Explosion of Color: Wedding planner Caroline Fair was responsible for the surprise color bomb. “We passed them out to the wedding party while [Cara and Emory] were taking couple portraits,” she remembers. “All of the sudden, they popped them, and the couple loved it.”

Photo by John Cain Photography

Mixing Styles: “I thought I wanted a floral, lace, boho dress,” Cara remembers. But upon slipping on this Romona Keveza gown, she says, “ It just felt right.” The bride loved the streamlined, classic look—especially paired with her complex, rich bouquet and veil, which featured handpainted gold abstract florals to echo the color of the trees. Meanwhile, her groom donned a custom merlot velvet jacket and a pair of cufflinks she had made from a piece of petrified wood they found on a hunting trip while dating.

Photo by John Cain Photography

Boots With the Fur: Cara fell in love with these boots while out shopping with her mom but didn’t purchase them on the spot. When she called the shop later, they had been sold. Little did she know, the surprise buyer was her mom. “When I went to do the first dress fitting, she surprised me with them,” says Cara.

Photo by John Cain Photography

Mise en Scene: Color Box Designs created a suite of custom scenes to serve as menu cards at each place setting. “Those were all things that were meaningful to [Cara and Emory] and their love for Colorado,” Caroline says. The scenes included mountains, columbine flowers, fly fishing, native animals, and, of course, Aspen leaves.

Photo by John Cain Photography

Photo by John Cain Photography

Puppy Cam: The bride’s Vizsla, Ollie, had to be a part of the big day. He donned an Aspen wreath and even served as videographer during the cocktail hour. “We put a GoPro on him,” Cara says. “It’s one of the funniest things—he covered the whole cocktail hour perfectly!”

Photo by John Cain Photography

Frozen in Time: The bride enjoyed how the ice sculptures at the champagne cocktail bar revealed an “organic shape in a streamlined form,” much like the combination of her dress and bouquet.

Photo by John Cain Photography

Photo by John Cain Photography

Tucked Away: “We called it ‘ceremony island,’ because you cross a bridge over to this island where we had string instruments and Aspen leaves instead of rose petals,” the bride recalls. “That long approach made it really impactful.”

Photo by John Cain Photography

Photo by John Cain Photography

Raising the Bar(ware): The bride’s cake featured a pumpkin caramel flavor to keep with the fall setting. But the stag-accented “champagne steins,” as the couple called their toasting flutes, stole the show. “We brought those out and toasted with them on our first anniversary,” Cara says.

Photo by John Cain Photography

Photo by John Cain Photography

Warm Welcomes: The couple hosted a welcome party complete with live bluegrass, cocktails, and s’mores. They also opted for a rehearsal brunch rather than dinner.

Photo by John Cain Photography