This wedding at the Donovan Pavilion in Vail was absolutely beautiful. It was the perfect combination of elegant and fun….. the bride and the groom put a lot of time and energy into making sure the ceremony was personalized and several elements of the reception spoke to their unique and outgoing personalities as well! With 165 guests, the wedding was small enough to feel intimate and big enough to guarantee a party!
The ceremony was held on the back patio of the Donovan Pavilion. The brother of the bride officiated, and the couple worked with him to develop their ceremony and write personal vows to each other. They were married under an arch built by the Aspen trees that used to line the walkway to the house where the bride grew up.
In lieu of a unity candle, The Celebration Studio team came up with the idea of doing a “circle ceremony” – the family and wedding party created a circle out of flower petals to symbolize the love and support of friends and family that surrounded the couple. The song “All I Want Is You” by Barry Louis Polisar played during this ceremony and once the circle was created, the bride and groom stepped inside of it to take their vows.
After the vows, the brides’ brother surprised everyone (including the bride and groom) by switching it up and saying “you may now kiss my sister!” The recessional was light-hearted and fun, thanks to the 9-piece band, Homeslice. They played “All You Need is Love” à la the “Love, Actually” movie.
Immediately following the ceremony, the couple planted an Aspen tree just around the corner in Donovan Park as a symbol of establishing roots together, and in celebration of continued growth together in the future. We set up a little bucket of dirt and each of the guests contributed to helping the couple plant their “wedding tree”. During the tree planting ceremony, the patio was transitioned from ceremony to cocktail hour.
Cocktail hour was the perfect start to a fabulous reception! Staff from Catering by Design passed mojitos and wine, while a full outdoor bar was open as well. Cushy leather chairs were set up under the Aspen arch to create a “mountain lounge”. Passed appetizers included crab cakes, sushi, southwest egg rolls, and shrimp potstickers (all favorites of the bride and groom).
Guests found their escort cards strung using clothespins between 4 aspen trees lining the walkway from the back patio to the front entrance. When they entered the Donovan Pavilion, an enormous Champagne Tree was the first thing they saw (an Aspen tree with plexiglass circular shelves around it that held champagne flutes). The couple had seen a similar Champage Tree on TV, so we worked with the fabulous florist Petals of Vail to re-create this for the couple. It looked amazing! The “guest book” was actually 5 different wine bottles with paint pens. We had guests sign the bottles – the couple plans to save and drink them at various anniversaries over the years.
The reception décor included square tables with custom Manzanita tree centerpieces, a 36 foot long head table with custom table runner, and a long bar featuring a martini ice luge in the middle. Instead of table numbers, the couple did “table stories” which consisted of a the name of a city they had visited together, along with a description of their trip and pictures of them there.
Instead of doing a traditional wedding meal, the couple served “flights” – they love food and wanted to have some fun with the menu.
- American Flight
- Wedge salad with bleu cheese crumbles, bacon & homemade dressing
- Lobster mac & cheese / mini kobe cheeseburgers / sweet potato fries
- Italian Flight
- Caesar salad with shaved parmesan & garlic croutons
- Gnocchi with pesto / crispy fried artichoke hearts / chicken parmesan
- Asian Flight
- Asian spinach salad with orange, avocado & ginger sesame dressing
- Chicken pad thai / shrimp & mango spring rolls / chicken satay
And for dessert, we served a dessert flight instead of a cake – mini rum cakes, cupcakes and mini rice krispie treat pops. Catering by Design did a fabulous job with the food and we were very proud of the creative and unique menu we helped the couple to create.
After dinner, guests of all ages danced the night away to the sounds of Homeslice. It was such a memorable and fun wedding for us to plan!
Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio
Photo courtesy of Stephen Sanderson Photography
Photo courtesy of Stephen Sanderson Photography
Photo courtesy of Stephen Sanderson Photography
Photo courtesy of Stephen Sanderson Photography
Photo courtesy of Stephen Sanderson Photography
Photo courtesy of Stephen Sanderson Photography
Photo courtesy of Stephen Sanderson Photography
Photo courtesy of Stephen Sanderson Photography
Photo courtesy of Stephen Sanderson Photography
Photo courtesy of Stephen Sanderson Photography
Photo courtesy of Stephen Sanderson Photography
Photo courtesy of Stephen Sanderson Photography
Photo courtesy of Stephen Sanderson Photography
Photo courtesy of Stephen Sanderson Photography
Photo courtesy of Stephen Sanderson Photography
