Just hours away from starting our fairytale of a week in Vail, we hear the slopes are closed. All that we envisioned for spending family time on the slopes was now changing, COVID19 had a different plan for us.
With smiles on our faces, we made it to the Austria Haus; our beautiful hotel with the antique wood, carefully placed lights, and decor that meshed together to make you feel like you were in a Christmas wonderland. The view not only took our breath away, but completely restored all spirits!
In the morning, the sun really painted a breathtaking view that was different than what was shown at night. The slopes just sitting there with nobody to taint it, as well as an entire view of Vail from the balcony. Restaurants were closing, dinners, brunches, and receptions needing to be refigured, we truly were the only ones still in Vail, CO. As a family, we played Yahtzee, cards, danced all night, ate, drank, shared intimate stories, all while being the only ones in Vail! The mountains were ours for the taking as we tubed down the mountain (yes, that’s right, we used tubes!) and we were able to get breathtaking one-of-a-kind photos in Vail since nobody was there, how awesome is that! It was like a magical snow globe that we were living in, not knowing what the next day would bring. With everything not going as we had planned, we believe we were blessed with the most magical fairytale wedding.
On the morning of our wedding snow flurries filled the sky. A blanket of sparkling white snow covered the ground and everything was perfect. We were married in the Interfaith Chapel and had a dance party in our hotel rooms with our families together and food catered from nearby restaurants. We were blessed to have intimate time with my family and friends; memories that will bring a smile to my face every time I look at my wedding photos. All that mattered at the end of the day was that our friends and family got to be there for the most special time of our lives.
We had no idea that we were going get the perfect wedding we couldn’t have planned, and have memories that we will hold most dear for the rest of our life. If we could offer any advice, roll with it and make the most of it. We are so happy we smiled and chose to look on the beautiful things we did have, such as family time and a unique opportunity to be in vail alone, rather than focus on the negativity that was swarming around. P.S. marriage is awesome!
– The Groom, Josh