Why Denver?

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This was the question we were asked more times than we could count over the weekend. I wonder if others get asked about their location as much?

Heading out Wednesday was a chore! We had rain, tornadoes and hail but we finally made it to Denver around 2am Thursday morning. Our first appointment of the day was at 9am Thursday but we didn't let the lack of sleep getting us down. Maybe that was the adrenaline kicking in. :)

First meeting was with our reception folks. We'll be having our reception at the Cussler Museum which is author Clive Cussler's private collection of cars. His daughter, granddaughter and grandson now open it to the public two days a week and host private events. Amie is our coordinator and is absolutely FABULOUS!!! She's very accommodating and easy to work with. Initially I was a bit nervous going in because they've never hosted a wedding reception before but after meeting Amie I couldn't be more excited! Oh the plans we have for this space!

Next we checked out a couple of hotels our many out of town guests. We got a kick out of one of the hotels trying to charge us more for a block of rooms than the rate I'd found online for the exact same dates. I'm no genius but something tells me if your hotel normally rents for $60/night and your guaranteed at least 30 rooms you probably shouldn't be trying to charge $70/night. Seems like bad business to me. Obviously they did not get our business. This particular hotel was also right next to the interstate (very LOUD rooms!) and one of the rooms we toured was obviously a former smoking room and smelled to high heaven! Thank you but no thank you...on to the next property.

The second property (La Quinta Inn) was actually very nice and the sales lady Michelle was AWESOME! However all of their rooms opened to the outside. If we were doing a summer wedding this wouldn't be so bad but we could have snow or ran during our wedding weekend so I'd rather stick to an all indoor hotel.

After lunch and a much needed nap we checked out our church. Pastor Jim Walters was the officiant for Steve's cousin's wedding last year and I just loved the man. So fun and kind. The day after that same wedding we went to Bear Valley Church for their Sunday services where I was shocked to see the Pastor from the previous day's wedding. He had a great message about one of the deadly sins. So great that I went and downloaded the podcast so I could hear the other 6 sins. When we decided to get married in Denver it was a no-brainer to see if Pastor Jim would marry us. YAY!!! So excited!!!

The front of Bear Valley Church

Minus the band equipment this is where we'll say "I DO!"

This is how we'll have the stage set up.  Love the drapping!

Next up was our first of two photographers. I found Jeremy Martinez through either weddingbee.com or one of the countless blogs I follow. I fell in love with his work IMMEDIATELY! O.M.G. is this man talented!

All photos by Jeremy Martinez

Meeting with Jeremy and his wife Melinda pretty much sealed the deal. They both made us feel so comfortable and at ease. I'm so excited about working with them and I'm already beside myself to see the pictures (uh yeah...for the wedding we haven't even had yet)!!!

Last meeting of the day was with the fabulous coordinator Danielle Odil with Something Classic Events. Danielle is AWESOME!!! She brought us a little goody back with several tasty treats made in Colorado, put us at ease and made us feel very good about the ideas we already had about our day. If you're looking for a coordinator in the Denver area (or beyond..she will travel) I HIGHLY recommend her. You'll love her to pieces! Unfortunately for us, unless we hit the lottery our measly 10k budget isn't going to allow us to hire her right now.

After a few beers (one of which Steve decided he needed to wear...he's a klutz but he's mine!) and a yummy burger, we headed back to the hotel to regroup and rest up for day two.