A Simple Backyard Wedding at a Private Residence in Arvada, Colorado

Sharon McMillian (28 and a registered nurse) and Eric Sjoden (32 and a registered nurse) met during a core class at the gym. Six years later, Eric proposed while they were climbing Kit Carson Peak. The couple bought a house together and started pouring money into renovations, so instead of spending money on a venue, they decided to have their wedding at their home in Arvada, Colorado. They exchanged vows in the backyard in front of a giant willow tree with a unique fire-lighting unity ceremony. “We had everyone take a handful of red cedar wood chips as they walked through the house to their seats,” Sharon says. “During the ceremony we had everyone make a simple wish or thought toward our marriage and then my cousins went around and collected them in baskets. We put all the wood chips in a fire that Eric and I had started off to the side of the ceremony and it symbolized how Eric and I may have started this fiery loving relationship but it was also our friends and family who have supported us throughout the years and helped us be the passionate, happy couple we are today." Sharon and Eric used shades of red, copper, champagne and yellow for their color palette and tried to create a folk, woodland feel. At the end of the night they enjoyed a toasted almond-covered yellow cake filled with German wine custard and raspberry filling. Yum!