LJTernes's reviews

We went with Mens Warehouse and Bob actually ended up buying his own tuxedo. They were great to work with, had a nice selection and reasonable prices.

We went the donation route and had little cards at each place setting explaining that we had made a donation to the Prostate Cancer Society in their honor. My dad's a survivor, so it was a personal touch everyone appreciated.

I get my hair cut at The Parlour here in Boulder (although there are other Colorado locations), and my stylist is well-versed in wedding makeup and hair. It was wonderful consulting with someone I was already comfortable communicating with. We did a practice run and she was very communicative prior to the event. She was on-time, the getting ready process was very pleasant and calm, and my hair and makeup were perfect and held up for over 12 hours of smiling, dancing and kissing!

It's a searching game. I had a reasonable price range and shape in mind. The more I tried on, the more I realized what I actually wanted- and then found an amazing dress for under $600 (I know, kind of insane how cheap it was to what's out there). It was exactly what I wanted, performed beautifully the entire day, and didn't distract me from all the fun. I shopped all the high-end boutiques in Denver and Colorado Springs, only to find this one at a tiny bridal shop in Superior (by the Cosco- seriously). It's Dina's Bridal, http://dinas-bridal.com, and it's worth checking out. My dress was by Casablanca: www.casablancabridal.com. What I loved about it, beyond the shape and fit, was how light and comfortable it was. I could
run in this thing (or dance like a rock star- which I did). Happy hunting, take LOTS of pictures (at an angle where you can see the back in the mirror reflection*), and don't get discouraged.

Chautauqua Dining Hall is an exquisite, historic and charming wedding reception site. With the Flatirons just behind, it's a wonderful spot for taking post-ceremony pictures. The wrap-around porch was perfect for cocktail hour, we used the tent off the back for dinner, and we hosted the dance floor and speeches in the main dining room. The staff was incredibly responsive and accommodating, and the event went off without a hitch. We highly recommend the Dining Hall for your distinct reception.

SAVE THE DATES/INVITES/ETC.
I have an amazingly talented designer friend you likes to do this on the side: Kate Acuff, kaacuff@yahoo.com. She's in South Denver, is extremely reasonably priced and will design whatever you want. For our Save the Dates we created custome postcards of the Flatirons. Cute, cheap to make and cheaper to send than a normal envelop. Looks cute sitting on peoples' fridges. I knew what I wanted for the invitations and drew a wedding logo that would be pulled throughout. Kate did the design work, sent me comps with several options, sourced everything and printed everything. I assembled myself to save money, did the envelope calligraphy and stamped the envelopes with a rubber stamp of our wedding design. They turned out gorgeous. We also included a postcard for the response (again, cheaper printing and postage), and a card with info and directions. Everything coordinated with the ceremony programs, guest gift
cards and menu cards at the reception. We saved a lot by doing it through Kate.

We're big dancers, so we splurged on the band. We went with Funkiphino, a local Funk band that rocks any house! We heard them play in a bar in Keystone and tracked them down. This was the single most expensive aspect of our wedding, but it made the biggest impact and we will never stop hearing about what a
blast people had dancing their hardest to these guys. They were very expensice, but it wouldn't have been the same high-energy evening without them. The mix they play is perfect for every generation. If you want people to dance until the drop (sweat, collapse, etc), hire them.

I highly recommend Nancy Best, 303.946.9816, Bestnancy@aol.com. We served 150ppl for about $300 (thanks to a handy planner trick- having a smaller display cake and serving most of the guests from sheet cakes in the back for $1/piece) and she copied a design I found in a magazine. The cake was PHENOMENAL and one of the aspects we've been complimented on most by our guests. Nancy is a doll, although can be hard to reach sometimes since she's so busy. Believe me, it's worth it.

I found my florist, Mysti Gulsrud, at the Boulder Theater Bridal Fair. We clicked immediately because her style is rich and romantic: www.delphdesign.com. She is adorable and enormously talented, and is also a stay-at-home mom in Longmont. 303.349.0543, mgulsrud@peakpeak.com. As you can see from the pictures, she did an amazing job with creating the bursts of color and texture I wanted. She also designs jewelry in case you want her to make your bridesmaids custom pieces for the wedding. She is so creative and you don't have to worry about having gorgeous flowers when you work with her. Being very open to bloom choices and letting her really flex her florist muscles made for an incredible result that we absolutely loved. She even made a succulent boutonnière for Bob, whom
is from Arizona originally. I had "my something blue," a Pope-blessed blue rosary from my brother, draped from the handle of my bouquet. Such a fun and personal touch. Overall the boutonnières, corsages, bouquets, centerpieces, cake
flowers and altar flowers came to roughly $1,200 (compared to the $3,600 we could have spent anywhere else easily). Her service really seals the deal- she's very professional and reachable.

After our original wedding photographer suddenly backed out of shooting our wedding just a month before our big day (Kate Nickel Photography- she filed for bankruptcy and we’re now fighting for our deposit refund), Marilee Langner, www.marileelangner.com, amazingly had our date open. Upon contacting her with my dilemma, Marilee was immediately on the ball, and I was at ease with our decision the moment we signed the contract. Marilee squeezed in an engagement session portrait with us just two weeks before our wedding- which helped us get to know her, and get a feel for being in front of the camera. When it came to our wedding day prep, Marilee was incredibly organized, and provided a shot list and timeline for us to fill out in advance. It was perfect to have on hand, ensuring we got all of the shots we really wanted- in addition to so much more. Marilee’s previous work was a testament to the gorgeous pictures we could expect, but her bubbly personality, personable service and extremely timely response made her an absolute joy to work with. She was a Godsend in a situation that could have been extremely stressful just a month before our wedding.

On the day of the wedding, Marilee was early to the scene and she impressed our entire wedding party with her stealth during the ceremony, and with the way she handled our rowdy extended families in the post-ceremony group shots. She has amazing patience, but knew exactly how to get everyone to cooperate. I felt so calm with her running the show, especially since I didn’t have a wedding coordinator to orchestrate.

The pictures are beyond incredible!!! http://www.proimagesoftware.com/photo_viewer.php?Photographer=marileelangnerphotography&code=ternes&email=lindsayternes@att.net
I've been sending the link out to everyone and the responses have been enormously positive. I'm not bias, but these are the most beautiful wedding pictures I have ever seen. :) Marilee has a tremendous talent. She gave us both high quality and high quantity, and really captured that magnificent weekend in our lives. She took time to make sure our shots were edited perfectly and we received them about a month and a half after our wedding- an amazing feat given how many there were to go through.

We couldn't be happier, and I can’t recommend Marilee Langner Photographer highly enough. In the end it’s a miracle we ended up with her. She has a way of capturing your special day in a way that makes anyone feel like they were right there with you. Her work is sincere and shows warmth and genuine expression. We look forward to using Marilee to capture future moments in our life, and are more than happy to offer more information about our experience with her service: lindsayternes@att.net.