A Simple, Rustic Mountain Wedding at Wild Basin Lodge in Allenspark, Colorado

Jill Kuzma (31 and a medical assistant) and Derek Brown (32 and a pilot) met when they were four years old through Jill’s twin brother. They dated on and off since they were in the fifth grade, and 13 years later, Derek proposed with an emerald-cut engagement ring from Shane Co while they were on a bike ride. Living in Colorado now, the couple decided to get married at Wild Basin Lodge with 75 of their closest friends and family. Jill was nervous about all of her guests just waiting on her to walk down the aisle, so they had a cocktail hour before and after the ceremony. “It was awesome since we had to wait for some guest running late,” Jill says. “We just mingled and had great drinks.” The couple wrote their entire ceremony and, instead of a traditional unity ceremony, they used Harps and Guinness to make a black and tan to drink. “Derek loves beer his favorite is stout or porter (the black). I love the lager (the tan), so we decided that this would suit us perfectly,” Jill says. The couple wanted a simple, elegant, stress-free wedding with some bicycle accents. They chose mustard yellow and midnight blue for their wedding colors and worked with Boulder Blooms Florist to create colorful floral arrangements with flowers from local vendors. The best part, though, was the unconventional menu. “We chose chips and salsa, pita chips and hummus and veggie eggs rolls,” Jill says. “It was important to Derek that our food not be like every other wedding food at every other wedding and Wild Basin knocks it out of the park. Their food is amazing. They have a chef on site so there was no finding a caterer, which was amazing. After the most amazing tasting, we chose to have family-style smoked beef brisket, goat cheese mashed potatoes, rice pilaf and balsamic grilled veggies.” They ended the night with a berry and cream-filled naked cake made by one of Derek’s coworkers. The couple didn’t have a DJ nor a first dance. “Derek and I are not dancers, so we didn’t have a first dance,” Jill says. “Over six months later, I do not feel like I missed out on anything without dancing.”