Whitney and Trey had a magical wedding day at Spruce Mountain Ranch. They had their ceremony at the aptly named Trey’s Vista (the upper ceremony area). Whitney described their wedding style as ‘elegant rustic’. They were inspired by Colorado, since most of their guests came from out of town and they wanted to show them how amazing Colorado is. Read more below for a Q&A with the bride about how they planned their day.
Here is a Q&A with the bride and groom:
Why did you choose this town/location for your wedding?
Whitney: “We wanted to be close to Colorado Springs and we wanted an outdoor ceremony. Spruce Mountain Ranch fit what we wanted on paper, and when we went to look at it we just knew it was for us. Between the eagles reminding us of Trey’s grandpa and the fact that the ceremony location was named Trey’s Vista it was an easy decision.
What is your color palette? Navy blue, peach, white
How did you personalize your day? Describe any home-made DIY details:
“Home-made Palisade peach jam that my mom and I made together, jars bought from Amazon, personalized stickers I made through Vistaprint, and tags “jam packed with love” from Etsy. DIY coaster seating chart (went to local breweries for several weekends leading up to the wedding to collect coasters from the local breweries) and table number picture frames matching the brewery on the coaster for each table. We also made our own corn hole boards – one had a Colorado flag on it (where we live now), and one was an Arizona board (where we are from). My father-in-law also made us an over-sized Jenga game, and an amazing cake stand out of a tree stump from their family cabin with our names in a heart.”
What is your favorite ceremony memory?
Trey: “Seeing Whitney walk down the aisle – she looked so beautiful and happy.”
Whitney: “My favorite part of the ceremony was when Trey and I got so distracted looking at each other and smiling that we forgot to respond to our officiant!”
What family, cultural or other traditions did you follow?
Whitney: “I wore Trey’s grandmother’s 100+ year old necklace. It is tradition for all her granddaughters to wear it on their wedding day. I used my parent’s cake topper, knife, and server from their wedding. My mother-in-law also had a personalized bouquet charm made for me that looked beautiful on my bouquet.”
Describe the reception decor? What was your favorite detail?
“When we were planning what we wanted our wedding to look like all we kept thinking was Colorado. We knew that most of our guests would be traveling from other states and we really wanted them to experience the Colorado we have fallen in love with. For us this meant being outdoors, amazing views, and of course beer. When picking flowers we wanted something other than traditional roses and wanted a little bit of a wildflower feel but a little more elegant than that and Karen (Garden Path Events) was able to design exactly what we wanted when we didn’t even know what we wanted! We also knew we wanted the décor to match the venue and not take away from it since it was so gorgeous already. We went for rustic without crossing into country.I loved everything about our decor, the DIY picture frame table numbers featuring local breweries (and the matching coaster seating cards) was a personalized touch because Trey and I love to try new local breweries whenever we can. I also loved our cake stand that my father in law made for us and it now is featured in our home. I loved our Mr. and Mrs. Signs at our table that Trey’s sister got for us, and we loved our chalkboard signs that his sister also took the time to write for us.”
Most memorable moments?
“The first was my First Look with my dad. I am definitely a daddy’s girl and being able to have that private moment with him meant so much to me. I have NEVER seen Trey dance like he did at our wedding. When we go out I have to drag him on the dance floor to just stand there, but at our wedding he lived on the dance floor and even played the air guitar. A moment on my wedding day I will never forget is when my photographer Mark Creery had to clasp the top of my dress for me because my mother and bridesmaids couldn’t see it well enough to do it. Mark was such a trooper and saved the day!”
“Trey is way too shy to ever stand up in front of so many people and recite his own vows so we chose to write them in a card to each other which we read before the ceremony (without seeing each other).”
Their love story:
Whitney: “Trey and I attended the same junior high and high school, but did not start dating until college. In high school we had a few run ins since our groups of friends overlapped. One night we even flirted and danced (at a house dance party). A few weeks later we ended up racing each other in our trucks (both full of friends) and I kicked his butt. The real romance started when we were both up in Flagstaff visiting friends (my maid-of-honor) for a weekend when he saw me stumbling out of the bar Maloney’s and yelled “is that Whitney Homer?” to which I turned around flipping my hair (feeling proud that someone knew/recognized me in Flagstaff) and said “Yes, it is”. From then on we started car-pooling up to Flagstaff to visit our friends, but we both knew we were going up there to be able to have long car rides together and not really to see our friends. I realized that he actually liked me when I could just tell that we kept catching glances. Trey has always been shy and moves very slow when it comes to relationships – we have been together for about 6 years now.”
Trey: “I do not remember exactly when we first met, but I do know it was in junior high. She was also a very out-going individual who was not shy about talking to people. She always caught my eye with her beauty but also her confidence. When we first started to actually “talk” was after we re-united one night up at a bar in Flagstaff, Arizona. I’m pretty sure I was only able to talk to her with a little bit of liquid courage.”
Where was your first date? What were the first words you spoke to one another?
“I’m not sure about the first words, but our first date was when Trey finally asked me to go see a scary movie. I remember thinking I hated scary movies, but I pretended I liked them and that I was scared so I could keep scooting closer and closer and try to grab his hand since he wasn’t making he moves. As I said Trey is shy and moves slow so at the end of the date I was the one that kissed him.”
How did you propose or accept the proposal?
“When Trey proposed I was completely shocked. We had talked about it a lot and then his grandpa passed away so things were kind of put on hold… or so I thought. He made it a big deal that we had to go up to Hanging Lake the day before we moved to Denver. I thought it was because I had given him such a hard time because I had told him since I moved to Colorado that I wanted to do the hike, and had been complaining that now we were moving and I was starting school that we wouldn’t have time anymore. So I was irritated that I had so much to do for the move and he was making me go do this hike out of spite. When we got to the top he wanted to take a picture so we set up a GoPro and got ready and then waited… and waited… and waited. It felt like forever and he kept saying there were too many people in the background. Finally he was ready and got down on one knee. The first words out of my mouth, with a gigantic smile, were “is this really happening?” the rest felt like a blur and then I remember saying yes and hugging him. From the video it showed just how excited I was about the ring because in the beautiful moment when we were hugging, I was holding my hand up behind Trey’s back just staring at the ring. I couldn’t believe that Trey was so incredibly nervous and I was clueless.”
Vendors:
Venue: Spruce Mountain Guest Ranch, Trey’s Vista and Ponderosa Room
Event planner: The Garden Path Co.
Floral Designer: The Garden Path Co.
Caterer: Buffalo Gals
Officiant: Keith Horstman
DJ: TH Entertainment – TH Entertainment, Tasos Hernandez
Cake artist: Buffalo Gals Bakery
Hair/Make-up: Haute Hare Salon
Video: Andrew Nease Video
Dress Store: Something New Boutique
Bridesmaid Dresses: David’s Bridal
Men’s Attire: Men’s Warehouse
Invitation Designer: CJ Kard