A wedding should be a bride’s dream come true.  Many local businesses specialize in wedding services, and their owners are personable and enthusiastic about helping brides create the wedding of their dreams.
 

A Fairy Tale Location

Pam Cutler and Bonnie Culling were best friends since attending high school together in Illinois.  When Cutler was looking for a location for her wedding in Denver, she noticed a shortage of facilities suitable for large weddings.  She and Culling decided to build a stunning mansion to accommodate weddings, proms and special events. 

The Chateaux at Fox Meadows in Westminster has been open for three and a half years, and has hosted 850 events. This December, Culling will be married inside its halls.

 “The Chateaux was built specifically for weddings and events which makes it better than other places that were converted and just don’t work as well,” Cutler explained. 

A gazebo in the garden is fantastic for outdoor weddings.  The dramatic hall with a Cinderella staircase can be used for indoor weddings.  The building accommodates up to 350 guests in a seated dining arrangement or 600 at a cocktail party. 

Although they are not wedding planners, Culling and Cutler like to be involved with the wedding process.  “We try to go above and beyond just the rental by offering our advice and experience,” Cutler said.  “We can steer them in some good directions regardless of the budget that they have.”  Culling added, “We truly enjoy what we do and that makes a difference.”

The Chateaux has a great room and a lower level, but it is rented exclusively to one group at a time.  The wedding party must provide its own caterer and bartender, although the Chateaux does rent linens, dishware and centerpieces as well as provide music if requested.

The price for renting the Chateaux varies depending on the day and time of year.  Saturday night during the spring and summer can cost $4,500, whereas on a Thursday night between January and April, the cost is $1,200.  Culling and Cutler recommend booking twelve months in advance, and eighteen months for a specific date.  Cutler added, “People are not booking as far out.  They want to do it right away.”  She also said that this year has been a big year for weddings.  “Because of the events of Sept. 11, people are making the decision to do more family things.”

The Chateaux is located in Broomfield NE of Sheridan Boulevard on 136th Avenue.  Pam Cutler and Bonnie Culling can be reached 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. M-F at 303-466-8078.

A Floral Touch

Jacque Stauffer of Niwot’s Flowers in Bloom urges brides not to forget the flowers.  “The flowers are the finishing touch to the whole wedding.  Flowers are an important part of the wedding.  There are flowers on the cake, during the ceremony, at the reception, at the rehearsal dinner and for the wedding party.  I urge brides not to skimp.”

Flowers vary by season.  Stauffer explained that you can get nearly every flower every time of year, but that you pay more for the flowers that are out of season.  Spring flowers include tulips, hydrangeas, lilacs, daffodils and narcissi.  The favorite flower requested by brides is still the traditional: roses in all colors and sizes.  The modern trend is to have loosely tied bouquets that appear to be freshly picked wildflowers.

Stauffer has seen a variety of amazing weddings, but she mentions a favorite wedding of a bride from New York.  “It was very high profile.  All the guests wore tuxedos.  I told my assistant to pin boutonnières to all the guys with tuxedos because they are usually the wedding party.  She came back telling me that everyone had a tuxedo, so we had to come up with more boutonnières.”  For their one-year anniversary, Stauffer re-created the centerpiece and boutonnière for the bride to surprise her husband along with a picnic in their wedding meadow.

Stauffer has been in the floral business for 23 years, five of them at her store in Niwot.  She can’t count the weddings she has done, but she said she provided flowers for 70 last year from the Niwot location. 

Flowers can cost on average $1,500-$2,000 but could be as much as $10,000 or more.  She happily works with brides within their budget.  She said that she never does packages.

One of Stauffer’s selling points is that she or one of her staff services the wedding, including pinning on boutonnières.  “Brides are happy that I stay with them and make sure everything is done before I leave.”  Stauffer also explained that she is good at “reading brides’ minds.”  She said that she can take ideas and make a dream come true, and she loves a challenge.

“I have a passion for weddings, and it shows.  I am very up to date on the new trends.  It’s a serious addiction.”

Stauffer recommends that brides book her services at least six months in advance, or nine months if the wedding falls on a holiday weekend.  Brides should make an appointment for a consultation. 

Flowers in Bloom is located at 7960 Niwot Rd.  The hours are M-F 8 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p/m.  The phone number is 303-652-1600.

Picture Perfect Moment

Sandy Calvin never thought she would be a professional photographer.  She fell into it when the Jewish Community Center that her twin daughters attended asked her to take pictures for their camp.  She had so much talent that friends asked for her services and recommended that she start charging.  Eighteen years later she has grown passionate about taking new photography classes, exploring different aspects of photography and she moved into her comfortable location in downtown Niwot, Sandy Stone Photography. 

Her style is unique because she creates a very natural look.  Calvin and an assistant take pictures at different angles to offer different perspectives, especially during the ceremony itself.  She can capture the photojournalistic look that is the new trend in wedding photography. 

Calvin’s favorite wedding was one where the bride rode in on a horse, and had a poodle as the ring bearer.  Calvin has a passion for animals and said that it added a unique aspect to the wedding pictures.

As for her services, “It’s definitely a personal commitment with personal attention.  We never ignore any details.  We are very pleasant to work with, and we stand by our work.”

Calvin said that she does a lot of engagement sittings, and that she offers a deal if a bride does both her engagement sitting and wedding through her studio.  The average cost for wedding pictures is around $2,200 but can range from $800 to $4,000.  She recommends that brides book her services one year in advance.

Since she spends a lot of her time on location taking photographs, she has erratic hours.  She is best reached by leaving a telephone message. 

Sandy Stone Photography is located at 137 Second Avenue in downtown Niwot.  Her phone number is 303-652-9992 

Catering To Taste

Chef Willem De Froy is a man of many cultures.  He was born in Belgium and speaks five languages.  Since childhood, he had a passion for cooking and for serving customers in his family’s clothing store.  Becoming a chef was a very natural choice for him.  He has worked in all types of restaurants and hotels, and owned his own seafood restaurant in Dallas.

De Froy is currently working daytimes as the chef at the Celestial Seasonings Café, but he is really passionate about his catering business, Guillaume’s Personalized Catering.  He can offer a wide variety of foods, and very personalized menus.  He cooks to everyone’s unique tastes, from Southwestern, to Chinese, to French, to seafood.

“I’m not a mainstream caterer.  I like to custom-make things.  I make everything from scratch.”  De Froy also cooks intimate dinners in people’s homes.  He claims that very seldom does someone come to him with a request for a food that he doesn’t know.

As he does custom menus, De Froy said he could work within any budget.  He said that about $15 per person is enough to create a very nice wedding dinner. 

De Froy explained that if a bride comes to him first, he and his wife Amelia are happy to help with all aspects of planning the wedding and finding the appropriate location.  He asked that brides contact him as soon as possible so that he can book the date for them.

Chef Willem De Froy can be reached at Guillaume’s Personalized Catering 303-516-0490.
 

Photo by Laura Whildin 

The dramatic hall at the Chateaux at Fox Meadows with Cinderella staircase can be used for indoor weddings.