Looking for an alternative to the traditional wedding registry at Pottery Barn or Williams-Sonoma? Consider registering for your honeymoon! More and more couples are falling in love with honeymoon registries as a way to make their dream honeymoon a reality: through the registry, your guests can give you portions of your vacation as a wedding gift.

Instead of a “place setting for the table” you could receive a “romantic honeymoon dinner” or a “sunset sailing cruise” as a wedding gift. A honeymoon registry is is so much more personal than asking your guests outright for cash – guests will choose something special that they would like to give you as a wedding gift. Unlike getting envelopes with checks in them at the wedding and leaving the next day for your honeymoon trip, a honeymoon gift registry allows you to know ahead of time what you will have available for extras and upgrades on your vacation.

Many companies that offer honeymoon registries also have travel experts on-hand to help registered couples book their dream honeymoons. And companies such as The Big Day don’t charge a fee for your registry if you end up booking your honeymoon through one of their travel experts.

Hello paradise!!!

Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio

High fashion meets cupcakes at Bella Cupcake Couture. Started by Carrie Middlemiss after she was laid-off from her job at a bank, Bella Cupcake Couture offers chic textile-inspired cupcake wrappers. Simply bake or buy your favorite frosted cupcake and set it inside the wrapper – et voilà! Instant cupcake style.

Each wrapper is custom-designed and professionally created to ensure consistent and exceptional quality. The designs come in standard and mini sizes, and a variety of styles including floral, swirls and damask. The wrappers are not only fashionable, they are also eco-friendly: each design is printed with soy inks on recycled linen paper.

Bella Cupcake Couture can also create custom cupcake wrappers – a perfect way to bring in your colors, monogram or other custom design elements in order to tie the cupcakes in with your overall design scheme.

Who ever said couture was limited to clothing?!?!

Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio

Holy love at first sight! I totally adore Devil’s Thumb Ranch - so much so that I almost wish I could get married all over again, just so that I could do it at this amazing place! It’s an intimate event venue that captures the true spirit of Colorado, with spectacular scenery, a cozy ambiance and an air of relaxed sophistication. Located in Tabernash, Devil’s Thumb Ranch describes itself as “5,000 acres of raw Colorado” at the foot of the Continental Divide, complete with sweeping meadows, meandering creeks, the rustle of pine boughs. In a nutshell, it is the ideal location for your Colorado mountain wedding or event.

The crown jewel of Devil’s Thumb Ranch is the 2,900 square foot indoor reception room, The Broad Axe Barn. The barn is built from the hand hewn beams recovered from a Civil War-era Indiana barn and features a 25 foot vaulted ceiling, 7 x 10 feet windows and a 2,200 sq. ft. deck with stunning views of the Continental Divide. It’s the perfect venue for weddings or events up to 160 guests. The ranch also offers more intimate spaces for smaller events. The Timber House, with 900 square feet and 240 degree views of the Continental Divide, is the perfect locale for up to 50 seated guests. And John L’s Wine Cellar is a romantic and private setting for a rehearsal dinner or another special meal for 16 guests.

I am absolutely dying to plan a wedding or event at Devil’s Thumb Ranch…. any takers?

Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio

Save-On-Crafts.com is an excellent website for design and décor. They have an amazing selection of anything and everything you need for DIY projects. And the prices are surprisingly reasonable!

With everything from vases, lighting, floral supplies and candles, to baskets, tulle, branches and crystals, Save On Crafts is DIY décor heaven! Whether creating your own manzanita crystal tree or making a custom cupcake tree, Save On Crafts likely has the supplies you need. They even have “how to” guides and project ideas in their “Projects & Inspiration” section.

So if you’re planning a wedding in Colorado and love the challenge of a little DIY décor, be sure to check out Save On Crafts!

Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio

J.CREW Bridal is classy, timeless and affordable. Especially for bridesmaid dresses, shoes, jewelry and accessories, J.CREW offers several stylish alternatives to the traditional wedding designers. And with their newly opened wedding boutique on Madison Avenue in Manhattan, now you can try before you buy!

Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio

The Altar is Denver’s first high-end bridal consignment boutique, and it’s about time! Located in the Highlands neighborhood, The Altar’s inventory includes New, Couture, Designer, Vintage, Sample, Discontinued and Pre-loved dresses, with a price point for every bride.

The company’s goal is to provide brides with extraordinary dresses at affordable prices, but also allow past brides the opportunity to sell their dresses with a 50% return. They carry all sizes, styles, and colors, with new inventory arriving daily. All dresses are in excellent condition and have been professionally cleaned before being put out on the floor for sale.

The dresses range in size from 2-24 and can all be altered for the perfect fit. If you are looking for a specific dress, The Alter will add you to their priority wait list so that you are the first to be notified when the style or designer comes in. Prices will vary depending on the original cost and age of the dress, but most are priced at 40-75% off of the original cost.

The fun part is that brides get the VIP treatment at The Altar: during your visit, champagne and treats will be available for you and your entourage to help make your experience special.

The Altar also carries flower girl dresses, shoes and accessories. Happy shopping! 

Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio

In planning a rehearsal lunch for a wedding in Vail, Colorado, I was on the lookout for a “picnic” like venue with amazing mountain views that would highlight Colorado’s natural beauty for the many out of town guests that would be in attendance. Mission accomplished: Piney River Ranch.

Piney River Ranch is located just 11 miles north of  Vail, Colorado in the White River National Forest. The event site is set amongst the shimmering waters of Piney Lake with the Gore Mountain Range as a backdrop. The ranch has two covered, open air pavilions with a 250 person seating capacity, and a wedding deck that seats 175. Piney River Ranch has an in-house restaurant that can cater to any size party.

The ranch offers a variety of activities including: hiking, horseback riding, canoe and kayak rentals, fishing, volleyball, horseshoes, badminton and kids play area, ensuring your guests will have plenty of ways to enjoy the Colorado Rockies.

The location truly is stunning and you almost have to see it to believe how beautiful it is. Hopefully the below pictures will help!

Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio

If you’re looking for fashionable bags or accessories to give as a bridesmaid gift, look no further than Dsenyo. With variety of shapes, sizes and fabrics, Dsenyo offers a wide array of stylish and unique bags and accessories. But there’s more: this “eco chic” company is one with a mission: creating sustainable accessories inspired by African textiles.

Artist Marissa Perry Saints founded Dsenyo in 2007 after living in Malawi, Central Africa. Marissa combined her African inspiration with experience in fine arts, graphic design and international development. The result? A locally-owned company with unique, contemporary styles that offer form, function and durability for fashion and socially conscious women. 

By purchasing Dsenyo handbags and accessories you are supporting community development projects in Africa.  In addition to Dsenyo’s main mission of creating stable jobs for women and artisans, the company also gives 3% of sales back to the communities in which they work.

And giving Dsenyo bags or accessories as a bridesmaid gift is good for the planet, too. Dsenyo makes every effort to use low-impact dyes and sustainable fibers like hemp and organic cotton. They reduce waste by composting organic scrap material and re-purposing African textile remnants for use in other products. Their  “Old for New” recycling program lets you send back your used Dsenyo bag and receive a 10% discount on your next purchase. Dsenyo will reuse, recycle and compost materials in the old purse.

In many ways, Dsenyo bags and accessories are a gift that keeps on giving! For more information, or to purchase gifts from Dsenyo, please visit www.dsenyo.com.

Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio

Imagine saying your vows in an open air chapel surrounded by breathtaking views and majestic peaks. Picture a cocktail hour where guests stroll through a rustic, yet elegantly restored ghost town. Envision a first-rate dinner cooked with organic, seasonal ingredients from local farms. Visualize dancing the night away in a historic saloon, followed by marshmallows around a campfire under a clear, starry sky. Suppose you could rent an entire town for your intimate and exclusive wedding celebration….. welcome to Dunton Hot Springs.

Dunton Hot Springs is one of the most amazing wedding venues in Colorado. Offering the utmost in luxury alongside some of the most pristine yet accessible terrain in the world, Dunton Hot Springs is an impeccably restored ghost town at 8,600 feet in the San Juan Mountains near Telluride. 

And you can, literally, rent the entire town for your wedding. Rental fees start at $10,000/day in the winter and $15,000/day during high season, and include accommodations and meals for up to 42 people. Complete with an open air chapel, historic saloon & dance hall, natural hot springs, luxurious spa and authentic log cabins, Dunton is an ideal Colorado destination wedding venue.

It will be a celebration your guests will never forget.

In short, it’s a one-of-a-kind way to say “I do” with a view.

Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio

Photo Courtesy of Jenna Walker Photography

Photo Courtesy of Jenna Walker Photography

Photo Courtesy of Jenna Walker Photography

Photo Courtesy of Jenna Walker Photography

Photo Courtesy of Jenna Walker Photography

Photo Courtesy of Jenna Walker Photography

Photo Courtesy of Jenna Walker Photography

Julie Whitcomb is a woman with a mission: to make people happy….. with chocolate! And let me tell you – this woman doesn’t mess around! She’ll woo you with samples of the most amazing chocolate covered marshmallows, truffles in a variety of favors, and even her signature chocolate covered potato chips. Before you know it, you’re her biggest fan - and a happy one.

Julie is the owner and chocolate maker of Trufflicious Truffles, LLC, a Denver based company that sells hand-made chocolates from pure and quality ingredients. Julie’s philosophy stems from the pure basics in that chocolate makes many people happy, and she loves to make many people happy. She also takes a big interest in creating chocolates that are not only delicious, but unique in extraordinary tastes and textures pleasing to everyone. As she puts it: “We are self-indulgent, but we love to share. We are service oriented. We are delicious. We are curious. We love sharing the past, present and passion of chocolate.”

Julie’s chocolate products range from comfortably familiar to extraordinarily unique. Whatever the occasion, she is prepared to tap into every one of your senses and deliver chocolates that you will remember for a lifetime. Whether hosting a dinner party, fundraising gala, baby shower, wedding or mitzvah, consider including Trufflicious Truffles into the mix. After all, isn’t the measure of a good event one in which your guests leave happy?!?!

Brooke Hill
Owner & Principal Event Designer
The Celebration Studio

Photo Courtesy of Simply Good Photography

Photo Courtesy of Simply Good Photography

Photo Courtesy of Simply Good Photography

Photo Courtesy of Simply Good Photography

Photo Courtesy of Simply Good Photography