Late Friday morning, Ryan and I arrived in Denver, Colorado. I flew in from Los Angeles after the IDEA World Fitness Convention and Ryan flew in from Jacksonville and we met up at baggage claim. Our friends Carrie and Aaron arrived at the airport from Michigan and the four of us rented a car and carpooled to the adorable ski town of Winter Park for a fun wedding weekend in the mountains.
We’ve been looking forward to Michaela and Kyle’s wedding for months and it was so much fun to have everyone together. Michaela and two of her bridesmaids, Carrie and Leah, and I have been friends for twenty years and we always have a blast whenever we get together. We met in elementary school and have remained best friends since! (Michaela, Carrie and Leah were also bridesmaids in our wedding and Carrie, Michaela and I were bridesmaids in Leah’s wedding.) Our husbands and boyfriends all get along really well, too, which makes things all the better. Such a fun group!
After our arrival in Denver, we drove for two hours before we arrived at the Zephyr Mountain Lodge.
Unfortunately we arrived later than we anticipated, so Carrie and I didn’t have a chance to shower. We quickly threw on our dresses and I tried my best to straighten the kinks out of my greasy hair since it had been up in a ponytail all day. We then rushed out the door to meet up with the rest of the bridal party at the base of a ski lift.
Michaela and Kyle’s wedding took place at the very top of a mountain which was unbelievable! For both the wedding and the rehearsal, we rode up the ski lift and took in the gorgeous mountain views.
It was a little drizzly and quite cold on our way up the mountain but we were excited to get the wedding fun started!
Michaela and Kyle’s wedding rehearsal was supposed to take place outside but it started to rain like crazy right after we arrived at the lodge on the mountaintop, so the rehearsal took place indoors.
Even with the gloomy weather, the location was absolutely stunning. We assured Michaela that if it rained on her wedding day and everything had to be moved indoors, it would still be an incredibly beautiful wedding.
Once the rehearsal was over, we took buses back down the mountain since the ski lift wasn’t an option due to the rain.
We huddled under blankets to keep warm and had fun chatting about Michaela and Kyle’s big day.
Once we made it to the base of the mountain, we walked from the bus to Doc’s where all of our dates joined us for the rehearsal dinner.
Heeere they are: The bride and groom!
I sipped on wine throughout the night and enjoyed my meal that included a mixed green salad and honey salmon with roasted potatoes, carrots and asparagus.
(I forgot to snap a picture of my entree right away. Oops!)
For dessert I polished off a plate of peach pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
The views from the terrace right outside the upstairs bar were beautiful, so we made sure to snap some pictures.
It was so much fun to have everyone together and we hung out at the restaurant bar for hours, drinking and catching up.
It was the perfect kick off to such a fun wedding weekend!
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Taking a ski lift to a wedding/rehearsal sounds hilarious/incredible! I say hilarious because anytime I go snowboarding I bust it getting off the lift. And you did it in heels?! Is it how the wedding party was introduced? I’m so intrigued. What a cool idea though…..and beautiful views!! Congrats to your friend =)
The ski lift slowed down A LOT for everyone in heels. 🙂 I was nervous at first, too!
Colorado looks absolutely gorgeous! And what a unique idea to have a wedding there and do the rehearsal on top of a mountain! That’s awesome 🙂 I really love your blue dress! Where did you get it? Have fun at the wedding!
Thanks! You can find all the details here: https://www.pbfingers.com/2013/03/19/cobalt-blue-shift-dress/
Sounds so fun! Love the dress!
That looks fabulous!! I can’t wait to read about the rest of the wedding 🙂
I’ve never been to Colorado, but it looks absolutely beautiful. Maybe even better in the summertime!
Royal blue is your color, girlie!! 🙂
I’d say you look pretty amazing for no shower and traveling all day! Much better than I would have! I love that dress and color on you – it’s beautiful!
I live in Denver and must say that Winter Park is my favorite mountain town! It’s gorgeous! We make a weekend trip up there at least twice a summer and often throughout the winter to ski. The picked a great wedding location!
Ryan and I are already dying to go back. It was such a cute town and I wish I had more time to explore!
Whoa, deja vu! I was looking at your photos (mostly skimming, my bad) and was like “that mountain looks SO familiar” Turns out that it’s where I have gone skiing every year of my life since my parents could stand me up in skis! I love Winter Park! My parents have a ski house at the base. I’ve always wondered about having a wedding at Sunspot (the lodge at the top), I can’t wait to see some of your photos from the wedding!
Wow what an amazing place to have a wedding! Love the fact that it is on top of a mountain. Can’t wait to hear how the actual wedding goes.
So fun! That looks like a GORGEOUS location, even if it did rain!
Beautiful! I’ve always wanted to go to Colorado. Also, your dress is gorgeous!!
My husband races mountain bikes up there 🙂 jasper and I love to run up and down the mountain!
What a GORGEOUS location! My friend’s sister just got married on the top of Crystal Mountain last week and the pictures were stunning! They put a “Just Married” sign on their ski lift 🙂
My mom’s family is from Colorado and I would do anything to eventually live out there. I recently visited my grandma on the Western Slope (she literally lives on a mountain in the Rockies) and I’m already saving money for my next trip. Looks like you had fun!
My hair is so fine there is absolutely NO way I would get it to look this good! The rehearsal dinner meal would be exactly what I would ask for at a restaurant! Looks so good!
Looks like a great weekend 🙂 I love the picture of the legs and feet in heels hanging off the ski lift on the way up! And what a breathtaking view for the wedding!
I’ve never been to Colorado, but I would LOVE to go! Your pictures are gorgeous!
Beautiful location and I loved your outfit!! The food looked super delish also!
Looks like a fun dinner and the peach pie is oh so ideal – it IS national peach month, after all!
What a great idea to get married on top of a mountain! I live in the Pacific Northwest where it rains most of the year and have come to appreciate the mountains- even while it’s raining. It sounds like it will be a magical day no matter what! 🙂
Oh myyy wowwww what a beautiful spot for a wedding!!! It almost looks like it’s out of a fairy tale that takes place in Switzerland or something. 😀
That is so cool that you took a ski lift to the rehearsal venue! The view is beautiful and it looks like you all had a great time!
Looks like the best time EVER! Thanks for sharing such a great weekend 🙂 Love + Shine CourtStar
I love your cobalt blue dress, super cute! Isn’t it great to be a part of friend’s weddings?!
-Lauren
What a beautiful location! That seems so magical & fun 🙂
I love that color on you, but you have too great of a figure to wear that style dress. It does nothing for you.
These pictures make me really want to go to Colorado! So beautiful!
Looks like a great weekend! Probably entirely random, but does it ever get challenging to travel so much independent of Ryan? It seems as if your work takes you to a lot of different places (which is fantastic!) but I was wondering how (if) that affected your relationship. My boyfriend just took a job that requires him to travel two weekends out of the month, so it’s been on my mind! 😉
Sometimes, but it seems like most of my trips are pretty short and many take place during the week, so he’s at work and I don’t feel like I’m missing a weekend with him. I do turn down travel opportunities that occur back-to-back, but, for the most part, I don’t think either of us travel enough for it to really feel like we don’t get to see each other too often. I hope your boyfriend enjoys his new job!
What a beautiful wedding location. Ahh I love weddings. I can’t wait to see the wedding pics!
The views are beautiful! I can’t wait to see the wedding pictures! 🙂
congrats to michaela and her new husband! 🙂
what a gorgeous wedding location! my cousin got married in evergreen, colorado a couple years ago (over the 4th of july weekend – so fun!) and i absolutely loved my time there. the mountains were so beautiful and fresh – a perfect backdrop for their wedding!
what a stunning place for a wedding!!!
The color blue is stunning on you!
How fun! I love getting together with old, long-time friends. How special that you all have been friends for so many years!
I wonder how many women lose their shoes on the lift…i would have to take mine off as id lose them for sure
I love that you had to take a ski lift…so cool!