Wedding Wednesday - First Tasks on the List!

With everything going on with my family right now tossing around wedding ideas is actually a pretty nice distraction. It feels great to be able to talk through ideas and suggestions, read through bridal magazines and wedding planners, etc without feeling pressure to make decisions right now!! DPS and I have decided not to too much heavy planning until after his sister Caitie's wedding in September so his family can focus on one celebration at a time. However, we promised we would have 3 things decided by summer to start laying the groundwork for the big day. What's the first few must dos? Date, Venues, Colors.

Date 

 When we first got engaged I was overwhelmed with the when questions... When are we getting married? When is our engagement party? When is my bridal shower? When are our bachelor/bachelorette parties? I swear we were still popping the cork off our champagne while everyone else was already asking for timing details. I mean I understand, nearly everyone will have to travel for our wedding.... but whew, I just wasn't ready to jump straight into wedding mindset. So while there is no major rush for to pick the weekend tomorrow, we definitely feel the pressure to get good general time-lines in the works. 

So what time of the year are we currently researching? Fall 2012. Here's our thinking... My (absolutely wonderfully awesome) regular readers know that my favorite time of the year is autumn. I mean, I am pretty sure I have written numerous blog posts expressing how much I love autumn. So naturally I instinctively lean towards October and November of 2012. Since we are paying for a major portion of this wedding ourselves I am not going to lie that picking a weekend in an off-season month is a major motivator. So right now the dates on our list (in no order of preference) are: October 20, October 27, November 3, November 10. However, the date all depend on our next major decision...

Venue

Every week DPS and I ask each other... Mountains or Denver? When we first got engaged we quickly discussed our one "must have" - the thing that we both had to have on our wedding no questions asked. Mine is a Catholic Church wedding. I will not budge on the fact that we will be married in the church and will have a full mass as well. Call me old school but I think this is absolutely mandatory. (In case you're wondering, DPS's must have is a band. Like a "super awesome entertaining band that will rock the night away.") So when I think about the church my ideas are not exactly small. I am a princess so naturally I want something magical and grand. I want there to be tall ceilings, ornate stained glass, and a breathtaking altar. Not too much to ask for, right? ;) As I have mentioned we absolutely LOVE Holy Ghost Church in Downtown Denver and it obviously holds a very special place in our hearts. Check out local Denver photographer Charlotte Geary, she has taken some gorgeous photographs of the church! 

But then DPS chimes in and stirs up thoughts of a gorgeous fall mountain wedding that could be a DIY dream for someone like me... While we are much less familiar with the mountain cities and their possibilites, we did stumble upon the gem Camp Saint Malo located near Estes Park, CO. I mean hello, it looks like a CASTLE. It's amazing. I need to get married in a castle, like that's a wedding must have, right?

But that is just the church, we haven't even began to discuss reception venues and I am a little terrified to start... We like Denver Botanical Garden Chatfield, Brown Palace Hotel (ok probably not in the budget, but it doesn't hurt to check it out!), and well, that's about it. Ha, pretty sad huh! We need serious reception ideas help!!! I am thinking of speaking with a wedding planner to try to help gather reception venue ideas but I am not sure if I want to hire someone quite yet... suggestions? If you're a recent bride did you use a planner? What made her the perfect fit and/or good decison for you? Would you hire one again if you were getting married?

Colors

 I don't know why this one is so hard, but it is. Here's the problem - I love pink. I am obsessed with anything pink and I am pretty sure that I came into this world with a pink bow on! ;) So when we sit and debate colors most fall collections are not too heavy on the rosy hues. But I am sorry but I HAVE to have pink in my wedding somehow... So how do we make it work? I really want to have a base of neutral colors with one color to make it pop so I am loving this pink and burnt orange look. But it will be tricky to find a balance with the pink and the rich orange and rust colors of fall...

 Similar to the last one but with more of a reddish orange mixture:

Or we could try a big ole mixture of reds, golds, oranges, and pinks: 

Clearly if we deviate from the pink/fushia/red idea, I am once again at a loss...

What are you thoughts are on our three must do tasks?! Suggestions?