A Rustic Mountainside Wedding at a Private Residence in Heeney, Colorado

Ellen Smith (32 and a pediatric registered nurse) and Kent Dallow (33 and an intellectual property attorney) hosted an annual getaway with friends and family at his family’s cabin along the Blue River. So for the fifth annual celebration, they included their wedding in the festivities. A two-piece band, kerosene lanterns, plaid blankets embroidered with their logo and a dinner of smoked lamb set the “mountain romance” vibe, while sentimental touches and teachings from Taoism echoed the couple’s personalities. “We accented the decorations with fur and antlers—the style really fell into place,” Ellen says. The crochet top of her gown reminded Ellen of her grandmother who loved the hobby. She paired it with snakeskin boots she wore for her bachelorette party at Coachella. After a playful night of drafting invitations, the couple jokingly came up with a bear theme—and it stuck. “I cleared a number of dead trees from the area and used several to serve as our altar,” Kent says. Since Ellen is part of a beer tasting group, she and Kent tapped the leaders, who own Denver restaurants, to conceptualize the menu. Guests then munched on Palisade peach cobbler. Though they didn’t offer signature drinks for the alfresco dance party, Kent says: “There was plenty of whiskey to be had.” The newlyweds jointly lit a campfire as “a way to celebrate the start of our lifetime of adventure with one another,” Ellen says.