Love at The Ranch: A Frigid Bridal Party

If I'm not mistaken, we took about two hours to finish our portraits which meant we were around 30 minutes late to meet our bridal party and family for pictures. The funny thing was, we didn't care. We'd padded the photo-taking with enough time that we were still able to get all of the pictures we wanted. Plus, it was so frigid outside (probably 30 degrees with the windchill) that we couldn't stand a drawn out photo shoot anyway. With t-minus one hour until our ceremony time, we gathered our friends and went back out into the field for some group shots.

The storm clouds and wind really started to pick up.

Beyond these professional pictures, our friends got some funny pictures of this whole photo shoot taking place.

My two awesome MOHs waiting to go outside for group shots.

Photo by Claire Barthelemy

My MOH put lip gloss on me before we went outside.

Photo by Claire Barthelemy

Outside, the bridesmaids borrowed the groomsmen's coats to keep warm.

Photo by Claire Barthelemy

Running back to base camp, they tried to prove they could handle the cold, they were strong.

Photo by Claire Barthelemy

But they ran anyway.

Photo by Kimberley-Marie Blanchot

How did we get here?

Mr. CB and I road-tripped it to Colorado.

I spent a peaceful morning with my girls.
Followed by a rowdy bachelorette party.
Two days before the wedding, we fought.
Then, we made up.

On Saturday, Mr. CB recuperated while I hiked with friends.

We celebrated our rehearsal dinner.

Sunday Morning: The girls got ready.

And the guys got ready.

Mr. CB and I had our First Look.

Budget Breakdown: Bouquets and Bouts.

Potraits of the bride and groom.

**All images above by the ridiculously talented and awesome Tec Petaja, unless otherwise noted. Head to his blog for some serious eye candy.**

Love at The Ranch: The Guys' Turn

As the girls were getting their hair and make-up did at the Ranch Creek cabin, the boys were in the cabin next door known as the Red Quill. Albeit, they started a couple of hours after we did. In both cabins, groomsmen and bridesmaids were opening up our gifts and our homemade cards featuring the horse that Mr. CB drew. I had it turned into a stamp somewhere along the way.

The guys tied their ties. That's Mr. CB in the foreground.

The groomsmen received ties from Brooks Brothers as part of their gifts. We bought them at the outlet during a sale for around $33 per tie. They are normally $75 a piece.

As an artist, Mr. CB was extremely concerned with the appearance of his knot. Love him!

Groomsman Rich made sure his vest was properly fitted.

Of the six guys, Mr. CB was the only one wearing a vest. Since he was wearing the same color tie, I was really glad we decided on this because it made him stand out as the groom. The only other difference was that Mr. CB's suit was black while the groomsmen wore heather grey. It was really hard to see the difference because the grey was so dark. They all wore the Aldridge Suit from J. Crew which we also scored for just under $300 per suit by waiting for sales. Tip: if you're going to buy a wool suit, wait until the beginning of summer when the stores are all about linen and other light fabrics. The wool will be on sale. The guys wore their own white shirts, and black leather belts and shoes.

The guys were almost ready. They chilled out in the Red Quill cabin (notice the PBR in our friend Justin's hand). Awesome.

But wait? Right about then, I received a text from Mr. CB: "Where is your brother?"

Woops! Someone forgot to tell him to go to the Red Quill cabin at 11 AM to get ready with the guys. This was about 45 minutes before he needed to be ready for pictures. Luckily, it takes guys about 2.5 seconds to get ready.

And then, finally, they were all ready.

How did we get here?

First, Mr. CB and I road-tripped it to Boulder, CO.

Then, I spent a peaceful morning with my bridesmaids and maids-of-honor.
Followed by a rowdy bachelorette party that night.
The next morning, two days before the wedding, we fought.
Then, we made up.

On Saturday, Mr. CB recuperated from his bachelor party while I hiked with friends.

Until evening, when we celebrated our rehearsal dinner.

Sunday Morning: The girls got ready.

**All images above by the ridiculously talented and awesome Tec Petaja, unless otherwise noted. Head to his blog for some serious eye candy.**