The wedding planning is now underway! My mom arrived in Colorado on Friday afternoon for our first weekend of venue visits. We had a fun family night with Kelly, Nate, the girls and Mike’s parents. Wedding talk was in full swing with plenty of wine as well.
Saturday was an early day–the alarm went off at 6:45 a.m. so we could fit in three showers before our trek to Estes Park. After a much-needed Starbucks run we braved the cold wind and windy roads to Estes. It was beautiful up there because everything is still covered in snow. Our first stop was an amazing mountain chateau with breathtaking views of the mountains and meadows of Rocky Mountain National Park. I have to say, listening to all the “options” and “setup” possibilities made my head spin…at some points of our tour I wasn’t even really listening because I was completely overwhelmed. That said, Mike and my mom were obviously much calmer than me and both fell in love with it right away.
We spent a few more hours in Estes after the chateau site visit to show my mom main street and drive by a few other potential venues–many of which were dark and musty log cabin style spaces that I just can’t picture for the big day. 
After Estes we drove to Boulder for a site tour of the St. Julien. It’s a beautiful hotel with amazing views of the Flatirons. By this point I was completely torn between Estes and Boulder, and Mike’s eyes were glazing over from talk of linens, tables and band vs. DJs. It was time for beer…which he enjoyed in the St. Julien lobby while I finally got my much-needed glass of champagne.
So, we’ve got some big decisions to make in the coming days because believe it or not–sites are already booking well into May and June of next year! Today and tomorrow will be filled with my mother, an organized Excel genius, crunching many numbers to see what will really work.
Stay tuned for the big date/venue announcement!
