1. Real Weddings

Amy & Steve: A Winter Wedding in Vail, CO

It was love at second sight. Amy Benkoske and Steve Kisielica met for the first time through a mutual friend. But it wasn't until they bumped into eac

It was love at second sight. Amy Benkoske and Steve Kisielica met for the first time through a mutual friend. But it wasn't until they bumped into each other at a Halloween party (while Steve was on a date with a different woman) that Steve realized whom he should have been with. THE BRIDE Amy Benkoske, 28, a gallery owner THE GROOM Steve Kisielica, 33, a senior vice president of development THE DATE December 14 Steve called a few days after that second meeting, and the relationship took off from there. About one year afterward, Amy found herself being proposed to over dinner a week before Christmas. They married one year -- minus a day -- later. Amy and Steve live in Chicago but have spent so much time in Vail (they have a condo in the Valley where they celebrated many holidays with family) that they couldn't imagine getting married anywhere else. They enlisted the help of a Colorado wedding consultant to help with the long-distance planning.

The Couple
One hundred and thirty guests attended the intimate Roman Catholic ceremony at the Vail Chapel. Amy and Steve kept the decorations simple (greenery on the pews and potted amaryllis on the altar), as the Chapel features large, bright windows that open up to Vail Mountain and Gore Creek.
The First Dance