A Sophisticated Rustic Wedding at The Sanctuary Golf Course in Sedalia, Colorado

Kristin Sutej (27 and a wedding consultant at The Perfect Petal) and Dean Koelbel (26 and works in real estate development) met through mutual friends. Even though Kristin was not at all interested when they met, they became pretty serious a few months later. Dean proposed while they were on a trip in South Africa, which is where Kristin is from. “I was definitely not expecting it because he had told my sister-in-law, who is also one of my best friends, that it was not going to happen there,” Kristin says. “One morning we were on a game drive in Botswana and encountered several lionesses with their cubs. Dean reached outside of the vehicle trying to take a picture and caught the attention of all three lionesses. They came right up to the vehicle and were stalking us. After this I was so upset with him. We went back to our room after the drive, and I started crying. Dean began to laugh, and I was furious. Then he tells me the reason he is laughing is because he is about to propose. So he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It definitely made up for him almost getting us killed.” When it came time to plan their wedding, Kristin and Dean chose The Sanctuary because of its rustic, mountain-feel while still being close to downtown Denver. They used shades of purple, white and blue for their color palette and used gold accents for a little glamorous flair. They added drapery and candles throughout to add some romance to the shabby chic venue. Wanting to incorporate Kristin’s South African heritage (as well as her favorite animal), they printed elephants onto all of the stationery. For cocktail hour, the couple served Pimm’s, which is originally an English drink but is often served in South Africa. The favors were delivered to guests’ rooms and included South African candy, Colorado nuts and water.