A Parkside Mansion Wedding
On August 3rd Brooke and Dan said "I do" at the historic Parkside Mansion in Denver, CO. The couple has spent the past year living in Ethiopia and spent their honeymoon in Madagascar before returning to Ethiopia for one more year.
While they love adventure and exotic travel, their vision for their wedding was to simply be surrounded by their family and close friends. "We wanted the wedding to be simple, with some classic and natural elements."
Brooke choose a color palette of sage green, gold and light pink. She wanted to keep it classic, simple and not too over the top. The couple decided to keep their wedding DIY projects small and manageable, which I would have to agree was a great idea considering they were planning it from Africa!
Brooke's bridesmaids wore sage green dresses in a variety of cuts, each highlighting their unique style and personality. Overall, the feel of their wedding was warm, friendly and full of the love that these two so clearly share.
The bride selected a few unique DIY elements that she wanted to feature at her wedding. She had a large map created that the couple used as their guestbook, which fit their personalities and love of travel perfectly!
She enlisted the help of her entire family to pull together the little details. Her mother made the gold accented candle holders and helped pick out the wrapping paper that would be used to wrap the books they used as centerpieces on the tables. Her sister in law, Jhanell helped create the table numbers with a simple, small gold stand and she also made the book page table runner for the sweetheart table. Brooke's father refinished glass doors so her sister Franca could use paint pens to write the seating chart. Her favorite crafted detail were the centerpieces, although she fully admits she didn't notice them until she saw her wedding photos!
Brooke's bride squad was made up of her two sister, her sister in law and her best friend. This gorgeous crew opted to wear our cotton and lace robes in coral and white while they got ready for Brooke's wedding day. I love when brides capture these moments before their wedding wearing Ella Winston robes!
Brooke's favorite moment from their wedding day were the speeches. She said "they were nice to listen to and it took the attention off of us."
The flowers were soft and classic with lots of greenery, accented with cream and light pink roses. Brooke said she wasn't too concerned about the flowers, she just told her florist their colors and they turned out perfect! Dan's family also brought a very small pink rose that had been dried to put in the bouquet, it came from an old rose bush that has been in the family for years.
In Brooke's own words: "My gown was my FAVORITE part! I loved it, felt so comfortable in it and love the pictures. I had to get it taken out an inch the morning of the wedding though!" Now that's a bride who knows how to roll with the punches!
The cheesecake, and mini flavored cheesecake, were made by Brooke's sister in law, Jhanell, although the bride says she never got to eat any, which is shame because they look delicious!
I asked Brooke what advise she could pass on to other brides planning their wedding she said: "Be prepared to brush off the little things and focus on the great things! Luckily my wedding party and family did this as well. Even when the hair place didn't have enough people to do our hair, everyone adjusted quickly so it wouldn't bother me and I just focused on the positives." I couldn't have said it better myself!
Congratulations Brooke and Dan! May your future together be full of amazing adventures and lots of love.
