This Romantic Wedding in the Colorado Foothills Paid Homage to the Bride's Japanese Heritage

In a way, Kaylee Yoshimoto and Karl Johnson's wedding paid tribute to her grandmother, who passed away in 2009. "When she would talk about me getting married, she would say, 'I can't wait for you to be married so I can see your beautiful dress. You could even wear my wedding kimono if you wanted, you would look so elegant,'" Kaylee says. "I wanted to honor her by wearing the kimono for part of the day, and I changed into it for the reception. The design on the kimono was so beautiful and ornate that it served as the inspiration for the entire wedding." Indeed, the kimono design inspired the couple's wedding invitations, day-of signage and wedding cake. In keeping with Japanese tradition, Kaylee and Karl wed in front of a traditional origami paper crane backdrop (called a senbazuru) that hung from the trellis at the ceremony site. "The crane is regarded as a mythical creature that can live up to a 1,000 years in Japanese culture. An ancient legend promises to grant the wishes of anyone who folds an origami crane for every year of the crane's life," Kaylee says. Kaylee's family, along with the bride and groom, folded each of the paper cranes from white origami paper. The ceremony site also boasted romantic string lights, a wooden wedding arch and tree-laden views. The couple shared in a San-San Kudo Sake ritual, in which sake is exchanged between the bride, the groom and their parents to symbolize the strong bonds between both parents' families and the newly established couple.  After the ceremony, the senbazuru was taken down from the trellis and displayed in the reception hall, where guests drank signature cocktails named after the couple's three kittens. Kaylee surprised her guests by changing from her original dress, a romantic fit and flare number with cap sleeves, into her grandmother's kimono. "Changing into the kimono was one of my favorite moments of the day. The entire process of being dressed in the kimono is extremely elaborate and having that moment with my family and family friends was emotional as they were putting the same kimono on me that my grandma was wed in," Kaylee says. Karl and the groomsmen coordinated nicely with black suits, while the bridesmaids wore burgundy dresses with classic bouquets.