Venue: Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield
Catering: Rocky Mountain Catering
Flowers: DIY
Cupcakes: Smallcakes in Lone Tree
Cake: Carrot per Julien's request because it's "part of our story," was made by a family friend
DJ: Rocco from Xpansion Audio
Market Lights: Firefly Events
Dress: Bespoke by Marine M Paris. I got to help design it so it’s completely one of a kind. I went hunting for the lace I wanted (geometric, not floral) and got to pick the buttons and trim details. I love it. It’s the best dress I’ve ever worn. (I could go on and on about this.)
Shoes: Custom Converse, Julien's idea, because “part of our story” is when I gave him his first pair of Converse ever for his 30th. One of our things.
Jewelry: I didn't buy anything. The diamond heart pendant necklace was my great-grandmother’s--something old. / My grandmother’s diamond and sapphire earrings were my something blue and the yellow gold ring is not meant to match but had the same stones so I wore it anyway [read: borrowed]. / The infinity bracelet with our names was a gift from my girls at my bachelorette because of our 8.8.18 date and our “forever with you” theme so it became something new.
Niki's rings: Brilliance
Julien's ring: Anthony Alferev on Etsy
Our ring carrier: was part of an Austrian tradition, in honor of Julien’s mom and her side of the family, which she bought in Vienna and then embroidered to personalize it. The bride and groom each write a letter and those go in the zipper pockets next to the rings in the middle. We decided to keep our letters private and not include them in the ceremony, as is sometimes done.
Our invitations and all paper things were designed by me (I used them as part of my application for my masters in Graphic Design) and made by me and my mom and friends, down to the watercolor flowers.
Photography: Drake & CO Photography + Films
How did you two meet?
We met at a Friday night house party of a mutual friend. (More a friend of a friend for Niki.) Neither of us wanted to go. We’d both been out for Halloween the night before but made the effort to go out again that night anyway. We’re both tall and both used to noticing other tall people. I saw him way on the other side by the window as soon as I walked in. He says he saw me walk in too. I went around with my friend talking to different groups and then someone introduced us. We barely talked to anyone else the rest of the night. By the time the party ended at 4 am, we had a date set for Sunday afternoon.
What was your favorite memory from the day?
Julien’s favorite memory was the first look moment, seeing Niki in the dress. Niki’s favorite memory was the first dance, talking together and being together and making Ju laugh so he wouldn’t be so self conscious. And also the one time he really choked up all day was during his dad’s speech, the part about his grandfather, and it had nothing to do with us but it was so sweet!
Did you go on a honeymoon?
The few days after the wedding still included activities with our families and friends since people had come from so far. Then we flew home to Munich for 24 hours to change bags and fly out again. We went to Dubrovnik and Plitvice in Croatia, and Lake Bled and Ljubljana in Slovenia. It was amazing. Niki is a Rick Steves fan and did all the research. Julien then came and changed half the plans. It ended in compromise. Some beach time to make Ju happy, some city exploring to make Niki happy, and some nature, hiking around the most incredible Gatorade-blue lakes at Plitvice, for both. [Advice from Julien would be: Work as a team, don’t forget to compromise.] We loved feeling Game of Thrones in Dubrovnik and stand up paddling on Lake Bled. We just enjoyed the time together and relaxing before coming back to work and school and real life. [Advice from Niki would be: take the time to honeymoon right after the wedding. I know some people can’t, but for us it helped come down from the last days of wedding planning stress and just get to be just the two of us, newly wed, enjoying each other.]