Ben + Kendra's Mountain Winery Wedding

A romantic summer wedding at Blue Mountain Vineyard in Berthoud, Colorado, with rustic charm and strolls through the countryside vineyard. It’s safe to say that Ben and Kendra’s wedding celebration was everything they’d been dreaming of for the past couple years.

We don’t like to throw around the “P” word too much cause it brings up such heavy emotions. But I think we all can agree that 2020 was nuts and caused a lot of heartache, pain and loss. For many of us we learned to pivot our lives and turn lemons into lemonade in any way we could.

For our amazing friends Ben and Kendra, they did just that when they decided to elope privately last year as gatherings became restricted. Their huge wedding day with friends and family was put on hold, but they still exchanged vows to love each other through thick and thin, became husband and wife.

Jump forward to a year later and their wedding day has finally arrived. It was when Kendra came down the aisle at their celebration, that we all got to witness the importance of a wedding. Surrounded by their close friends and family, Kendra was greeted with a standing ovation and loud cheers. FINALLY, these two could share this special union with those they love the most. There wasn’t a dry eye in sight as we could share in the relief and joy of this long awaited day. Not to mention Kendra was a total knock out!

Jeremy and I were so humbled to be at both their elopement last year to capture the special memories and again at their celebration this year. Only this time, my sweet husband got to be the one officiating their ceremony.

But what does one say at a ceremony for two people who have already become man and wife. After an evening in our basement enjoying wine and cheese, the 4 of us collaborated on a new type of ceremony. Our little brainstorm session was reminiscent of our year with these two doing pre-marriage counseling, laughing till we cried and dreaming up future plans.

For anyone who is debating on a post 2020 ceremony, like Ben and Kendra, it’s a bit like a vow renewal (and after a year of marriage in lock-down you get about 5 years worth of experience all at once). So including vows from their first ceremony and now adding some lessons learned, their heartfelt words carried so much more love and weight.

When you get to have your ceremony at a winery, one of the major perks is the wine. So as guests arrived at the wedding, they were greeted with glasses of wine and a beautiful wooded fan. To end of the ceremony Ben and Kendra requested they have a toast with all their guests, so in our brainstorm session we found the perfect one. Proudly everyone raised their glasses as Jeremy said, “According to Iceland tradition, if you don’t look at the person you are toasting in the eyes, if means 10 years of bad sex. So everyone take this moment as serious as the the bride and groom right now.” (Cue laughter)

“HERE’S TO THE BRIDE AND THE GROOM! MAY YOU HAVE A HAPPY HONEYMOON, MAY YOU LEAD A HAPPY LIFE, MAY YOU HAVE A BUNCH OF MONEY SOON, AND LIVE WITHOUT ALL STRIFE!” Cheers!

I just love my husband. It just needed to be said.

Another highlight from their ceremony was the traditional “giving away of the bride.” Now obviously, she’s sort of already given away. But a year ago, this was one part of the day Kendra missed sharing with her dad. So when Jeremy asked, “Ben would like to know one critical thing today… can he still keep her?” The crowd burst with laughter and Kendra’s dad, overwhelmed with joy, celebrated and affirmed the man his beautiful daughter gets to call husband.

The day was perfect beginning to end, finishing with a sparkler exit to their car with cute sayings on the windows like, “married twice in one year.”

I never blogged Ben and Kendra’s ceremony last year, because at that time we still thought they might have their large celebration in the next month or two when things opened back up. So as the months went by, and things still stayed closed, their celebration stayed on hold. So I am beyond excited to share a few moments from their special day this year and a look back at their elopement a year ago.

Ben and Kendra, it’s hard for me to put into words what your friendship means to Jeremy and I. That you trust us with your most valuable memories and allow us to do life with you side by side. We are so honored to have you as our close friends and we can’t wait to make many more memories with you both. Thank you again and Congrats to Lord and Lady Farnese.

(SIDENOTE: When does our paperwork get finalized to become a Lord and Lady as well?)

And here’s a link to Ben and Kendra’s Engagement Blog