Featured Wedding – Joey and Josh

Meet Joey and Josh – quite possibly the most adorable couple we have ever seen.

Joey and Josh were wed atop Aspen Mountain on Sept. 15, 2012, with careful scheduling consideration given to important games. You see, Josh’s father is the athletic director at the University of Washington, and Joey’s dad heads the NCAA.

With this sporty pedigree, Joey and Josh know a thing or two about important days and preparing for big events. These two did it with grace, style and ease.

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How did you two meet? I moved to Louisiana when I was a freshman in high school. Josh’s dad and my dad worked together at LSU, so you could say we were family friends. Josh is a year older, so when he graduated, he went away to school in Boulder, Colorado. A year later, I too went to college in Boulder, but I was not following him! We started dating two years later.

Can you tell us about the engagement? We were on a trip to Croatia in a little fishing town. Josh was trying to propose all day… he was going to do it when it felt right. I kept botching it, so he had to wait all day and ended up proposing at sunset on a rocky beach.

Why did you choose Aspen/The Little Nell for your wedding? We were debating between wine country and mountains. We always wanted to go back to Colorado because of school. I had also lived in Aurora, Colorado, for a bit as a child, so in a way Colorado was the closest thing to a real “home” for me.

The most important thing for us was to focus on making the wedding something our guests would enjoy. Some place fun! We love Aspen. It’s a great town, and there’s much more to offer than Vail or Beaver Creek. Aspen is a wonderful combination of culture and mountains.

What were your favorite moments from the day? I cannot take any credit for planning the wedding. I did virtually nothing! Melina (events director at The Little Nell), my mom and Emily (wedding planner) deserve all the credit. Going up the gondola and getting ready at the venue was just amazing. One of my friends told me to make sure to stay “in the moment” and soak it up… to be cognizant of what’s happening. I had that moment at the altar on the beautiful Wedding Deck. The weather was perfect, and the sun was shining through the aspen leaves. I kept thinking “this is a magical moment that is happening. This is it; enjoy it!” 

What were some of the special details you incorporated in the day, and where did they come from? The oxygen bar was really fun. My mom also made Mad Libs, and every guest had one at their plate to fill out. It was a story about Josh and me, and all our guests gave them to us at the end as a keepsake.

Another special touch was having sunflowers in the bathrooms, which are my favorite flowers. The were too overpowering for table arrangements, so this was the perfect idea.

Josh only cared about a few things. Item Number One: He wanted a shot ski. (It’s a college thing for you folks unfamiliar! It’s a ski that has shot glasses attached. Everyone stands together and take a group shot.) It was really an all-time high for folks at the wedding, and everyone was doing them… even my dad and Josh’s mom.

We also had our table names as the countries Josh and I had visited together. We put a note on the signs of when we went and what we did there to help personalize them even more.

Any advice for future brides? Josh and I picked what was important to us and let my mom or Emily plan everything else. It was great – and obviously enjoyable. Usually moms love doing that stuff! We were very lucky to do that, but it also meant that I had no idea if anything was “going wrong.”  Everything was surprising and magical for me and that much more impressive when I did see it.

Oh, and don’t try on a dress that’s outside your budget!

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Wedding Planner – Emily Benjamin Events

Venue and Catering – The Little Nell

Music – Michael Benson Band

Photographer – Ricky Savi Photography

Videographer – David Clifford Photography

Décor & Flowers – The Aspen Branch

Welcome Amenities – Hello Tote

Paper Products – Real Card Company

Hair – Randy Evans

Make-up – Full Circle Aspen

Oxygen Bar – The Oxygen Company