Wedding Date | October 13th, 2013

Mary Ann had a sneaking suspicion that this particular birthday was “the day.” Longtime boyfriend Jason had planned an extended celebration weekend. They went out for dinner with friends. The next day they took a hike in the stunning Boulder Flatiron mountains followed by a couples massage. As the day went on, he didn’t seem inclined to pop the question.

Before dinner they had a little bit of time to kill, so Jason brought Mary Ann to their favorite park in Denver where they always walk their dog. He grabbed a bottle of wine and a few glasses, and when the conversation grew to the perfect point, he finally proposed.

“He had a little speech that was very well prepared and planned, and at the end, when I said yes, he said he had invited all of our friends and families to celebrate,” Mary Ann said.

Jason had arranged for their parents to secretly arrive in Denver to see the proposal happen from the other side of the park, and dinner reservations turned out to be an engagement party with all of the couple’s close friends and family.

“I was able to ask her dad in person and her mom and step dad I had to do over Skype,” Jason said. “I was trying to coordinate all of this three weeks before the proposal. Then I knew she knew the whole day. There were some times at the hike I would poke at her and tease her. It worked out really well.”

Mary Ann and Jason met in junior high and started dating their junior year of high school. Their relationship continued long distance as they went to separate colleges, including a brief break-up period during those college years. When they graduated in 2009, they decided to move to the heart of Denver. When they were choosing where to have the wedding, Colorado was the best spot for their coast-to-coast families to come and get a taste of their new life in the mountains.

“What more of a beautiful place to have it?” Mary Ann said.

They choose the Della Terra Mountain Chateau in Estes Park for the wedding venue. The plan was perfect, as their families and guests were treated to the sweeping vistas of Rocky Mountain National park and even some wild deer guests that wandered near the ceremony location.

Mary Ann’s creative style popped up in all aspects of the wedding. She chose a vintage travel theme for the day and then designed several pieces that reflected the couple’s story.

“It was really cool because we found an old school house map of the US,” Mary Ann said. “So we put string and strung it where everyone was from all of the way to Colorado, representing where everyone traveled from. My grandparents all of our flowers and put all of those together. We had antique and vintage things like old cameras and suitcases, and an old American flag that we draped over a palette. We had license plates and people went to those plates for their escort cards to find where they would sit. We keep all of those things around our house to remind us of the day.”

The Big Day

The evening before the wedding, Mary Ann spent the night alone at the Chateau, making space to clear her head and prepare her heart for the celebrations happening the next day. In the morning her bridesmaids joined her to get ready, and she and Jason exchanged gifts.

Jason did his best to keep out of trouble. He stayed with his parents the night before and then chilled with his groomsmen in the Chateau’s man cave room. They watched football, of course, and had a professional barber come and give them all a proper shave.

Before the ceremony, the bride and groom took their first look shots (a moment including their beloved dog) as well as all of their portraits. Adam Bradley of AdamFusion Films captured all of these moments and more as he worked to tell Jason and Mary Ann’s wedding story through film.

“Adam was everywhere,” Jason said. “When we were getting ready he was between both of where we were. We were only 50 yards away from each other. He was very good at being involved but not in the way. He had some very good suggestions. I even heard him telling the photographer about a couple of things. We knew he was there and capturing the stuff that we thought was important.”

Then the ceremony began. Mary Ann’s dad walked her down the aisle in her sleek sweetheart neckline lace dress. They exchanged personal vows, and doves were released as part of the ceremony.

“I was more even keeled than I thought it would be,” Jason said. “Everyone kept asking me if I was nervous, but I wasn’t. The day was well planned. The ceremony went great.”

For the cocktail hour and the reception, Jason and Mary Ann were able to stick together for the entire evening, mingling with their loved ones and celebrating under the stars. During congratulatory speeches, Mary Ann’s sisters even performed an original tribute rap. At the end of the party as the newly married couple departed for their happily ever after, their guests showered them with gathered golden aspen leaves.

“In the planning process, you start to realize that your wedding is so much about everyone else and not yourself, but not in a negative way,” Jason said. “It was wonderful to see everyone come, and so many people had never been to Rocky Mountain National Park. It was great for us to give that to people.”

“It was everything that we had hoped for,” Mary Ann said. “It was incredibly memorable.”

Photography by Mitch and Denise Photography @ www.mitch-denice.com. Below are some incredible images taken on Mary Ann and Jason’s big day!