A Rainy Mountain Top Wedding at Granby Ranch

Updated: Jan 29

Erika and Nate have an adorable love story. They actually met on a plane. They were seated next to each other and began talking. He ended up living in the same town that she did and for then their love grew. They were supposed to get married in 2020 but as we all know, that didn’t work out. They eloped and had a nice small ceremony with their families and postponed their celebration with friends and families.

They decided to get married “again” on the mountain top of Granby Ranch. The morning started off as sunny and clear but the closer the ceremony got, more and more clouds were blowing in. Erika and Nate are very outdoorsy and were drawn to Granby Ranch because of the mountain top view, nature, and ski lift experience so for that reason, we decided to move forward and hope that the weather worked with us.

The ceremony was slated for Xpm. The guests have taken the shuttle up and everyone is taking their seats for the ceremony. I am helping everyone to get lined up and make sure everyone has bouquets, flowers, rings etc. After coordinating with the musicians to begin the processional, my assistant motions to the impending storm that you can see rolling over near mountain tops. I quickly tell the officiant that this will need to be a speedy ceremony due to the storm.

Unfortunately, there was nowhere to shelter large enough for all the guests, so it was best to just go ahead with the ceremony. I sent them all down the aisle, the officiant began the prayer and welcome, and it started to sprinkle. Guests began to pop up all their umbrellas. My assistant and I ran to the nearby Yurt to grab the wedding parties’ umbrellas. Luckily many people came prepared for the rain. It began to rain harder and harder and the officiant says, “Let’s do the fast version” and skipped to the vows and rings. As soon as they were announced again as husband and wife, guests ran under trees to avoid the rain.

Everyone had to wait a few mins since the chairlift cannot run in a storm, but after about 30 minutes of rain, it stopped. Guests were able to take shuttles and the chair lift down the mountain. The cocktail hour moved to the base lodge area, and everyone enjoyed the time outdoors under the tent and in the sun.

Having had a forecast for rain the reception was supposed to be tented outdoors but instead the couple made the call a day prior to just move it indoors in case. This was a great option as we fought sprinkles all evening. We were able to get everything indoors set up prior to the ceremony so that when people came down the mountain, they had somewhere to put their wet jackets and umbrellas and dry off. They decor in the reception space was so cheery and beautiful it transformed the lodge into a mountainside experience.

Even though all the guests got a little damp, everyone made the best of it. It was really great to see all of their guests shaking it off and still enjoying the wonderful celebration that Erika and Nate, and Granby Ranch had for them.