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Kara Williams
Freelance Writer |
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Aspen Sojourner Make It Your Own When it comes to wedding celebrations in the Aspen area, there are few ceremonies and receptions that are truly traditional or by the book. Here, couples exchange vows on the top of mountains; string quartets are eschewed for fiery salsa bands; and sushi is served alongside country barbecue. “Wedding celebrations here really run the gamut,” says Nancy Snell of Aspen-based Nancy Snell Events. “From classic string quartets in a meadow of wildflowers to Las Vegas–style entertainers dancing on the bar to get the party started.” Marcy Kneiper of Aspen’s Creative Weddings agrees: “Every wedding here is so completely different. I encourage my clients to really personalize their weddings. It’s whatever makes them happiest.” Here are some examples of recent weddings where the brides and grooms added unique touches to their celebrations to reflect their own personalities and interests. Sushi and ribs “When my mom found out I wanted to serve sushi as an appetizer, and then have barbecue from the Hickory House, she laughed and said, ‘I can’t believe you’re going to do this!’” says Tracy Haisfield Eggleston, who married Bubba Eggleston at the Elk Mountain Lodge in September. “I told her those were our favorite foods, and that’s what we wanted. We go to Kenichi all the time, and Bubba is a ‘ribs and eggs’ kind of guy, so it was perfect.” Everyone was happy with the presentation for the meal: barbecued ribs, chicken and corn on the cob served from elegant chafing dishes onto glass plates etched with Aspen leaves. “The guests all told us it was the best wedding food,” says Eggleston. Because the couple owns Aspen Luggage, they used luggage tags as table place cards. And since Bubba is a huge football fan (and former quarterback for Columbia University) the ring bearers carried the couples’ rings down the aisle on footballs. Pottery and chocolate Kristen Follweiler Heath, a ski instructor, nanny and “aspiring event planner,” did an amazing job personalizing her May wedding to Kevin Heath, an Aspen architect. The crafty couple created a huge photo collage of the their childhood pictures and scenes from throughout their relationship, and displayed it at their Hotel Jerome reception. Also, prior to the wedding, they asked guests to send in their own wedding pictures, not knowing what they’d be used for. The couple made a collage of those photos as a tribute to “all those that went before us,” says Kristen. “It spanned over 45 years of weddings.” The crafts continue: Several days prior to the wedding, Kristen and Kevin invited friends to the Kolor Wheel to make pottery, where the couple made plates for each other. “We didn’t see the plates once they were finished, and the Kolor Wheel had them delivered to the Hotel Jerome,” relates Kristien. “Kevin and I had to finish our salads in order to read what the other had written on our plate.” The couple’s table favors were “kinder surprises,” which are hollow milk chocolate candies with a white chocolate egg and a little toy inside. “They aren’t sold in the United States. I discovered them when I was in Australia,” says Kristen. “We found a website that sold them.” The kinder surprises are extra-special to the couple because that’s how Kevin proposed: “We’d gone camping to our favorite spot, and when the sun was going down, Kevin pulled out a kinder surprise. When I opened it, instead of a toy, the ring was inside,” says Kristen. “Kinder surprise eggs just seemed the logical favor, and it was such a novelty to most, since few had ever seen them before, and our guests had fun playing with the toys.” Special ceremonies For their wedding ceremony, Kristen and Kevin made their unity candle and Kevin’s father constructed the candle’s stand. The couple also asked all of their guests to sign the marriage certificate in lieu of a guest book. “This is a Quaker tradition, representing how the guests are witnesses, uniting the couple in marriage and agreeing to the union,” explains Kristen. “We had the certificate framed, and it’s now hanging in our dining room.” Haven Iverson and Steve Balgooyen, who were married in October at the Redstone Inn, also asked for guests’ participation. A good friend, Michael Thompson of Basalt, performed the ceremony. “And when it came to ‘pronouncing us married,’ Michael did a call and response so it was our entire community who married us,” says Haven. The couple wrote their own vows, and had a few of their favorite passages by authors such as Margaret Atwood and Wendell Berry read during the ceremony. Mood music Haven and Steve had more friends, who comprise a band, come to the wedding from Austin, Texas, to perform all of the music at their reception. “We did all kinds of traditional Texas dances—two-step, triple two-step, some folks did swing,” says Haven. “Steve and I met in Austin and Steve’s a musician, so this sort of Austin-sound environment felt like home to us.” Wedding planner Marcy Kneiper says that even during a traditional ceremony, selecting unorthodox tunes for walking down the aisle can be a “fun way to personalize it.” (Kneiper walked down to “Truly, Madly, Deeply,” by Savage Garden at her wedding five years ago.) When Lisa Seed Trujillo married Eric Trujillo at a private home in Missouri Heights nearly two years ago, their choice of recessional music brought laughter from their unsuspecting guests. When the ceremony was over, she and her new husband walked down the aisle to “You Sexy Thing,” the song featured in the movie, The Full Monty and whose first line is “I believe in miracles.” “Eric actually chose the song, and I agreed with it partly because everyone we knew thought we’d never get around to getting married, and partly because we were so thankful to find each other,” explains Lisa. “We thought that the words of the whole song fit us.” |