A mile high city bride shares her big day with Visit Denver
VISIT DENVER: WHY DID YOU WANT TO HAVE YOUR WEDDING IN DENVER?
Jennifer Wolfe-Kimbell: We considered having a "destination" wedding by going to Mexico but realized that we live in a destination and that friends and family would love to see Denver and the Rocky Mountains. We also loved the idea of being able to showcase the city that we live in and encouraged guests to take advantage of their time here by sending Denver Visitor Guides prior to the wedding and posting things to do on our wedding website. Many of our guests stayed for the week and went whitewater rafting, hiking, and sightseeing!
VISIT DENVER: WHERE WAS THE WEDDING HELD AND WHY DID YOU PICK THAT SPOT?
JWK: Our wedding ceremony was in the All American garden at the Denver Botanic Gardens. We used to live in that neighborhood and fell in love with the gardens, we also enjoy gardening and thought it was appropriate. Plus, we thought our out-of-town guests would enjoy visiting the gardens and could spend extra time strolling around. The All American garden comes equipped with a tent and was the perfect size for our guests and a string quartet - in the month of August a tent is a nice thing to have for the occasional rainshower and Colorado sun.
VISIT DENVER: HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE AT YOUR WEDDING?
JWK: 95
VISIT DENVER: WHO OFFICIATED AND HOW DID YOU FIND THAT PERSON?
JWK: One of my husband's best friends officiated the wedding. He was present the night that Bryan and I first met and watched the relationship evolve over the years. We liked the idea of having our officiant have a personal connection to us and to our life together. This was a new experience for him and he decided to go through the official channels to qualify as an officiant, though the State of Colorado doesn't require any special standing or certification to conduct a wedding ceremony. He took the honor very seriously and got a kick out of becoming 'an officiant.' He wrote the ceremony for us and presented it as our wedding gift. It was beautiful and very personal.
VISIT DENVER: WHERE WAS THE RECEPTION HELD AND WHY DID YOU PICK THAT SPOT?
JWK: Our reception was at the Grant-Humphreys Mansion in historic Capitol Hill -- the original governor's mansion of Colorado which is now available for special events. Our wedding had a vintage feel and the Grant-Humphreys mansion was the perfect venue, plus it was an intimate setting for a relatively small wedding. We also liked that we could change locations from the main floor for our dinner to the downstairs ballroom for music and dancing.
VISIT DENVER: WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE ASPECT OF YOUR DENVER WEDDING?
JWK:Sometimes it's easy to forget the Denver truly is a destination when you live here -- but for out of town guests, it's a special treat to stay somewhere with a lot to do, wonderful restaurants/nightlife, plenty of transportation options and a view of the Rocky Mountains. I love that our guests got to experience a little of everything while there were here. We had a cookout in our backyard for family who came into Denver early, a rehearsal dinner at Via, a funky Italian restaurant, then reserved a back room at Wynkoop for some local brews and pool. The ceremony was at the Gardens and the reception was at a historic home, then we met for a night cap in the Hyatt Regency's Peaks Lounge (which has an amazing view of the city) -- and all of it was easily accessible for guests.
VISIT DENVER: WHAT TIPS WOULD YOU GIVE OTHER BRIDES PLANNING WEDDINGS IN DENVER?
JWK: Try to keep things centrally located -- or consider having everything happen at one location. That way you won't have to worry about the logistics of transporting people and you can stay focused on your actual wedding. Also -- think outside the box when things start to get tricky. It's becoming more acceptable to come up with alternative ways to celebrate that speak to who you and your husband are, which will make the experience unique and memorable. And ... skip the morning after brunch.
DID YOU KNOW? VISIT DENVER can help you plan your wedding - for free!
