There’s nothing more exciting than a couple that comes to us with a Big Idea. When we started working with Kedzie and Ed on their August 1, 2015 wedding at the Four Seasons in Vail, we knew we’d get along amazingly. Why? Because they wanted to walk down the aisle OVER the Four Seasons’ pool! Continue reading
At the end of August, we took a break from weddings to spend an incredible weekend helping produce the first ever Lindsey Vonn Foundation Summer Camp for Girls. Continue reading
After the amazing launch of the Lindsey Vonn Foundation in February, we paired up with Lindsey again to host the foundation’s first event. What better way to do that than with an evening of empowerment with Rosalind Wiseman? Continue reading
This Valentine’s Day, I had the privilege of spending my evening with a spectacular group of people, raising awareness and funds for a cause I’m proud to support: the launch of The Lindsey Vonn Foundation. The foundation was established with the purpose of creating a positive and constructive atmosphere for the community and future generations by empowering girls through programs designed to help them grow as athletes, learners, and individuals. Continue reading
What’s more beautiful than sparkling snowflakes slowly falling to a quiet forest floor? Well, a sparkling snowflake covered wedding! Carey and Todd Shaget’s wedding had rustic mountain charm with the right of amount sophistication. From the tangled twig dangling light orbs to the white covered Vail Chapel this wedding was breath taking. Carey the bride looked stunning in her long sleeve, lace detailed gown and the groom Todd looked dapper in his classic suit.
But to celebrate a wedding in one day sometimes just isn’t enough. A weekend of festivities and skiing is the perfect way to enjoy the company of friends and family in Vail, Colorado. The Shagets started their destination wedding with a welcome dinner at Pepi’s Restaurant with adorable welcome gifts of mini wine bottles and munchies. After skiing one of the best resorts in the world, the couple invited their beloved guests to a ski-in lunch at the Bully Ranch Restaurant of Sonnenalp, Vail. At the lunch, friends and family were encouraged to flaunt their on-the-slopes wardrobe for a true apres-ski mountain meal.
And what about the rehearsal dinner? Possibly the most important meal of the wedding weekend? The rehearsal dinner was just as rustic elegant as you can get. The rehearsal site was at Cucina Rustica which does a spectacular job of reflecting the Rocky Mountain culture in hearty American classic meals. And the wedding party got down to it, perfecting their speeches and declaring why Carey and Todd’s love is so special.
We love the idea of weekend get-togethers before the wedding. Weddings like the Shaget’s, brings us together with the one’s we love and reinforces why we get married. We always do it for love.
Best wishes to the latest members of our Bella family!
Venue: Sonnenalp
Ceremony: Vail Chapel
Planning and Design: Bella Design & Planning
Photography and Videography: James Michael Lang
Cake: Sonnenalp
Florals: Bloom
Lighting and Drapery: Pink Monkey Solutions
Hair and Makeup: Candi Johns
Stationery: Richard’s Notebook
Band: Pulse
It was a Bella first! Jennifer booked our team to coordinate her wedding with just three weeks of prep time. Nothing had been planned, even the venue location, but we made magic happen and it was as lovely as could be. … Continue reading
Grace was not a typical bride. She is a passionate, uber-intelligent woman from Venezuela who had her own ideas about her wedding that one simply cannot find in a magazine or blog. This wedding was unique, crazy, unpredictable, and enchanted. Grace was all about the design and Michael was all about the cuisine. By looking at these images you can truly say this is a visual feast that combined the passions and great style of these two doctors from Miami. To make this magic happen, we created a team of vendors from all over the country. The bride and groom brought in Adagion Studio from Miami lead by Cengiz Ozelsel. Holy talent! And then they hired Cabana Pictures out of Miami and New York. I had the pleasure of working with them on another wedding last summer and they have to be some of the coolest filmmakers out there. And finally they sought out Bare Root Flora from Denver, a florist I had never worked with and now can’t have enough of. Frankly, it’s scary to work with many new vendors. Are they cool? Will they be professional? Could we have fun working side by side? With this crew, the answer was definitely YES! Combined with my talented local vendors and my dear friend Karen Bartolomei, owner of Grapevine in Boston, I can say this wedding was for the record books.
We had the hotel structural engineer evaluate the weight of the chandeliers florals to ensure the 300 lbs of florals were stable!
In lieu of a stacked cake, the bride and groom chose to have many tiers presented individually.
Candied cherries ripe for picking from the tree.
Key lime tartlettes
Gourmet s’mores.
Signing the kettubah right before the ceremony.
A very dramatic flower girl precedes the bride.
I love the intensity of her parent’s eyes. Beautiful.
Bare Root Flora blew me away with their floral composition and color choices. So unique, so fun, so artistic.
A starry night projected onto the walls to complete the enchanted forest, along with monograms made of succulents.
A truly spectacular chuppah composed of curly willow, roses, orchids and a light emitting chandelier.
Seriously? I love a bold bride. She nailed it.
Oscar de la Renta should be proud.
The last few minutes of the ceremony were in a rain shower. Here are the bride and groom running for shelter and laughing all the way.
How fun is this? Another bold statement that challenges conventional beauty.
Every bride must have her girlfriends and a bottle of Veuve. Imperative.
The groom riding up the gondola and writing his final thoughts before he gives his bride her gift.
“Mi Amore” was all they could say at their first look.
The chandelier in the chuppah was magnifiant and a surprising element.
The groom is inspired by such great chefs as Peter Callahan. Thus, guests were treated ALL night to inspired presentation of bite size edibles. The Arrabelle executive chef did an incredible job.
Sparklers just before the last song.
Hora Loca! A latin tradition to have crazy hour with confetti, masks, noise makers and anything else that takes up the party energy.
Best friends! The bride had special masks made for her groom, maid of honor and of course herself.
Having the guests dance under an outdoor canopy of lights was breathtaking.
A few days after the wedding the bride and groom did a photo shoot through western Colorado, Utah and Nevada. I’ll post the photos in a future blog. They are something to see.
And here is the film created by Cabana Pictures:
Grace and Michael’s Wedding Film
Thank you to the power film due, Zeus and Jennifer Leyva, of Cabana Pictures for filming this is so special, extremely cool wedding.
The Team
Wedding Planning: Bella Design & Planning
Wedding Design: Bella Design & Planning and Pink Monkey Solutions
Photographer: Cengiz Ozelsel
Videographer: Cabana Pictures
Florist: Bare Root Flora
Invitations and Stationery: Grapevine
DJ: Great Time DJ
Rabbi: Arturo Kalfus
Linens: Wildflower Linens
Ceremony Venue: Vail Wedding Deck
Reception Venue: The Great Room at The Arrabelle
Catering and Cake: The Arrabelle
Dress: Oscar de la Renta
Shoes: Christian Louboutin
Tiffany envisioned an Old World winter wedding, and that is exactly what she got–in a big, spectacular way! It was such a joy working with local Vail gal Tiffany and her sweet entourage of mom and lil’ sis. We loved Tiffany so much that you might see her working as an assistant at a Bella wedding in the future! Congratulations Tiffany and Josh!
The Team:
Wedding Design and Coordination: Bella Design and Planning
Photography: Autumn Burke Photography
Ceremony Venue: Vail Interfaith Chapel
Reception Venue: The Four Seasons Vail
Caterer: The Four Seasons Vail
Floral Design: Bloom Flower Shop
Lighting: Pink Monkey Solutions
Invitation and Stationery: Richard’s Notebook
Dress: Kleinfeld Bridal – Pnina Tornai
Groom’s Tux: Andrisen Morton
Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Blue Bridal
Hair & Makeup: Colorado Makeup and Hair
Videographer: Neil with 303 Motion
Ceremony Music: Columbine Entertainment
Band: Doctor Robert
