WILDLY ROMANTIC WESTERN THEMED WEDDING IN DURANGO, COLORADO

wedding dress designer

alena leena

a wildly romantic western themed wedding in durango, colorado. #aandbabe olivia and scott executed their unique wedding vision with ease.

from personal touches to playful activities, their three day long wedding weekend was quite the celebration. if you want a big day that makes the local newspaper (mhmm, that happened), gather some ideas below!

a halloween love story

olivia and scott first met on halloween at a concert in 2012!

olivia approached scott and found herself behaving a bit more boldly than she typically would. she struck up a conversation, reflecting that “it was definitely love at first sight”.

the two would lose each other in the crowd, but fate would bring them back together for a brief sidewalk encounter later that night.

a few days later, scott found olivia on facebook and that’s how their love story began!

wildly romantic western themed wedding in durango, colorado.

when picking a place to host their wedding weekend, durango, colorado made the most sense.

olivia shares, “we chose to get married in durango, co — the town we met in and scott grew up in. we’re blessed to have so many friends from our younger years that we met in durango still in our lives, so we decided to make a nostalgic weekend out of our wedding celebration bringing everyone back to durango for three days of events”.

planning a wedding in durango, colorado

when planning their wedding events, olivia and scott tried to focus on fun places for their guests, many of which played a part in their relationship and upbringing. 

wedding float on the animas river

for their first wedding weekend activity, everyone gathered at the animas river for a float.

“we started with a 60+ person float down the animas river like we did in the good old days (we had so many people we got featured in the local paper!).”

carpeted wedding aisle inspiration

wanting southwest colorado wedding decor, olivia and scott landed on decorating their wedding aisle with carpets.

“we tossed the idea of a traditional altar and walked down vintage rugs from our own home to marry below a giant willow tree.”

private wedding dance party at the animas city theatre

after their day of river floating, olivia and scott hosted a private dance party.

with much thought put into this wedding dance party venue, olivia and scott landed on hosting this private party at the same place they first met!

“everyone rallied for a private dance party at the animas city theatre — the venue we met at on halloween in 2012!”

train wedding photos

olivia and scott even adjusted their wedding day timeline so they’d be able to snap photos beside a local train.

“tucked in the animas valley below durango's classic red cliffs and between the river, ponds, and train track, the wedding was an ode to southwest colorado. we hired a bluegrass band, and timed photos with the durango/silverton train.”

unique wedding ideas for western themed wedding

as you can see, a lot of care and consideration went into olivia and scott’s wedding weekend and the same can be said of their wedding day.

the couple went to great lengths to personalize their ceremony and reception.

below are a few of their most unique personal wedding details!

wedding cocktail inspiration

besides their modern and vintage wedding decor, their creative wedding stations were also an incredible feature.

guests got to personalize their wedding cocktails and mocktails by trimming their own rosemary garnish.

olivia shares how she placed rosemary plants “into my great grandfather's wooden dresser for guests to snip their own cocktail or mocktail garnish”.

relaxed and romantic southwest colorado themed wedding

the love that surrounded olivia and scott is evident in every photo.

ending her wedding submission with a heartfelt note, she states, “and while it will be one of the biggest days of our life, it's the day to day together now and forever that we're most grateful for.”

sending love to you both, olivia and scott!

monstera by alena leena wedding dress

finding 'monstera' wedding dress by alena leena at a&bé denver, olivia loved this simple silky sheath wedding dress.

the corset bodice made a statement and perfectly tied into their western wedding theme.

dress designer: alena leena / bridal shop: a&bé denver / photographer: elizabeth wells photography / second photographer: brandon harwell photography / venue: river bend ranch / planning: olivia titus design / styling: willa vaughan / florist: grande fete design / signage: so very lovely / mobile bar: sips and giggles / earrings: dante perozzi / audio guestbook: after the tone / catering: et voila catering / makeup: lula bess / hair: deloro salon / tux: indochino / bride’s hat: the cow lot / groom's hat: kemo sabe aspen / band: six dollar string band / dj: stephen sellers

feeling inspired by the careful curation of this wildly romantic western themed wedding in durango, colorado?

Rebecca Long