#EnzoaniRealBride: Brad + Erin

Amidst the “1000 year floods” in Colorado last September, Brad and Erin tied the knot with nothing but joy and love. Their entire relationship has been a wild adventure as they do everything together from skiing, scuba diving, biking, working out, and hiking. It was only fitting that they chose a mountain backdrop for their big day to tie in their love for the outdoors. 

The Dakota dress was wonderful for Erin’s Vail wedding; it screamed “look at me!” The lace overlay and the use of tulle was just the right level of vintage romanticism for her mountain backdrop. The details of Dakota such as the scalloped hemline and the bodice make the dress ever so pleasing to the eye.  Erin had never felt more beautiful! 

Wedding Destination | Vail, Colorado

Wedding Style | Fun, intimate, mountain wedding. We just wanted everyone to have a great time!

Wedding Colors | Bright pink, orange, and yellow 

Why did you pick Dakota? | The Dakota is a breathtakingly beautiful!  I absolutely fell in love with this dress.  It hugs your body in all the right places to make it sexy, but incredible classy and feminine.  The lace is exquisite and the scalloping on the bottom of the dress is just gorgeous.  I received so many compliments on my dress.  I have never felt so beautiful in my life!

Advice for future brides | Create your wedding into what you and your future husband envision.  Planning a wedding should be fun and forget about all the rules... this is about the two of you celebrating your love! Think of your big day as one of and perhaps the only time in your life you are lucky enough to have everyone you love and care for in one place at the same time, so make it enjoyable and personal.  Stop for a moment during your wedding with your new husband to take it all in and know that everyone is there because they love and support you.  It's an amazing feeling!  Lastly, appreciate every moment you have as an engaged couple.  It's such an exciting time that should be cherished!

Bride's Story:

Brad and I got married during the "1000 year floods" in Colorado on September 15th.  It was wild to say the very least.  We live in Boulder, and it was completely flooded.  Most roads were impassible.  For days before our wedding, all night and during the day loud speakers played over Boulder repeating again and again, "Retreat to higher ground.  Flooding is inevitable."  It was crazy!  Brad was supposed to pick his Mother and sister up from the airport, bring them back to Boulder, and relax for a day before we headed up to the mountains for our wedding weekend.  The roads out of Boulder were closed and he tried to drive my 4Runner out.  Water was coming over the hood of my SUV.  He had to call to get them a hotel near the airport for the night.  The mountain passes had gotten so much rain that the following day there was a rockslide on the highway leading to Vail.  The highway closed, so our wedding guests, as well as we, had to postpone driving up until the afternoon when the highway reopened.  Everyone eventually arrived safe and sound by early evening to Vail.  We had an impromptu party in our boutique hotel for all our guests.  We ordered pizza, hung out by the fireplace, and had cocktails until late.  

Brad and I wanted a very small, intimate wedding that would be a enjoyable destination.  We had 73 guests that travelled from all over the world including Seoul, Korea.  Our relationship began in Vail, CO.  I had been a ski and yoga instructor when we met.  We're both ski bums, and Vail is one of our very favorite places.  

A couple of the reasons we chose this particular weekend was because it was Octoberfest as well as my Mom's 70th birthday.  The village was so alive!  It was a fun party for everyone to enjoy.  Our guests arrived Friday, Octoberfest was all day Saturday, and at night we had our rehearsal dinner at Moe's BBQ in the village which we rented for the evening.  All of our guests came to the rehearsal.  We all enjoyed banana pudding for my Mom's birthday.  It turned into a late night dance party.  It was amazing.  We wanted everyone to be included in all the festivities the whole weekend.  It's really only once in your life you are lucky enough to have everyone you love and care for in one place, at one time, and we wanted quality time with our guests.  

We were incredibly lucky to have gorgeous weather in the mountains on Saturday during Octoberfest to enjoy being outside, but our wedding day was another story!  Sunday was fine until we were about to do our first look.  It poured!  Our first look was moved inside.  We were lucky enough to get a 25 minute break in the rain before the ceremony, so we ran outside to take some pictures, but our ceremony got rained out.  Instead of having the Gore Range Mountains as a backdrop, we had a romantic fireplace.  Not what I had pictured, but it was very intimate.  My cousin sang "A Thousand Years," and the acoustics inside were amazing.  Not a dry eye in the house.  Both Brad and I spoke during the ceremony.  We read poems to each other and read things we loved about one another.  One of our best friends married us.  It was perfect.  

 We kept the mountain theme throughout the wedding.  My nephew carried down one of my ski poles and I made a sign that said, "Here Comes the Bride".  For our guest book- people signed one of Brad's old snowboards.  Our table names were our favorite ski runs at Vail.  We used local dahlias for our flowers.  We had cupcakes instead of cake, and they were on top of old barn doors.  

Brad and I love to dance.  Reggae is our favorite music, so we had a 6-piece reggae band that rocked the house.  We all danced the night away.  

Since it did rain so much during our wedding, I was afraid that our pictures didn't turn out well, so that's why there are a second set of "after wedding" pictures.  About a week after our wedding we had more pictures done at Piney Lake in Colorado which is at about  10,000 feet.  It was freezing and it had just snowed, but it was a blast!  If you have any interest... this is our 6 minute highlight film.  I think it's really good, but I might be a little biased.   https://vimeo.com/85313703

It talks about how we met at a trashy bar in Denver at my best friend's bachelorette party.  We only talked for about 15 minutes and exchanged numbers.  I left to teach yoga down in Mexico for 3 weeks a few days later.  We chatted non stop while I was down there and he bought a flight to come meet me.  Our first date was 10 days long in Mexico.

Our whole relationship has been a WILD adventure.  We love to do everything together- ski, scuba dive, run, bike, workout, and hike.  We love adventure and drama, as well as excitement, always seems to follow us.  The fact that it was the "1000 year flood" in Colorado was just another part of our exciting journey!