1. Real Weddings

Josephine & Chris: An Outdoor Wedding in Denver, CO

Josephine and Chris designed a celebration that would reflect their personal style as well as their deep appreciation for Eastern religions. “We wante

Josephine and Chris designed a celebration that would reflect their personal style as well as their deep appreciation for Eastern religions. “We wanted it to reflect our philosophical outlook and our passions,” the bride explains. “Sleek lines and sensual details for a casual yet refined feeling.” THE BRIDE Josephine Taylor THE GROOM Chris Tobin THE DATE September 4 Though Josephine, 27, admits to having had a “huge crush” on Chris, 29, as an undergrad at the University of Colorado at Boulder (where both majored in religious studies), it wasn’t until a chance reunion three years later that there were sparks. Josephine, an artist, had just moved to San Francisco to pursue a graduate degree, while Chris, an organization development consultant, had been back working in his hometown for years. The two had their first date within a week, and two years later, Chris proposed. They soon began planning a stylish and spiritual wedding in the bride’s hometown, Denver.

The traditional orchid leis Chris’ grandparents would be sending from Hawaii for the bridal party provided a starting point, adding fuchsia as a bold accent to the pair’s minimalist black-and-white palette. The colors helped tie together the diverse Asian elements that Josephine and Chris preferred, blending the groom’s Japanese heritage, the bride’s Hindu upbringing, and their shared love of Asian art and cuisine.
After Josephine and Chris’ ceremony, guests then headed to the mother of the bride’s home, a historic house a few blocks away. The yard and patio were filled with tables covered with deep-fuchsia raw-silk runners a friend had bought in India—each was topped with centerpieces of ti leaves and cymbidium orchids in square glass vases. Lanterns dangled from the clear tent overhead, which was set up in case of rain.
Josephine’s three attendants wore leis made of fuchsia orchids and white tuberoses instead of carrying bouquets.
The ceremony unfolded at sunset in the Cheesman Park Memorial Pavilion -- a marble open-air structure boasting panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains and the Denver skyline. Josephine and Chris rented palm trees to create a more intimate space, while enormous tropical-flower arrangements demarcated the altar space.
Josephine wore a white, bias-cut sheath gown in satin-backed silk crepe by Monique Lhuillier.
Josephine and Chris exchanged vows they’d written themselves, which the bride says she felt was one of the most meaningful parts of the wedding. “We worked on them for the whole ten months leading up to the wedding,” she says, advising “make sure that yours reflect all of your feelings, thoughts, and aspirations. Those words, and the feeling behind them, will inspire you both for the rest of your lives together. They are the words that bind.”
“We had no dancing, because we don’t like to dance!” Josephine says, laughing. Instead, a concert sitar player and a tabla player performed classical Indian music through the cocktail hour and the reception. “It created an amazing atmosphere for talking, laughing, and eating,” she says. “The whole feeling was of an elegant, intimate dinner party.”
Guests found their seats at tables named with prints of iconic, Asian-inspired symbols, including a lantern, a wave, a kimono, and a Buddha.
Josephine and Chris cut a three-tier, square vanilla cake filled with homemade lemon and key lime curd. The white buttercream frosting was coated with three kinds of shaved coconut.