monthly synopsis: episode 10

1. The loveliest of dinners
2. Experimenting with granola
3. Green Mountain hike-could be one of the last Boulder hikes for a while :(
4. Breakfast is my favorite meal.
5. Meg FINALLY visits Fort Collins and promptly goes into labor the next day.
6. Cotton candy sunrises every morning.
7. Mills/Jewels Valentine hike in Rocky Mountain National Park
8. Brunch with friends
9. Baby celebration at Under the sun

an almost zero waste wedding

I cannot believe it's already been 7 months since our wedding day! Now that I remembered my login for freshopenair, I thought it would be good to share some of our almost zero waste wedding.

I underline almost because it surely was not 100% waste free, but we freaking tried. We tried so hard and I believe we deserve at least 8 out of 10 gold stars for that.

1. Rings
We chose not to get an engagement ring and instead both got handmade bands on Etsy.

2. Venue (s)
We knew long ago that we wanted to be married in the mountains. We chose Brainard Lake Recreation area near our home, because it was where we got engaged, it was free and we didn't need a permit. We wanted a site where we could make all of our own decisions regarding waste. For dinner we chose a local (AWESOME) restaurant called the Boulder Tea House. We had visited before and we knew that they had cloth napkins, table settings, and mostly did not have a lot of the inherit restaurant waste.

3. Food
After the ceremony we had a little breakfast at some nearby picnic tables. I made cloth napkins (out of scrap fabrics, an old shower curtain and some new fabric). My mom and I collected mason jars (thrifted and already had) and I made little jar cozies (out of scrap yarn), which people took home later as a party favor. We had coffee in giant thermos containers that we borrowed from a local coffee shop. They also provided us with cream, sugar, (all in mason jars!!) and mixing spoons which we later returned. I borrowed a lot of serving platters and carafes from friends/family and opted out of table cloths. We ordered pastries from a local bakery and picked up a bunch of fruit from Costco. These were all in plastic containers which we recycled later.  We purposely chose finger foods to avoid having to get any silverware. I brought a couple butter knifes from home for jam and butter for the pastries but otherwise no silverware. It was such an easy clean up and pretty hassle free! Lastly any organic waste was taken home to be composted.

4. Invites
 We sent an email save the date, 10 months prior because most people were traveling. 3 months prior we sent out recyclable paper invites that a good friend designed. We could have opted out of sending these but they are very dear to my heart and I love them.


5. Gifts/bridal shower
For the bridal shower, I registered at one place for a small collection of items that we really needed. I think the important part here is to really look at the things you already own and make sure you aren't just replacing for the heck of it. We already had plates, bowls, cups, silverware and pots/pans-most were handed down to us from Sean's parents long ago-but are awesome and completely usable. I also had my mom organize for people to chip in for a Dutch oven and this was the best idea ever! We use it multiple times a week. It is well made and hopefully lasts us a lifetime.

For wedding gifts we sent a little note along with the invite that had a little spiel about no gifts since most people had traveling expenses. Of course people are extremely generous and kind during weddings and wanted to give something so we also wrote that they could contribute to our honeymoon fund. I knew there would be some straggler gifts here and there but the ones we did receive were really thoughtful and amazing.

6. Welcome/gift bags
Because of the number of people traveling who would be spending money and time to come support us, we really wanted to show our appreciation. We purchased canvas grocery bags from our local whole foods (it has our city name with some mountains, so cute) and we filled it with some goodies. We purchased bulk snacks and put them in individual cotton tea bags. We also included some local tea. Since our ceremony was in a place with no service we had directions to the site printed on recyclable paper, along with a welcome/thank you letter.

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In general we opted out of a lot of the traditions that may have caused us to have to think about more waste. We didn't have a bridal party, I didn't get my hair or makeup done, we didn't do flowers and/or decorations. It was very simple, family/friends oriented and very 'us'. Another thing to note was that many of the people that came were excited about the lack of trash and they noticed! I so happy that we were able to start a conversation about waste consumption, especially at a wedding!

I think that the biggest thing was not about waste but what kind of wedding we were able to have because we chose not to focus on certain things. It was crazy at times but I felt I was able to soak it all in. The love, the family, the friends and the nature. It was such an amazing day.

Mistakes to learn from:
-Both Sean and I bought brand new clothing for the day. Sean's suit has since been worn many times (his button up shirt he wears at least once a week!) And I have worn mine ZERO. I knew immediately that I made a mistake when I purchased my dress. It's hard to not get sucked into all the crazy consumer ideas during weddings..I'm currently in the process of designing a project with said dress to redeem myself. For the dinner I wore a casual dress that I borrowed from a good friend who wore it at her wedding. I probably should have used that for the whole thing!

There are many resourceful and cheap options for wedding clothing, you can thrift, borrow from a friend or even just wear what you have!

-i stressed waaaaay to much about keeping it zero waste and making sure that no one else was breaking any trash rules.

If you are thinking about reducing waste in any part of your wedding, good for you! It is a lot to even think differently than what would be considered normal. Don't stress to much because you are trying your best!

Well I think that's it! I'm sure there were a lot of other things here and there that I can't remember but if anyone is in the midst of planning a wedding with any questions or are in need of resources, reach out! I'm more than happy to help, and happy wedding!

Note: the photos above were taken by Kandice Breinholt who is THE QUEEN. She has a beautiful understanding of love and weddings that she somehow magically captures in every photo! You can see her work here--http://www.kandicebreinholt.com/

wedding story (for posterity purposes)

I spent the night before with a few of my girlfriends in a hotel room. I shared a bed with Chelsea on a pull out couch and probably had the best night's sleep I've ever had. I awoke early in the morning and now recalling I hope I showered but I truly cannot remember. My mom and her cousin came in the morning and fixed themselves on the ground in their pajamas and worked on a flower crown while gabby curled my hair. I didn't even think to bring hair bands or bobby pins but luckily my sister and friends were prepared where I was lacking. Nothing would have been accomplished without any of these girls. I put my dress on and with Louie in tow, picked up coffee from a local coffee shop and Katie drove us up to the Indian peaks wilderness. 

When we got to the pay station the volunteer saw me in my dress, congratulated me and let us in for free. This made me cry a little. We pulled into the parking lot and Sean was already waiting in his handsome navy blue suit.

Our family and friends slowly began to trickle in. My parents had not arrived yet , so we decided to exchange vows while we waited. Kandice (who is more than just photographer, i.e. hero), Sean and I walked toward our ceremony spot right at the lake and read each other our prepared letters. I was so shocked to hear how tender Sean's letter was. I can remember perfectly, his quiet voice over the blustering wind that day reading the most beautifully prepared words. I read his vows from time to time and it brings me back to this magical day. I felt a huge wave of relief after we shared this secret moment together. It felt so quiet and peaceful and truly us. It was the one moment that day that I felt really belonged to us. Those five minutes only existed for me and him.

We returned to our company and with perfect timing my side of the family arrived and we assembled in a group and walked back to the lake shore. This was another one of the moments that I hope to never forget. We didn't have a isle to walk down so we walked as a group to the ceremony spot. I was in the front with my sisters and I'm just realizing now that Sean was not anywhere near me but it felt right. Sean and I began as two separate people.

Our years of partnership have not been held together just by us. It was absolutely a collective, community brought relationship. Each person there has given us advice, helped us when we struggled, celebrated milestones...and walking all together was a very appropriate literal and symbolic scene. And I loved it.

Sean's father married us with his beautiful heartfelt words. The ceremony included Native American prayers and his own reflections and I still can't get over how wonderful it was. The sun was so strong and bright and felt so good on my bare shoulders. I felt so connected with nature and with my people. It really was so awesome.

Afterwards, we enjoyed each other's company as we had a little breakfast at the picnic tables. It wasn't fancy and I don't remember significant romantic moments with Sean but we had such a happy time.

Other things to note and life lessons that were learned:

Sean was almost pulled into the lake by our INSANE dog. Literally insane. It was so funny and he was such a hassle but I'm so glad Louie was with us. Lesson 1: Do more leash training with your dog if planning on bringing him/her to special event.

Right before we started the ceremony a couple hikers passed by us and it was so Colorado.

I did my hair exactly how I said I wouldn't. UP! With my ears exposed! But it's been good therapy because ears are ears and I shouldn't care! (I do. still.) Lesson 2: You think you've done a good job hiding your ears all your life, but really, everyone is used to them and no one thought your ears resembled yoda, and still worrying about it makes you look stupid.

I did not think about how much I hated my dress. It was fine, even when it fell off down to my belly button and exposed my AWESOME sticky bra thing. Lesson 3: Even at weddings (which innately seem superficial) no one cares, not even you, it's just a good time.

I still am having a weird time grasping the idea of what marriage means to us. I think because of our unmarried identity for so long, now pronouncing our marriage almost feels like saying that it is more special now or something. And it isn't. Frankly, it's the same.

I've been doing a lot of over analyzing about the idea of marriage and have forgotten to just enjoy us. Whether marriage is a thing or not, I love Sean and we are happy and that is all that should matter. Can you tell I'm majoring in anthropology and that I love social theory!

monthly synopsis: episode 9

I've changed the synopsis to monthly, because weekly is much to often.

1. Watermelon's are amazing right now! Rocky Ford, CO you give birth to the most beautiful melons.
2. Hiking, hiking, and more hiking. We have crossed off almost every single hike on our summer list his year! One left!
3. Hiked a lightly snow covered Mt. Bierstadt super early in the morning.
4. Breakfast, just because it's my favorite meal.
5. An amazing view from one of our hikes in Rocky.
6. Louie has been with us for 2 YEARS! What occasionally feels like 100 years but we love him still.
7. This boyfriend/husband/best friend of mine has really been such a great support to me lately. I started school this month and have been so overwhelmed and he just literally does everything so that I can focus on studying. Saint Sean. Also toooo weird to call him my husband so I have been  saying partner or roommate.
8. Ran our 2nd half marathon together on an amazing trail in Frisco.
9. We got married!

backpacking trip #1

This trip was from way back in JUNE!? Oh time where have you gone!

 Reading 'Lady in the Rockies'

Thunder lake

backpacking trip #2

West side of Pawnee pass

East side of Pawnee pass

 Overgrown trail full of wildflowers

Pawnee Lake

Sharing a few pictures from our backpacking trip in Indian Peaks last month. Oh. My. Gosh. This place has my heart! Hence why we got married here. It was so funny to walk past our ceremony spot just a few weekends later in completely opposite attire. I used the same port-a-potty that I used in my wedding dress. Special moment.

Up until Isabelle lake, it was rather an enjoyable stroll but of course the real climbing was just about to begin. As I was huffing and puffing up the side of the mountain, so many runners were passing me with ease and I felt pretty shitty. Once we finally got up to the pass at 12,550 feet, I was so relieved and was re-energized by the new landscape. It was so amazing (and really windy) up there!

Once we got to the lake we did have plans to carry on to Crater Lake but I was completely exhausted and we decided to stay at camp and relax for a while. The boys left to do some exploring while I sat on a comfy rock next to Pawnee Lake and worked on some knitting. Some much needed me and lake time.

I just can't describe really how regenerative this trip was. Even one night away from the regular world feels so good. We watched the sunset and waited for the stars to come out. I fell asleep quickly from having such an exciting day and woke up with the sun and felt anew. I did a little yoga and then enjoyed a nice cup of coffee, packed up and our tiny vacation was over. Writing this makes me itch for another backpacking excursion before winter! I need to get planning!

weekly synopsis: episode 8

1. Went on an amazing hike to Estes Cone in RMNP. Finally hiking above 9,000ft. Summer is almost here!
2. Attended a trash diet workshop that andrea from bezero hosted, came home and re-assessed like a crazy person.
3. Twins...very disturbing.
4. Snow free mountain!
5. Our monthly bulk haul from Simply bulk.
6. Just implemented composting and recycling at the office and I am so excited! Now if I could get rid of the coffee cups and plasticware...
7. Just my sweet little baby friend visiting!
8. Sean's 25th birthday!
9. My favorite sunset spot.