S O C I A L S TAT U S
party, and the evening itself invited a combination of mountain charm and elegance. Cheryl held a bouquet of deep red roses — her romantic dress an ever-so-slight shade of lavender — while roses of sterling purple were clutched by bridesmaids and pinned for boutonnieres. Birch bark covered the centerpiece vases, and vintage Colorado license plates marked the table numbers. “We really wanted to support the people and places we know and like up here,” says Cheryl. So with locality in mind, vendors from the area helped to make the couple’s dream a reality. Their rehearsal dinner was held at Larkspur Restaurant in Vail, and their ceremony was on a heated outdoor patio at the Vail Cascade Resort & Spa, with the reception in the resort’s restaurant, Atwater on Gore Creek. Preston Utley captured the event through his lens, and created images that will last forever. Twelve-year-old James Oss serenaded the wedding with a rendition of Marc Cohn’s “True Companion,” and the newlywed’s first dance was to “All This Time” by One Republic. “We just want to be married and honeymoon forever,” says Andy. “When you’re in the midst of it, it’s just so awesome and so great, you just want it to last forever.” When saying “I love you” was still a bit too fresh for the couple in the early days of courtship, the phrases “elephant shoe” and “olive juice” easily and laughably slid off their tongues. Now, those are the words that local jeweler Tom Hughes has engraved on their wedding bands. Her ring reads “elephant shoe,” and his, “olive juice.”
46
VAIL LUXURY G S P R I N G 2 013
THE PHOTOS: Straight out of art school, Preston Utley worked as a photojournalist before starting his own wedding photography business. Couples seek him out to memorialize their big day because of his inimitable “fine art documentary” style, which strives to capture what truly happened on the wedding day, while meeting his own personal artistic standards. In order to do this, he likes to spend some time getting to know the couple before the big day. “I probably spend as much time with them as anybody on the wedding day, because I’m photographing them getting ready, the ceremony, the reception and all the portraits,” says Utley. “I’m not breathing down their neck or anything, but it’s important that they know me and feel comfortable with me.” And judging from the photos, they clearly do.
P H OTO G R A P H Y BY P R E S TO N U T L E Y, P R E S TO N @ P R E S TO N U T L E Y.C O M