Breckenridge

We had less than 48 hours in Colorado, so we had to make the most of our abbreviated mountain vacation, but the weekend didn't disappoint. Between Joe and Kristen's big news and Abby and Dan's fantastically beautiful wedding, there was plenty of celebrating to be done and, well, we like to celebrate. Granted, the altitude hit both of us pretty hard so we spent a lot more time maxin' and relaxin' than we'd intended, but nothing can be all that bad when set against the backdrop of the Rockies, right?

We got into Denver mid-afternoon on Friday and immediately picked up our snazzy rental car (an Oldsmobile) and headed out to Breck. Given that I'd left work around lunchtime, I had to spend the entire drive talking to clients on my cell phone and trying to draft pleadings on my laptop (which was coincidentally how I'd spent the entire flight as well). By the time we got to our hotel I was sound asleep.

With no definite plan for Friday evening we decided to just see where the night took us. We ended up grabbing some dinner with Joe and Kristen at Modis and then meeting up with Ryan, Heather, Dan, Abby and the rest of the wedding party at Mother Loaded. Unfortunately, five minutes into dinner Jack came down with a bad case of altitude sickness (we think) and couldn't eat or drink anything. We called it a night pretty early and he ended up crashing just minutes after Kristen whipped out her ring because by that point Jack was white as ghost and shaking with chills. My poor baby.

The plan for Saturday had initially been hiking with Ryan, Joe and Kristen, but at 10am when all the rest of our friends were meeting up for breakfast, my hubby was still sound asleep trying to fight off the altitude. So while the rest of the crew was out enjoying nature, Jack and I sat on the patio of an Irish pub drinking two of Colorado's finest beverages: New Belgium Brewing Company's Sunshine Wheat (me) and Coors Light (Jack). Even though the forecast had called for rain, the sky was bright blue and there wasn't a cloud to be seen. In the middle of town it was a mellow 70 degrees, and from our perch facing the snow-capped mountains, even the remnants of altitude sickness couldn't have put a damper on the mood.

Dan and Abby's nuptials were stunning. With rows of white chairs set on the edge of a small pond with the mountains rising in the distance behind an altar made of tall stalks of bamboo, the setting couldn't have been more pure and serene. Each of the bridesmaids wore a different sage green dress and carried a different type of white flower. Abby was a sight to beheld in her elegant, princess gown. And between her contagious perma-grin throughout the ceremony and Dan's poignant hand-written vows, there was plenty of laughter and tears to go around.

Back at the hotel post-ceremony the guests mingled during a cocktail hour (with fabu appetizers!) while the wedding party took pictures. Plantable placecards (made of biodegradable paper and filled with herb seeds) pointed the way to uncommonly named tables (we were at the Jack Handey table; the wedding party sat at the Audrey Hepburn table) and as soon as they came in, the newlyweds spun their way around the dance floor to Jack Johnson's "Banana Pancakes." It was anything but ordinary, but all distinctly Dan and Abby. In keeping with their unique and original theme, their three-tiered wedding cake was personalized with meaningful phrases (like what Dan said to himself one of the first times he saw Abby walking toward him, or the words Abby said when she called her best friend to tell her about this amazing guy she'd met on a business trip). And instead of having a bouquet toss, Abby came over to our table and handed her calla lilies to Kristen...the next bride-to-be.

The most original aspect of the evening, however, wasn't something the couple had even planned. In honor of Abby's childhood love of "The Sound of Music" her family stood up and gave a rousing rendition--with modified lyrics--of "So Long, Farewell" during the toasts. Hilarious!

During the course of the evening I managed to polish off an unfathomable amount of wine (I think I know how much I had, but in the interests of not making myself look like a total wino, I will not say it here). Between all that chardonnay and the brutal altitude (c'mon, I live at sea level! I'm not used to this!) Sunday morning felt like death, and not only because we woke up to a gray sky and huge snowflakes blanketing the ground (in June!!). All I can say is that I'm damn lucky my husband is so patient and understanding and let this thin-skinned California girl curl up in the passenger seat with a Burger King breakfast and the heat blasting while he drove us back to the airport at 8:00 a.m.!