Imagine a sweet woodland affair filled with orange and yellow blooms from PlanIt PC, moment after moment with a stunning bride and groom and gourmet goodies from Culinary Crafts and you’ll land squarely on this Park City wedding; an elegant meets laid-back affair that is sooo breathtaking, it’s giving a whole new meaning to “rustic beauty.” See it all captured by Carla Boecklin in the full gallery.
From The Bride… Robbie and I spent the majority of our time dating traveling to cool places, exploring new trails, and overall experiencing new things together. The outdoors has always been our playground, and the mountains have always felt like home. I was adamant that a traditional wedding wasn’t my style, and I needed to be outside with open spaces and nature. We wanted to give people a little taste of what we love as well as share an experience that would truly create memories. A full weekend with friends and family seemed perfect, especially since everyone is so dispersed around the country. “One big party in the mountains” was how I kept referring to our special day.
The planning process was overwhelming at first. We debated just including our parents and sisters, but we knew that this day was as much a celebration for family and friends as it was for us. Ultimately, we wanted our wedding to be greater than just us and, in hindsight, we are really glad we invited as many people as we did.
We didn’t start off with a master plan. I didn’t have a binder – I didn’t even have a folder. We literally took it one decision at a time. We found flowers we loved, and we picked them. We found a cake we loved, and we picked that. I bought my Anthropologie dress (my dress for the reception) three days before we flew into SLC. We didn’t look at everything from a bird’s eye view. I didn’t try to find things that fit a theme — I just found things I loved and the theme evolved. If you make decisions on a smaller scale based on what you truly love, you’ll be surprised how everything falls into place and it all goes together in the end. My biggest realization in planning my wedding is that I didn’t have to follow all the rules!
In the end, it was the most meaningful, memorable trip of my life not only because I got to marry Rob, but also because I got to spend 72 hours with the best friends and family, in a place I loved, and share my love for the outdoors, nature and adventure with them. We had so many guests say that they never would have seen this or done this in their lives if not for the invitation…and it was music to my ears! So don’t be scared of destination weddings. Give people an excuse to travel, and make it as easy as possible on them.
From Carla Boecklin… So many personalized details reflect the way in which the bride and groom crafted the day into their own unique celebration.
Lauren and Robbie wanted the wedding to feel like a big party, so they hosted the entire day (ceremony, cocktail hour, reception, post-reception games) at a private home on the outskirts of Park City, Utah. Also important to them was not having to engage in conventional wedding activities. For example, the bride and grown were relaxed and informal the morning of the wedding, not concerned about running into one another on the property as they prepped. Also, at the reception, there was no formal entrance, no bouquet toss, no cake cutting, no first dance (in fact, no dancing at all). Instead, the couple treated their guests to a gorgeous gourmet dinner while an iPod played their favorite songs; and, afterward, people played games on the lawn. They enjoyed the day exactly as they wanted: nothing contrived, everything genuine.
Certain intimate parts of the day were extraordinary to capture. The groom’s mother putting on his boutonniere resulted in a forehead-to-forehead emotional moment between them. The first of the bride’s two wedding dresses had been custom-altered to include lace from her mom’s wedding gown (a surprise — and her mother’s reaction was priceless!). Lauren also wore jewelry from grandmothers on both sides of her family, and her sister did her hair and makeup. The First Look, held in the aspens away from the venue, was filled with so much glee and cuteness that I could barely keep up with my clicking.
Other thoughtful additions, like the rustic ‘naked cake’ and the citrus-mint palette, were a perfect fit for the day and magic for my lens. Because travel, exploration, and destination are important to the bride and groom, their wedding bands were engraved with the latitude & longitude coordinates of the wedding location. Additionally, as the wedding was a destination event, compasses were used as parts of the invitation and as gifts for the guests.
Mostly, it was the sincerity of the day that touched my heart. Lauren and Robbie are such a wonderful pair — so adorable, so loving, so perfect for one another — and it was obvious that every single person at that wedding was as smitten with them as I was.
Photography: Carla Boecklin | Event Planner: PlanIt PC | Floral Design: PlanIt PC | Wedding Gown: The White Flower Bridal Boutique | Cake: One Sweet Slice | Invitations: Wide Eyes Paper Co. | Ceremony: Culinary Crafts | Reception: Culinary Crafts | Rings: Reis Nichols | Catering: Culinary Crafts | Groom's Attire: Brooks Brothers | Bracelets: Alex And Ani | Bride's Hair & Makeup: Joan Fisher | Bridesmaids' Dresses (some): Ann Taylor | Compasses In Invitation: Weddingstar Inc. | Custom Alterations: Mount Tabor Park | Groomsmen's Attire (Ties): Brooks Brothers | Guest Gifts (compasses & Muslin Bags): Weddingstar Inc. | Invitation Envelope Liners: Chuck&Welly | Officiate: Anita Gordon | Other Hair & Makeup: Kasey Sorensen From Hair Day Salon | Wedding Dress (#2): Anthropologie