1. Real Weddings

A Whimsical Woodland Wedding at The Boulder Country Club in Boulder Colorado

Kat Reenstra (28 and an acupuncturist and herbalist) and Nick Dunbar (30 and a realtor, musician and gardener) planned a whimsical woodland affair in

Kat Reenstra (28 and an acupuncturist and herbalist) and Nick Dunbar (30 and a realtor, musician and gardener) planned a whimsical woodland affair in Boulder, Col. for their mid-summer wedding. The fantastical theme evolved out a small and unexpected detail that Kat stumbled upon while the pair were vacationing in Italy — a teal Salvatore Ferragamo tie embellished with petit squirrels, leaves and flowers. “I was immediately drawn to different shades of green and white and started envisioning gorgeous enchanted forest decor for the wedding,” says Kat. The pair enlisted the help of Heather Dwight of Calluna Events and Kitzel Ruth of The Perfect Petal to bring their vision to life and the result could not have been more stunning.

“I could not have asked for two more creative women to take on this dream and bring it to life. During our first meeting we were all giddy with excitement at the notion of dripping moss, ferns, succulents, air plants and different shades and textures of green with pops of purple, gold and cream,” says Kat. “I wanted every single table, bouquet and boutonniere to be different. At the table mockup, I think I might have shed a tear — it was so much better than I could have ever envisioned.” LMD Productions tied the whole look together with dramatic lighting draped with air plants, antiqued gold fabric, textured garlands and Southern smilax.

With music being an integral part of their lives, finding a venue that allowed Kat and Nick to really go all out in the music department was essential. The Boulder Country Club proved to be the perfect fit. No music restrictions meant the couple was able to bring in a rockin’ band to fuel the party all night long. The venue’s panoramic mountain views, elegant, light-filled event spaces and a large wraparound deck didn’t hurt either. Music was used as a way to mark each component of the day; an acoustic bluegrass music provided the tunes of for the ceremony; a swing band got guests in the mood to party during cocktail hour; and funk and soul band Euf?rquestra brought down the house during the reception. “There was so much incredible music surrounding us on our wedding day and every guest commented on how special it was,” says Kat. “We are blessed with so many talented people in our lives, and every musician who performed at our wedding was a personal friend to us.”

Kat and Nick made sure to include their “dog family” in all the wedding excitement and The Boulder Country Club’s dog-friendly policies made sure the couple’s canine clan was able to join them at the altar. A tip for the taking from Kat and Nick: “We really enjoyed taking our photos at our house before the wedding. It left more time to enjoy the wedding itself. I would recommend doing this to all future couples. Also, the first look is really great. I honestly had a lot of stress and anxiety on the days leading up to the wedding and seeing Nick before was wonderful to calm my nerves.”

With Kat being a fan of antique jewelry, Nick knew a vintage ring was a must for his proposal. He found a striking art deco design with a striking center stone and elaborate filigree detailing that ultimately set the tone for their wedding bands. “I ended up finding an antique band from the 1940s that was already contoured to fit around my ring, which worked out well,” says Kat. “Nick found his ring, also from the 1940s, in the same jewelry store, Classic Facets in Boulder. His is a really unique gold band with etched detailing. Very masculine, but not general at all.”
Kat and Nick welcomes their out of town guests with personalized tote bags filled with wedding weekend essentials and a few local treats to give them a taste of the wedding's locale.
Though Kat tried on countless wedding dresses on a trip home to the East Coast, nothing had the wow-factor she was after. It wasn’t until she went to Anna Be Bridal in Denver, Col. that she found the perfect gown. “The dress was by Watters and it was just so beautiful, comfortable and easy to wear,” says Kat. “I didn’t even have to wear a bra with it, which was oddly important to me! The material was so soft and romantic and I felt like myself in it. Most importantly, I felt the dress wasn’t wearing me, I was wearing it.” For the ceremony, she paired the look with a chapel length veil edged in delicate floral lace.
Playing off the floral’s earthy, natural vibe, The Perfect Petal fashioned a boutonniere from ferns, fiddleheads, berries and succulents for Nick to wear on his lapel. “We both came up with the enchanted forest theme and it really just expanded from there,” says Kat. “We envisioned moss, succulents, ferns and very romantic, unusual flowers.”
While the couple originally planned to host the wedding in their backyard, the stress of an at-home event eventually lead them to The Boulder Country Club in Boulder, Col. While the pair opted for an indoor reception, they hosted their “I do’s” outdoors on the expansive lawn overlooking acres of lush trees and the mountains beyond. To provide a taste of the whimsical decor to come, the pair lined the aisle with ferns, florals and moss and placed a traditional chuppah dripping in ferns, full bright blooms and succulent and moss-filled glass orbs at the end of the aisle, under which laid a silk carpet the pair had purchased in Turkey. “After my dad walked me down the aisle, Nick bent down and unstrapped my shoes, and we both stepped onto the carpet barefoot,” says Kat. “We stood there holding hands, surrounded by some really special gemstones that we had collected over the years. Standing under the gorgeous wedding arch, with beautiful flowers and air plants hanging around us, everyone else just seemed to disappear. It was a truly intimate and special way to create a space for just the two of us.”
The couple sent their ring bearer down the aisle with a rustic chalkboard sign bearing a cheeky message, "Has anyone seen the rings?"
Beyond the decor, Kat and Nick put a personal twist on their ceremony by writing their own vows and inviting their good friends to perform all of the music. “We had a guitar, violin and a stand-up bass playing traditional bluegrass and instrumental tunes,” says Kat. “I walked down the aisle to an acoustic version of ‘Waste’ by Phish. Our friends also performed ‘By and By’ by Bret Dennen and ‘Blue Rowboat’ by Tierney Kathleen, who also happened to sing it.”
It was important for Kat and Nick to include their four dogs into the wedding festivities and The Boulder Country Club’s dog-friendly policy made it possible. The dogs walked down the aisle with their wedding party and joined the couple at the aisle, making the ceremony a true family affair. “We also took all of our first look and ceremony pictures at our farm Sunny Acre. We really wanted to include our dogs in some of our wedding photos,” says Kat. “When I entered the yard and walked towards Nick in my wedding dress, our dogs all ran up to me and started stepping on the train. It was fun and hilarious and oh-so typical!”
To add an air of whimsy to the ceremony decor, The Perfect Petal draped the couple's chuppah with glass orbs filled with moss and succulents.
Hand-lettered escort cards were displayed atop a bed of moss dotted with silvery lanterns and an ornate arrangement of bright purple blooms, textured greenery and manzanita branches to create a whimsical display.
Nick and Kat’s team of wedding pros, including Calluna Events, The Perfect Petal and LMD Productions brought the couple’s vison to life in a big way for the reception. Each table boasted a unique arrangement of lush greenery, air plants and seasonal ivory and purple blooms to give the room an element of texture and depth, while panels of gold fabric and strands of twinkling lights upped the decor’s drama.rnrn“The food was phenomenal and the Boulder Country Club’s chef is amazing. Our guests couldn’t get enough of the food,” says Kat. “I really wanted to have family-style service, but with all of the decor we realized we didn’t have enough room on the tables for bowls and platters of food. We ended up having the servers go to each table with all of the sides and mains we had chosen and had them serve guests everything one-by-one. It ended up being really personal and many of my guests commented on how much they liked the service.”
While Kat and Nick were all about cupcakes for their post-dinner treat, they had Kim & Jakes Cakes whip up a small two-tier cake for the traditional cake cutting. The pint-sized confection featured textured buttercream frosting and was decorating with clusters of fresh ferns. “I really didn’t care about the cake too much to be honest,” says Kat. “I wanted to do cupcakes, but wanted to have a small cake to cut with the family cake knife. Everyone’s names and wedding dates are engraved on it. All of the desserts were dairy and gluten-free and were incredibly delicious!”