is the perfect backdrop for their romantic day.

First David took Claire's camera to snap a few photos {Claire is a children’s photographer in Dallas}. Then David suprised Claire with a present -  a Brownie Bullet camera. He had actually hollowed out the inside and made a small ring box. He then positioned the ring so the diamond would shine through a little red window on the back. Isn't this clever?

After the box was opened, David handed the camera to Claire to have her take a picture. He hoped she'd see the diamond - but that plan didn't work. Claire handed the camera back and David realized it didn't work. He tried to take a picture and then just opened the camera and got down on one knee . . . awwww, so sweet!!!

Vendors:
Reception Venue: Maroon Bells
Photographer: Dreamtime Images

Today's beautiful wedding of Melissa and Derek was filled with DIY creations and Melissa is sharing many of the projects with us today. And, just wait until you see the view from the ceremony site - it's absolutely AMAZING!!!!!! Photographs are by Real Photography.

 

For the pomanders, Melissa bought MANY fuchsia flowers from Walmart & styrofoam balls from Hobby Lobby. She explains how she made them: "I made a hole almost all the way through the ball, filled with hot glue & put the ribbon in to make a loop up top.  Made a hole in the styrofoam with the flower stem, filled the hole with glue & then put the flower in. Repeated this until they were very full looking. I made 8 fuchsia one's that hung on 7 ft shepherds hooks along the aisle."

 

Melissa was trying hard to think of something unique for the escort card table and ended up buying 5 mailboxes & decorated them with ribbon in contemporary patterns and "blinged out" the top tab. She also added fuchsia chipboard letters to the bottom, so guests knew which mailbox their "letter" would be in. Melissa even made a sign that said "You've Got Mail!". Printed on the envelopes was the couple's/family's name and what table they were at.

 

For the menus, Melissa created crossword puzzle menu cards. They ended up being a layered menu card so the 2nd page provided the answers as well as the detailed menu. You can see Melissa's full detailed instructions for creating these menus here.

For the table numbers, Melissa loved the idea of using 3 part frames with the table number & photos of her and Derek at that corresponding age. Melissa did say that it "took some time to collect enough frames that went with the contemporary wedding vibe & had 3 parts, but it was worth it!" Melissa printed out large table numbers & adhered them to fuchsia cardstock.

Wedding Vendors:
Photographer: Real Photography
Day of Coordinator: Danielle Odil of Something Classic Events
Ceremony Venue: Red Rocks Trading Post (Morrison, CO)
Reception Venue: Mt Vernon Event Center (Golden, CO)
DJ: A Music Plus
Cake: Melissa's bridesmaid made it
Videographer: Mowry Productions
Florist: Hillside Consultants
Dress: Oleg Cassini
Chocolate Fountains: Sir Chocolate LLC
Transportation: Ambassador Rolls
String Quartet: Leavitt Music Services
Cardbox: For the Modern Bride
Cake topper & Serving Set: Toppers With Glitz