Rustic Bohemian Outdoor Wedding in the Colorado Mountains
June 30, 2021
Colorado Real Wedding
The Couple
Mckenzie + Austin
Austin and I met while working at C Lazy U Ranch in Granby, Colorado in the spring of 2018. We hit it off immediately, realizing we both had roots in Georgia, but were pulled out west by the lure of a mountain lifestyle. We spent the summer exploring the beautiful state of Colorado, conquering 14ers and any other peaks we could find, going to Red Rocks concerts every chance we got, and most importantly, spending time with our Golden Retriever, Ellie.
While we both started the relationship with the expectation of a casual summer fling, it was soon evident that this was not the case. Austin had prior commitments back in his hometown of Georgia and would be heading south after the summer season. Austin moved back to Georgia at the end of the summer, but not before we spent two weeks road tripping 3,200 miles through Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and up to Banff, Canada. Luckily for us, we realized that after two weeks only in each other’s company, we were happier and more committed to making a year of long distance work. Long distance comes with its own challenges, but Austin and I never lost faith that it would be worth it in the end. Before we headed back south, we decided to spend one last day in Grand County doing all the things we loved; going for our favorite local hike, eating at our favorite spots, and hanging out with the amazing friends we had made. We even booked a hot air balloon tour over the Fraser Valley because it was something we had always wanted to do. We spent the morning soaring over the valley in a rainbow hot air balloon. Later that day, we went on our favorite hike, Lost Lake. Austin brought a hammock and we spent the afternoon relaxing by the alpine lake. As we were packing up to leave, I turned around and Austin was down on one knee, fumbling for something in his backpack. He then pulls out a family ring and asks if I would marry him and of course I said, YES! August 8th, 2020 was a magical day.
After the stress of planning a wedding in the middle of a pandemic, we didn’t really know what the day would look like, but it couldn’t have been more perfect. Austin and I got married at my family’s mountain house in Tabernash, Colorado. That was not the original plan, but due to COVID-19 restrictions our entire wedding was uprooted and moved from a nearby resort to our home. Our wedding planner, Carly Witzburg, pulled off the impossible and replanned our rustic, western, mountain wedding in just over a month! We spent the day celebrating with friends and family in the crisp Colorado mountain air and dancing the night away under lights strung in the trees with a band in our driveway. Our original wedding date was June 13th, but we decided to push it due to the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic. Carly and her team at MilkGlass Productions made planning a breeze. Even with all the changing conditions, we never felt stressed or overwhelmed. Our wedding day went off without a hitch! It was everything we had dreamed of. Cowboy boots, hats, and denim was the style of the day. Our love for the mountains, nature, and the ‘Wild West’ was all combined to create a boho, rustic outdoor wedding. Our dreams of a Colorado mountain wedding had come true!
