A Whimsical, DIY Mountain Wedding at Avalanche Ranch in Redstone, Colorado

Emily Folsom (32 and a speech pathologist) and PJ Goudreault (31 and the head brewer at Aspen Brewing Company) met through mutual friends. PJ proposed on vacation at Penny Hot Springs in Carbondale, Colorado. "I love surprises and this was the best one of my life,” she says. For their wedding, Emily and PJ chose to get married at Avalanche Ranch in Redstone, Colorado, because they loved the gorgeous canyon backdrop. They used a mint, gray, coral and mustard color palette for their vintage, garden-inspired wedding. “I like to say that our wedding was like the love child of a proper, Victorian woman and a Western cowboy,” Emily says. The couple (with the help of family and friends) watercolor painted every single one of the invitations, which also featured a hand-drawn peony from Emily’s mom. Keeping with the watercolor theme, they also hand painted the escort cards and guest book. Emily and PJ also created all of the floral arrangements themselves as well as homemade beer from the groom. Craving Colorado served a locally grown dinner with all organic ingredients and Village Smithy made 13 different kinds of pie for dessert. For favors, guests went home with mason jar terrariums full of moss and Colorado animal figurines (like elk or moose). One of the most entertaining parts of the wedding, though, was the silent disco that followed the live band. Since the wedding was in a canyon (with great acoustics!), and they couldn’t keep the neighbors up, they rented headphones and had a silent disco with their guests.