Spectacular Spring for Shannon and Thiago

It is spring again in the mountains, and what better way to celebrate than to share an awesome wedding from June 2013. Our Canyons team worked with a fantastic couple from Chicago for this destination wedding. And, this was a real destination for many guests especially those one the groom’s side coming all way from Brazil. Those from the windy city and abroad were treated to a spectacular sunny day in Park City. Logan Walker from Pepper Nix Photography was onsite to capture all the spring magic.

 

We asked Shannon if she had any advice for future Red Pine brides. She said, “It’s so easy to get caught up with all the planning, budgeting, and coordinating…on the day of your wedding, what will happen will happen.  Don’t get upset over things, they’re just things… Just enjoy every minute of it with your new husband.”

If we can help you enjoy every minute of your wedding day, please let us know at canyonsgrandinfo@vailresorts.com

VENDORS:

Venue/Catering: Canyons Resort, Red Pine Lodge

Photographer: Logan Walker, Pepper Nix Photography

Cake: One Sweet Slice

Entertainment: DJ Pauly Entertainment

Design/Flowers: Harvest Moon Events

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Ski Season Wedding Magic

Winter destination weddings tend to be some of my most memorable over the year. I love when couples are able to combine their personal passion for snowboarding and their passion for each other. What better way to share your love of the mountains with your closest friends and family than invite them to an incredible ski resort like Canyons.  Erin and Pete exchanged vows at Red Pine Lodge this past December.  Kate Benson Photography was on hand to capture this early winter season event.

 

We had an interview with Erin afterwards and she had some really fantastic remarks about her experience planning a winter destiantion wedding:

What advice do you have for future brides who are planning a winter wedding?

“Enjoy every second of it – from the engagement, to the planning, to the day of.  Even all the stressful parts.  It is the only time in your life when everyone you know and love will all be in the same room just for you.  It’s over before you know it.”

 What was your most memorable part of the wedding?

“Everything!  But, coming from Chicago, we had quite a few skeptics in the crowd about our choice to get married half way across the country, in the winter, on a mountain.  I think the most memorable part for me was talking with them at the happy hour when they had amazed looks on their faces saying ‘Ok, I get it now.  This is spectacular’.”

What was your favorite detail that you planned? 

“I think my favorite detail was all of the “nerdy” nods to my husband. Inevitably, as soon as he put the engagement ring on my finger all the attention was on me during the wedding planning so I made sure I had a few surprises for him the day of.  Our entrance song was the Indiana Jones theme song.  The grooms cake was a delorean made out of rice krispies and when we were cutting the cake the DJ played “The Power of Love”.  Megaman was/is his favorite video game so I had cuff links made with an image of megaman for him.  But, I also had his 10 favorite boss battles made into cuff links for the men in our bridal party.  They were all so surprised and excited.  A few of them have actually worn them again too!  But my absolute favorite detail had to be when we snowboarded down a run after the ceremony and our friends and family were cheering us on from the bottom.  Snowboarding in a wedding dress with everyone looking on literally was the most terrifying event in my life – but totally worth it.”

Erin told us later that she fell so in love with the mountains, that they have actually relocated to a ski town!

If we can help change your life, please contact us at canyonsgrandinfo@vailresorts.com

VENDORS:

Venue: Canyons Resort, Red Pine Lodge

Photographer: Kate Benson Photography

Cake:   Cakes De Fleur (2-tier cake & groom’s cake)

Entertainment: DJ Paul Helms, DJ Pauly Entertainment 

Florist: Every Blooming Thing

Kim and Pete’s Epic Park City Destination Wedding

Our team had the pleasure of working with Kim and Pete, a fun and fantastic East Coast couple, over the summer. Like many of our destination couples, Kim and Pete started working with us about a year in advance to plan for their wedding. The two really triumphed with bringing pieces of their personal style, culture and personality to the rustic mountain setting.

I always ask our brides what advice they would give to our future Canyons Resort couples. I have to say without question that Kim’s advice was some of the best I have heard. She said, “Know your vision but also know your budget!  There are so many ways to achieve a given look.  It is very important to weigh the importance of every ribbon, gift, food and beverage item, and entertainment idea against each other.  Time spent on achieving or acquiring something for the wedding is also really easy to lose sight of as well.  Your wedding will be special no matter what, so make it work the best you can with the budget you have in place! ”

This entirely outdoor event at Red Pine Lodge was able to capture a lot of that advice. Kim definitely focused on some details that were important to her by having custom-made cufflinks for Pete in the shape of peanuts. She also brought in some authenticity of the area and her sense of humor by creating wooden wedding invitations, table cards and bar menus.  The table cards and bar menus had a ski theme – table cards were local Park City ski resorts and the bar menu used the ski trail difficulty signs (green circles, blue squares and black diamonds) to indicate the potential “potency” of each beverage type.

These incredible images provided to us by David Newkirk Photography.

   

When we asked Kim what the most memorable part was about her Canyons wedding, she said “The party!  Being with our family and closest friends was something I will never forget.  Everyone that made an effort to be with us in Park City really helped make our day so special!” 

If we can help with your special day, please contact us, grandinfo@canyonsresort.com

Vendors:

Venue and Catering – Red Pine Lodge, Canyons Resort

Flowers – Every Blooming Thing

Hair and Make Up – Paula Dahlberg

Wedding Planner – Soiree Productions

Photographer – David Newkirk

Entertainment – No Limits

Wedding Cake – One Sweet Slice

Custom designed Invitations/Table cards and bar menus – Courtney of Pine and Parcel (CA) http://www.etsy.com/shop/PineandParcel

 Custom Jewelry – Groom’s Cufflinks – Jen Townsend (NY) http://jentownsend.com/

July Romance for Ben & Richelle

As soon as I saw the proofs from Ben and Richelle’s wedding from this past July, I knew I had to share these on our blog. I absolutely love how soft and romantic their details were. With the help of Harvest Moon, I think that they were really able to pull together something dreamy and rustic at the same time.  The look is very cool and unique, and shows a very tasteful way to  bring both male and female energy to this event design.

I think we can allow the images tell this love story best. Thank you to Jacque Lynn Photography for sharing with us!

                                    

Another very cool aspect to this wedding was the food. Ben and Richelle wanted to meld their two cultures into their wedding menu, which featured a combination of Mexican inspired kosher dishes. As always, our Canyons Team was happy to get creative and design a spectacular menu with the couple.

Vendors:

Venue: Canyons Resort, Red Pine Lodge

Catering: Canyons Resort, Red Pine Lodge

Menu: BBQ Pulled Chicken Sliders, Tuna Tartar and Watermelon with Jicama Skewers to start; Chipotle and Honey Glazed Rib Eye Steak, Ancho Crusted Utah Trout and Eggplant with Manchego Chili Relleno, accompanied with southwest inspired side dishes like roasted sweet corn and hominy succotash and red pepper cilantro puree.

Photographer: Jacque Lynn Photography

Wedding Design/Planning Services: Harvest Moon Events

Florals: Harvest Moon Events

Wedding Cake: One Sweet Slice

Reception Entertainment: Life of the Party; DJ Rob Ferre

Officiant: Rev. Anita Gordon

Lydia & Tim Leave the Package Behind

Our Canyons Wedding Team works very hard to make the wedding planning process a simple and enjoyable experience. In doing so, we have designed several different levels of wedding packages for our couples to select from. But, we also strive to make every wedding feel unique and special for those bride and grooms. Many couples have ideas when it comes to food, wine, special touches to a timeline or setup.  Our Team is more than happy to offer creative suggestions to help put a couples’ personal spin on one of our packages or to totally customize.

Lydia and Tim definitely made Red Pine Lodge their own by walking away from our package plan and custom designing their event with our Event Managers. Their approach inlcuded a different ceremony and cocktail hour location than we would typically use, as well as a black and white checkered dance floor rental. They had a great idea to use different bottles of wine for their guestbook that would be opened for future anniversaries. In addition, they added a southern inspired twist on our menu for the evening, and created a “tunnel of love” send off to the gondola to cap off the event.

Thank you to Logan Walker with Pepper Nix Photography for sharing this awesome June 2013 wedding with us.

We asked Lydia what her favorite detail from the wedding was, she she said, “My favorite detail was the groom (and groomsmen) flowers. We saved the succulents and replanted them — the groom’s survived and is growing! It’s something special to have beyond the wedding and to watch it grow… etc.” Great advice for any couples out there with a green thumb!

Venue: Red Pine Lodge, Canyons Resort

Catering/Menu: Canyons Resort helped to customize a menu that featured a live action seafood station with Shrimp and Grits, as well as clams, mussels and scallops, as well as Crisp Maple Leaf Farms Duck Breast with Dried Apricot Brandy Glaze and a Garlic Seared Swiss Chard and Truffled Asparagus Risotto.

Photography: Logan Walker, Pepper Nix Photography

Wedding Planner: Eileen Dunn, Done to your Taste

Floral Design & Decor: Silver Cricket

Wedding Cake: Carries Cakes

Entertainment: The Soulistics

Ultimate Mountain Destination Wedding for Shavara & Jordan

There are few locations to select for a mountain destination wedding that would offer the same experience that Lookout Cabin can provide. The combination of the view from Lookout Peak, the rustic outdoor setting, intimate cabin indoor setting, and incredible views from the Orange Bubble Express that brings guests from the base of Canyons Resort to the wedding venue, make this such an ideal setting for our destination couples. The whole experience tends to blow the minds of our “coastal” wedding guests.

Based in New York City, Shavara and Jordan decided that was exactly what they were looking for when planning their wedding for July of 2013. They needed a venue to truly capture the essence of a mountain wedding. These images from Rebekah Westover show what a treat this experience was for the couple and their guests.

We asked Shavara what her favorite part of the whole experience was, and she said, “I think the most memorable part was the chairlift down.  It was great to have that time to recap the night.” I am sure that chairlift ride at night with a view of the whole town lit up, was probably a very memorable experience and once in a lifetime for most of her wedding guests too.

Thank you to our partners for making this wedding a beautiful success!

Venue & Catering: Lookout Cabin, Canyons Resort

Wedding Planner & Design: Michelle Leo Events

Photography: Rebekah Westover

Floral: Mayflowers Floral

Decor & Rentals: Diamond Rental

Entertainment: Life of the Party, DJ Rob Ferre

A Spring Gruv Wedding for Lauren & Stuart

 I do not think you could plan a more fun wedding than Lauren and Stuart’s, which took place this past March over our annual Spring Gruv weekend here at the Resort. They touched on every note– brilliant bright colors, fun patterns, great DJ, surprise bag piper for the groom, shot-ski and to top it all off, the couple joined in the annual Canyons spring ritual of Pond Skimming.  Mother Nature even blessed this couple with a blanket of fresh Utah Powder for their ceremony at Red Pine Lodge. This was nothing short of a perfect spring ski season wedding, and Amy Lashelle Photography was on site to capture the whole day of activities  (and weather).

For more on Pond Skimming, check out some video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aFvtcRfcyY.  You can see Bride and Groom here too.

If we can make your spring party dreams come true, contact us at grandinfo@canyonsresort.com

Vendors:

Venue: Red Pine Lodge

Menu: Dinner menu featured classic caesar salad, grilled filet mignon with shallot demi glace and buttermilk yukon gold mashed potatoes, and a Vegetable Wellington with seasonal vegetables wrapped in delicate pastry and served over a smoked tomato puree.

Wedding Cake: One Sweet Slice

Design/Decor/Flowers: Harvest Moon Events

Wedding Planner, Day of Service: Harvest Moon Events

Photographer: Amy Lashelle

Entertainment: DJ Jake Russell, High Rise Audio

Brittany & Stephen’s Midsummer Night Dream

It is snowing again today in Park City and I am hunkered down in my cozy office and wool sweater. And, while I am looking forward to hitting the slopes tomorrow, it does make me long for the warm, lush, green days of July again. So, to get us back in the summer spirit, we are sharing one of our great summer weddings.

Brittany and Stephen were married at Red Pine Lodge this past July. The couple were college sweethearts and spent many of their breaks at Stephen’s parents home here in Park City. They were excited to share the town with their guests and show them the best of what the mountains can offer. When we asked Brittany what her favorite thing about her wedding was, she said, “My favorite thing about my wedding was marrying my best friend….but about the Canyons was the gorgeous location and my guests loved riding the gondola!”

The couple chose green as a primary color for their event, and used soft feminine touches combined with a rustic woodsy feel.  They also added some playful touches like custom s’ mores for favors, to keep it fun and youthful, which matched  the couple. Truly, perfect for early July. Aria Photography was on hand to capture all the fabulous details.

As it turns out, Brittany may have been ahead of a trend using green. According to Pantone, Green is going to be the new hot color for 2013!

Venue: Red Pine Lodge, Canyons Resort

Photography: Aria Photography

Flowers: Every Blooming Thing

Decor/Rentals: Harvest Moon Events (formerly Productions by Canyons)

Entertainment: DJ Jake Russell

Wedding Cake: Carries Cakes

Catering: Canyons Resort/Talisker Events Group

Menu: A light summer seasonal buffet that featured tenderloin, chicken and included a fresh baby spinach salad with bright local strawberries, Utah goat cheese and pistachios, orzo pasta salad with Humboldt Fog cheese and chopped cucumbers, our signature Utah Trout with brown butter emulsion, steamed summer veggies and fingerling potatoes.

If Canyons can help make your summer dreams come true, please let us know, grandinfo@canyonsresort.com

As We Enter the New Year… (part II)…

About a week or two ago, we started 2013 with our “best of the best” portraits and first look shots. We started with winter and fall. In this installment, we show you some awesome shots from our spring and summer season on our mountain. We love these images for how they showcase our resort and show so much creativity. We invite you to share the love with us…

Photo by: Brody Dezember

Photo by: Zuma Photo

Photo By: James Erick Photography

Photo by: Opie Foto

Photo By: Mike Shirf

Photo By: Britt Chudleigh

Photo by: Brody Dezember

Photo by: Zuma Photo

Photo by: Logan Walker

Photo by: Zuma Photo

Photo by: Zuma Photo

Photo By: Mike Oblinski

Photo by: Zuma Photo

Photo by: Bruce Gardner

Photo by: Britt Chudleigh

Photo by: Zuma Photo

Photo by Zuma Photo

Photo by: Zuma Photo

Photo by: Zuma Photo

Photo by: Zuma Photo

Photo by: Mike Oblinski

Photo by: Zuma Photo

Love these images as much as we do? Check out the fantastic photographers:

Zuma Photo

Britt Chudleigh

Bruce Gardner

Opie Foto

James Erick Photography

Mike Olbinski

Brody Dezember

Logan Walker

Mike Schirf

As We Enter the New Year…

As we enter in to a new year, it is always fun to reflect on the great achievements, events and stories of the past. In looking through all the incredible photos we have received over the past few years, we thought it would be fun to come up with a “best of the best” of first looks and portraits from our mountain weddings. In this two part installment, we tried to pick photos we thought really either showcased our resort, or were just super creative and interesting shots.

First up, winter and fall (my two favorite seasons). So, please take a deep sigh, relax, enjoy and feel the love… Happy New Year!

Photo By: Sweet Memory Garden

Photo By: Pepper Nix Photography

Photo by: Erin Kate Photography

Photo by: Zuma Photo

Photo by: Sweet Memory Garden

Photo by: Sweet Memory Garden

Photo by: Jessica’s Photography

Photo by: Britt Chudleigh

Photo by: Rebekah Westover

Photo by: Jessica’s Photography

A huge thank you to our supporting photographers:

Zuma Photo

Pepper Nix Photography

Britt Chudleigh

Sweet Memory Garden

Jessica’s Photography

Erin Kate Photography

Rebekah Westover