Calluna Events Associate Planner Alisha Eller is getting married on October 20, 2012. We are featuring a series of blogs from her as she prepares for her big day!! Thank you to Alisha for sharing the details in her final weeks!
I am the girl who has been planning my wedding since I was 10 years old. I come from a large family and I can remember attending weddings at a young age. It all seemed so magical to me as a little girl, the bride always looked so breath taking and the couple always seemed blissfully happy. I always hoped I would be the girl to catch the bouquet, and as I would watch the couple take the dance floor as husband and wife I couldn’t help but wonder when I would find my prince charming.
Well, about 2 and a half years ago I did meet my prince! After only 5 months of dating we both knew we had something phenomenal and took the big leap of faith to move 20 hours away from our family and friends in California and start a life together in Colorado. We have loved every minuet of our time together in Colorado.
On July 9th 2011 about a year after we moved to Colorado Jim purposed to me after a hike up at Betasso. It was the best day of my life and ended with an amazing concert at Red Rocks by my favorite band the Avett Brothers.
Jim had photographer Allen Krughoff of Hardcastle Photography
hiding to get shots of the proposal.
So Happy!
Jim flew out my best friend and her fiance from CA to surprise me! After the proposal we walked up to the picnic area and I was beyond shocked to find my family and closest friends there waiting with champagne and brunch!
After all of the congratulations from family and friends the questions started flying from every direction. “Where are you getting married?” “When are you getting married?” “Who is going to be in your bridal party?” “What are your colors?” “Band or DJ?” “Where will you honeymoon?” “What type of dress do you want?””Will you get married in a church?” “Where are you registering?’ The questions kept coming! It was a little overwhelming at first. Yes, I couldn’t be more excited to plan my wedding to the man of my dreams; but the other part of me just wanted to enjoy being engaged and not think about answering any of those questions just yet.
After about a month of getting used to having a diamond on my finger and calling Jim my fiance we set a date and decided on a venue. My advice to anyone recently engaged is to spend some time talking to your fiance about how you two envision your wedding. Do you want a large wedding with all of the family and friends you know in attendance? Would you like a more intimate gathering with only your closest friends and family? Do you want a destination wedding on a tropical island? Do you want your wedding to be on ranch or farm? At a vineyard? A lake you went to every summer growing up? I think it is really important for you both to talk about what the most important things are to you both for your wedding before any big decisions are made.
Jim and I had tossed around the idea of Lake Tahoe where we both have great memories or my heaven on earth Napa Valley. Before we even visited any venues my parents offered to host the wedding on their property. I wasn’t sure what Jim would think at first but he loved the idea. My dad had been wanting to plant grapes for a vineyard for a few years and this was his perfect excuse to actually do it. So we agreed that we would have a vineyard wedding on my parent’s property in California on October 20th 2012. We both love the fall with the leaves changing and cooler evening temperatures.
We decided to have our engagement pictures taken in the fall as well so we could capture the beauty of Colorado in the fall. We were so blessed to have Jody and Zach Zorn of Zorn Photography shoot our engagement photos. We started out at Pizzeria Locale on Pearl St. in Boulder. It is my favorite place to eat in Boulder because it brings me back to my days I spent living in Europe.
After the shoot at Pizzeria Locale we changed and headed up Boulder Canyon to get some outdoor photos.
Jim and I couldn’t have been happier with our Engagement photos. Jody and Zach did an incredible job of making us feel comfortable and relaxed. I just remember laughing and smiling A LOT! We truly felt they did an amazing job capturing our love for each other through photos.
My fiance Jim is insanely passionate about bikes and loves his job. He works at Boulder Cycle Sport! One of the owners of BCS is Brandon Dwight. One day Jim came home from work and said “You will never guess what Brandon’s wife does…” I excitedly asked “What?!?” “She is a wedding planner!” “What?!?! No Way!” I was so excited to hear this! I would have been just as excited if I wasn’t planning my own wedding. I had wanted to be a wedding planner since I could remember. In high school I started my own collection of Martha Stewart and Instyle wedding magazines and 10 years later I still have the collection going. I have been a high school teacher for the past 6 years and I absolutely love teaching teenagers, but my passion for wedding planning has never died. Whether I was happy in love or absolutely heart broken I would still buy the new Martha Stewart Weddings issue as soon as it hit news stands or watch Say Yes to The Dress, Platinum Weddings, My Fair Wedding or any show wedding related. The idea of a couple so in love and ready to commit their lives to each other is a beautiful thing and deserves a celebration.
I got the opportunity to first meet Brandon’s wife (Heather) at Jim’s BCS Christmas party. I was so excited to meet her! We got to chat a little about her job, Jim and my wedding plans and her and Brandon’s wedding. She was so nice!
A few months went by and as my school year was winding down I asked Jim to ask Brandon if Heather might need any help with weddings over the summer since I had some free time and I knew it would be her busy time of year. The timing couldn’t have been better! Heather did need some help and after I met and discussed details with her she invited me to assist her and Calluna Events with weddings!
It has been amazing to see Heather in action this summer. She is so incredible at what she does. I learn something new every time I work with her. I am constantly amazed at how she stays so calm and collected in any circumstance and does whatever she can to make each wedding she does the absolute best for the couple she is working with. It has also been fun to get different unique ideas from each wedding I help with. I love it when couples add personal touches to make the wedding their own. Some couples tend to stay very traditional, which is great; while others bring new traditions and ideas to the table, which is also wonderful.
Much love,
xoxo
Alisha
Calluna Events Associate Planner
Colorado Wedding Planner + Stylist
