1. Real Weddings

Ranch Wedding in Saddlestring, Wyoming

Morgan was initially unimpressed with Stefan when she met him while working at a dude ranch in Wyoming while they were in college. “I thought Stefan w

Morgan was initially unimpressed with Stefan when she met him while working at a dude ranch in Wyoming while they were in college. “I thought Stefan was boring at first, and called him ‘vanilla’ until I actually got to talk to him,” Morgan says. “I went to grab a drink from the bar, and Stefan offered me one from his pocket -- I was hooked.” They spent the rest of the summer falling in love and moved in together in Boulder, Colorado, after college. The Bride Morgan Ralph, 24, magazine editor The Groom Stefan Bast, 25, student The Date September 6 Five years later, Stefan took Morgan for a hike in Eldorado Springs, Colorado. Morgan suspected something was up when Stefan couldn’t stop fidgeting during the hike, but it wasn’t until she suggested taking a break to check out the view that he finally dropped to one knee and popped the question. The two celebrated with a bottle of champagne that Stefan had snuck into his backpack.

Morgan’s cotton eyelet gown and her bridesmaids’ yellow cotton dresses were from Priscilla of Boston. She let the girls each pick their own dress in the same sunny hue so that they wouldn’t look too uniform standing at the altar.
As a creative nod to the past, Morgan wrapped her yellow and green bridal bouquet in the sleeve of her mother’s wedding dress. Inside the sleeve she tucked a handkerchief that every woman from her dad’s side of the family has carried on their wedding day.
Morgan’s friend created the four-tiered lemon chiffon wedding cake with raspberry creme filling. Stefan painted the cake topper using a kit he bought online. The groom’s cake was a carrot-cake replica of Stefan’s car iced to look like it was four-wheeling.
Instead of chronological table numbers, Morgan and Stefan used an idea from TheKnot.com and named each table a number that meant something special to them. For example, 1,911 was the number of days they had been together as of their wedding date.
Morgan and Stefan set up a candy bar in their wedding colors for fun, affordable favors. Guests enjoyed an array of sweets from monogrammed M&M’s to vintage rock candy. The bride and groom printed monogram stickers to seal plastic bags so that guests could take the treats home.
Morgan and her mother designed and printed the wedding programs themselves. The programs were displayed next to bunches of fresh, yellow gladiolas at the ceremony.
Morgan and Stefan had met their chef when he worked in the kitchen on the ranch, so it was only natural that they hire him for their wedding. The meal included buffalo and ahi tuna over ginger mashed potatoes, a pear and gorgonzola salad, and butternut squash soup.
Many of Stefan’s European family members were unable to attend the wedding ceremony, so the couple had one of Morgan’s bridesmaids read letters they had sent wishing them well. After the ceremony, the chairs and flowers were moved to the reception tent -- a clever way to save on rental costs!
To help make their recessional memorable, Morgan’s mother rented confetti canons and had guests fire off biodegradable confetti as the bride and groom exited.
Because Stefan is originally from Luxembourg, many of Morgan and Stefan’s wedding guests had a long way to travel. To make them feel at home, the couple placed a welcome bucket in each guest’s cabin, filled with organic lemonade, water, chocolate chip cookies, chocolates, postcards, lists of activities, and more.
In order to stand tall next to her 6’5” fiance, Morgan figured she would need to wear some kind of heels -- much to her dismay. After picking the ranch as their venue, however, she decided cowboy boots would be much more practical and work well with the setting.
The reception tent was set up on the ranch’s volleyball field.
Stefan learned to drive an old ice wagon the morning of the ceremony so that he could take Morgan to the place on the ranch where they had shared their first kiss. Stefan’s mom decorated the wagon with a “Just Married” sign.
Though Morgan and Stefan had intended to dance their first to Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight,” the wedding band started playing Garth Brooks’ “Calling Baton Rouge,” a fast-paced country song, instead. Rather than make their guests wait out two songs, the couple grabbed each other’s hands and headed for the dance floor. Later guests complimented them on their creative choice for a first dance song!