By Angie Grenz
Wedding day is the one, singular day in most of our lives that is solely dedicated to aesthetics. Beauty. Every detail is meant to delight the guests and reflect back on the beauty of the bride. Flowers drip from every surface. Hair, nails and skin are bejeweled. In this instance, more truly is more wonderful, beautiful, special.
So, the details are important. And while most brides spare no expense on their dress, hair and makeup, they also want the elements of the wedding and reception to be beautiful and inspire delight in their guests. Of course, affordability can shape the beauty of that special day—as well as the desire to create a day that is uniquely matched to the couple it represents. But a wedding day’s beauty and the ability to pay for it need not be mutually exclusive. Resources exist to help create a special, visibly stunning day at a cost that won’t cause a swoon.
Outlets to help
One of the biggest money-saving strategies is to tap into the knowledge of others and borrow from their brilliant ideas. DIYers abound these days, and even if you aren’t well-suited for wielding a hot glue gun, others are and you can bene t from their knowledge—and perhaps, their labor.
One such resource is Facebook group Recycled Wedding (Colorado), and the benefits are numerous. The rst reason to join the group the minute you are planning a wedding: the advice. You can post virtually any question and get several great, practical responses from recent brides and about- to-be brides. Wondering about the schedule of events? Ask away. Looking for an unusual venue? Pose the question. You will receive viable options that can help your planning.
Even better, you can post your timeline, budget and wish list and get a slew of recommendations
in response. Often, you get the referral from a recent bride on, say, a great makeup artist. That artist will tag you and let you know if they can work within your budget. There is nothing worse than making appointments to interview vendors only to nd out that they are out of your price range. This takes away that timewaster.
Finally, you will find plenty of posts from brides and grooms selling off some of their wedding décor. Items that may translate to the very vibe you are looking for, sparing your wedding party the crafting projects that seem to accompany many weddings on a budget.
Unique Rentals
Add style to your weddings by taking advantage of rental sites that offer unique furniture and décor pieces. Even just a few standout pieces can enhance the look of a wedding or reception without costing an arm and a leg. Create fabulous photo ops or luxury seating areas, rent enchanting wedding arches—whatever you need to give your wedding a distinct look. In fact, one of our featured brides in this issue used these unique pieces to inject their simple outdoor wedding with a little more personality and turn a backyard reception from ho hum to truly special.
Bride Carlee Young used Fable Custom Designs + Rentals and Wallflower Rentals & Décor for the arch they were married under, the beverage and snack station in their backyard, and several seating areas, creating a boho vibe with plenty of glamorous touches.
These unique wedding rental companies offer a wide variety of items for rent, including bar carts, chairs, velvet couches, chandeliers, serving stands, games, textiles (think cowhide rugs), fancy silverware and curtain lighting. They go beyond the normal rentals of chairs, tables and tablecloths to offer specialty pieces that add personality and set the stage for a one-of-a-kind event.
Louisville-based Wallflower Rentals specializes in vintage pieces and furniture (check out their Double Peacock Throne, wallflowerrentals.com). But they also carry very unique items for seating charts, chalkboards and tabletop décor. The process is easy: search through their inventory and add to the wish list. They will send you a quote and, once you have narrowed down your selections, make your reservation. They will deliver all over Colorado, Utah and New Mexico.
Fort Collins-based Fable Custom Designs + Rentals specializes in custom designed pieces for your special day. Their team of owners is comprised of two woodworkers who can build arches, tables and custom designs for any event. In addition to arches, they also stock rugs, curtain lighting and small items for rent. Visit them at fablecustomrental.com.
Extras that pop
We’ve covered wedding advice and décor. Now we have those fun touches that always surprise and delight.
Another of our cover story brides, Ashley Duval, had an outdoor summer wedding that featured two such vendors who made the event memorable for guests. At the ceremony, guests were greeted with by Fizz & Flutes (fizzandflutes.com), a “prosecco van.” The van is actually a three-wheeled Piaggio Ape imported from Europe that features three taps that can pour sparkling wine, beer, cold brew nitro coffee, kombucha and bubbly cocktails. At the Duval’s wedding, the van poured sparkling wine that guests could decorate with candy and avored syrups.
At the reception, ShutterBus, the “original vintage photo booth” was available to guests. This vintage VW van contained a photo booth inside. Guests received two copies of their photos—one to keep and one to tuck inside a memory book for the wedding couple. Plenty of props were available for those who wanted to have fun with their photos. The bus features several packages and will travel to your event (theshutterbus.com).
Wedding couples can also access resources such as On The Rocks, a “luxury mobile bar” designed inside a 1960s horse trailer affectionately named Pearl. Pearl holds a four-tap draft tower and all the necessary hardware to serve up perfectly chilled pints. You can rent her for the day and hire your own bartender or book a package complete with a TIPS certi ed bartender. Margarita machines, drinkware, napkins and other items are also available (ontherocksco.com).
With our gorgeous natural Colorado scenery and a few luxury touches, any Northern Colorado bride can create a wedding that will delight family and friends and be an event to remember. Whether it is a massive traditional wedding or a simple backyard shindig (even elopements have gone glamourous), you just have to dream it up and nd the right vendor to make it happen.
