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ENLARGE
She wore a ruffled tutu.
He donned a pink scarf.
She held a bouquet of faux flowers that wouldn't wilt in the cold.
He helped her affix her veil to her helmet, keeping it from blowing away in the blustery Continental Divide winds.
They were Geoff and Julie Howes, and they were among those gathered for the annual Valentine's Day Marry Me and Ski for Free Mountaintop Matrimony event atop Chair 2 at Loveland Ski Area.
Hailing from England, the couple arrived late Monday night with the plan to ski Loveland for their holiday, which is also a way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their Valentine's Day engagement at the Austrian ski resort, Oberndorf. They chose Loveland for its name.
“It's called Loveland and we're still in love after 25 years,” Julie Howes said, adding that she saw the information about Mountaintop Matrimony a week before they left.
It was the 21st such event — rings, dresses, veils, coat tails, top hats and all — and it has drawn repeat customers.
Like Loveland ski patrollers Mike Scott and Natalie Latysh — with their avy dog Sasha, who doubles as their flower girl — who were married at 12,050 feet last year and came back this year to renew their vows.
Silverthorne's David and Judy Johnson were back, too — for the third time — to renew their vows in preparation of their 46th anniversary in April. The last time they took part in the ceremony was four or five years ago.
The mass wedding and vow renewal hosted about 60 couples, some of whom donned elaborate wedding dresses covered by ski coats.
Thornton's Colleen Higney, who now shares the last name of her groom, Marcus Williams, met her beau four years ago.
“(Skiing and snowboarding) is what we do. We are up here 30 times a year,” Williams said, to which his bride added that they've been planning to attend Mountaintop Matrimony for several months.
Crystal Morrell, who now shares her name with groom Scott Morrell, said she and Scott met while they were both working at the Silverthorne Outlets eight years ago. She managed Eddie Bauer and he was the shopping center's operations manager. Finally sealing the deal on Valentine's Day, Scott commented, “It'll make it really easy to remember the anniversary and Valentine's Day all at once.”
They, too, had a flower girl in the form of a canine. Ruby the avalanche dog was borrowed from her owner, Loveland ski patroller Brian Simonds. And Crystal unzipped her white down jacket to reveal an intricate wedding dress she'd have the chance to wear to its full potential at their evening celebration.
Crystal, now Loveland's Guest Services manager, wrapped her arm tightly around area maintenance manager Scott, grinning the smile of a newlywed, her ski boots poking from under her dress as they ran together through the snow — Who needs fancy shoes and a hair appointment on your wedding day when you have a helmet with a “No Pain, No Jane” sticker? For most men, it worked to have tux tails atop black ski pants — and to tuck a down jacket under it.
The ceremony was at noon (with the classic rock of Journey as a precursor), with a reception at 1:30 p.m. at the base area.
As the ceremony began, weather rolled in. But the couples pulled closer together, many eagerly awaiting powder turns in their wedding garb.
“You enjoy doing fun things together, enjoy experience beautiful things together. There isn't anything better for keeping people together ... and in a beautiful state of mind,” wedding official and United Life Church minister Harry Heilman said.
He used cold and warmth as an analogy for emotional nearness.
He paraphrased the Bible, saying, “Let the two come together so they might be warm,” referring to the phrase in Ecclesiastes that reads, “Again, if two lie together, they are warm; but how can one be warm alone?”
He donned a pink scarf.
She held a bouquet of faux flowers that wouldn't wilt in the cold.
He helped her affix her veil to her helmet, keeping it from blowing away in the blustery Continental Divide winds.
They were Geoff and Julie Howes, and they were among those gathered for the annual Valentine's Day Marry Me and Ski for Free Mountaintop Matrimony event atop Chair 2 at Loveland Ski Area.
Hailing from England, the couple arrived late Monday night with the plan to ski Loveland for their holiday, which is also a way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their Valentine's Day engagement at the Austrian ski resort, Oberndorf. They chose Loveland for its name.
“It's called Loveland and we're still in love after 25 years,” Julie Howes said, adding that she saw the information about Mountaintop Matrimony a week before they left.
It was the 21st such event — rings, dresses, veils, coat tails, top hats and all — and it has drawn repeat customers.
Like Loveland ski patrollers Mike Scott and Natalie Latysh — with their avy dog Sasha, who doubles as their flower girl — who were married at 12,050 feet last year and came back this year to renew their vows.
Silverthorne's David and Judy Johnson were back, too — for the third time — to renew their vows in preparation of their 46th anniversary in April. The last time they took part in the ceremony was four or five years ago.
The mass wedding and vow renewal hosted about 60 couples, some of whom donned elaborate wedding dresses covered by ski coats.
Thornton's Colleen Higney, who now shares the last name of her groom, Marcus Williams, met her beau four years ago.
“(Skiing and snowboarding) is what we do. We are up here 30 times a year,” Williams said, to which his bride added that they've been planning to attend Mountaintop Matrimony for several months.
Crystal Morrell, who now shares her name with groom Scott Morrell, said she and Scott met while they were both working at the Silverthorne Outlets eight years ago. She managed Eddie Bauer and he was the shopping center's operations manager. Finally sealing the deal on Valentine's Day, Scott commented, “It'll make it really easy to remember the anniversary and Valentine's Day all at once.”
They, too, had a flower girl in the form of a canine. Ruby the avalanche dog was borrowed from her owner, Loveland ski patroller Brian Simonds. And Crystal unzipped her white down jacket to reveal an intricate wedding dress she'd have the chance to wear to its full potential at their evening celebration.
Crystal, now Loveland's Guest Services manager, wrapped her arm tightly around area maintenance manager Scott, grinning the smile of a newlywed, her ski boots poking from under her dress as they ran together through the snow — Who needs fancy shoes and a hair appointment on your wedding day when you have a helmet with a “No Pain, No Jane” sticker? For most men, it worked to have tux tails atop black ski pants — and to tuck a down jacket under it.
The ceremony was at noon (with the classic rock of Journey as a precursor), with a reception at 1:30 p.m. at the base area.
As the ceremony began, weather rolled in. But the couples pulled closer together, many eagerly awaiting powder turns in their wedding garb.
“You enjoy doing fun things together, enjoy experience beautiful things together. There isn't anything better for keeping people together ... and in a beautiful state of mind,” wedding official and United Life Church minister Harry Heilman said.
He used cold and warmth as an analogy for emotional nearness.
He paraphrased the Bible, saying, “Let the two come together so they might be warm,” referring to the phrase in Ecclesiastes that reads, “Again, if two lie together, they are warm; but how can one be warm alone?”
