Every girl dreams of her wedding day and beautiful Lauren was no exception. As a girl growing up, Lauren attended the sanctuary of Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church in Denver, Colorado and dreamt of the day she would say I do to her prince charming below the vaulted ceilings and in the light streaming through the beautiful stained glass windows.

So, she found herself a handsome groom {the love of her life}, Greg, and Lauren made her way down the long aisle to the sound of a graceful organ on August 14, 2010…just like she always imagined.

The bride was stunning in her ivory organza, overlaid with Alençon lace gown. In Lauren’s words: I wanted to look romantic, so I wore side-swept bangs and a pinned low-chignon. My mom found a custom-made flower comb and I also wore a cathedral-length veil.

My sister and Maid of Honor picked out black, cap sleeve cocktail dresses for the bridesmaids that coordinated really well with the details and colors of the day. Since the wedding was black tie, I wanted everything to be black and white and champagne colored. In keeping with the white floral, I wanted them to carry bouquets of white hydrangea and roses. There are so many details we love about this wedding and one of them is Lauren’s bouquet. We L.O.V.E. her peony bouquet. Lauren carried a hand-tied monochromatic bouquet of blush peonies {her favorite flower}, which are rare and usually not available in August. But, she received a special delivery on her special day. “It was a huge special day-of surprise that my florist was able to get peonies in. I wanted the blush pink to be the only splash of color among all the other white flowers and decorations,” said Lauren.

Jenna McKinlay {yours truly} helped Lauren with the invites and additional paper products on their wedding day. The beautiful invitations were traditional and simple, yet elegant. From Lauren: I love the feel of letterpress on ecru paper, and the fonts and design of our invitations really appealed to us. We sealed each invitation with hand-dripped wax and a custom postage stamp. The ceremony programs, cocktail napkins, menus and other wedding materials showcased our wedding logo, designed by my friend, Sara. It was inspired by the theme of keys and “locking in love” – like the traditional {we all love and believe in} on Ponte Vecchio Bridge in Florence, Italy.

Oh and let’s not forget the DIY details and unique touches that we all love! In Lauren’s words: Our guests’ names were hand written in calligraphy and attached to antique skeleton keys, which went along with the logo and the idea of the Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence where I studied and Greg visited. I really wanted to give our guests a better sense of who we were as a couple. So we named the 20+ tables with places and things that were important to us and our relationship. For example, where we met, where Greg first said “I love you,” our favorite restaurant, how we wrote our vows, etc. We had our calligrapher draft paper that featured our wedding logo, wedding date, and fun phrases such as “cake,” “kiss,” “toast,” “dance,” “I do,” “happily ever after,” and others so we could fold and make “cootie catchers” at each place setting.

My mom and I spent many nights on DIY projects like signs that sprinkled the event, fashioned out of ribbon and lace. We also hand crafted heart-shaped confetti out of old Italian novels.

And for a late night treat, our guests were given paper cones made of music sheets and filled with Greg’s favorite snack: kettle corn.

A special moment of the day Lauren loved was her gift for Greg: For my letter to Greg, I knew I couldn’t say everything I wanted in just one note. So, instead I wrote him eight poems and 14 memories to coincide with our wedding date, 8.14.11. Then I sealed each note with the wax and stamp we used for the wedding invitations. With his groom’s gift, I enclosed the stamp saying, “Here’s to making many more wonderful memories in the years to come.”

Another highlight of the day was the married couple’s getaway car. As they exited the church they were showered with white rose petals and stepped into a classic…an antique Rolls Royce. Then, the couple made their way to their beautiful reception at The Ritz-Carlton, Denver, Colorado.

During cocktail hour, Lauren and Greg wanted their guests to be greeted at the Ritz-Carlton with a signature drink, “Strawberry Kiss,” made of champagne, vodka, and strawberry purée. The drink is one of my favorites and I think provided a pop of color for the evening.

Our first dance was to Pat Green’s “Crazy,” performed by the seven-piece band. The song is especially important to us because it is the song we fell in love to. Also, the year of our engagement, we had the absolute privilege of having Pat Green dedicate the song to us at his local concert!

I wanted the cake to kind of mirror my dress features. It was all-white, four-tier, and was adorned with white fondant and decorated with ivory satin ribbon, little sugar buttons, and sugar lace appliqué to match the dress. The cake alternated between red velvet and almond with toffee filling layers and was topped with fresh, white hydrangeas.

VENDOR LOVE:
Photographer: Lindsay B Photography
Reception Venue: Ritz-Carlton, Denver; Elizabeth Brady
Band: Moments Notice/Jerry Barnett Entertainment, Marla Gifford
Florist: Kimball Floral
Bridal gown: anna bé
Makeup: Laura Mercier, Mindy Waite, 303.990.2466
Ceremony Music: Doris Merritt, Pianist, 303.761.6242
Ministers: Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church, Cindy Cearley and Angelic Healing Associates, Gina Fenske

{images via Lindsay B Photography}