THE BOOKING PROCESS AND BEYOND

We are so excited that your interest is peaked and you are considering moving forward on your amazing wedding adventure with Marry Me In Colorado!!  BUT, the big question is WHAT NEXT??  This editorial will hopefully answer all of your questions on the journey of your experience with MMIC from start to finish! 

BEFORE YOU BOOK WITH US….

Beginning the daunting task of planning a wedding – let alone a long distance or destination wedding – can seem overwhelming.  Our job is to take the confusion, stress and frustration out of the process for you, leaving you with an ENJOYABLE experience from your first conversation with us to every day you see your photos hanging on the wall that remind you of an incredible day!  Most couples enjoy calling in to talk with us, or even for an in-person meeting if possible.  It is this moment that YOU get to see that we are REAL people, with a passion for our business and love for what we do.  And in turn, WE get the chance to get to know YOU, and learn what your vision is for your wedding. Whether a romantic elopement for two, to an intimate gathering with family, or a lavish affair for 200 of your closest friends! 

So, make lists of questions that you have – questions about your wedding details, and questions about Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park.  Because we live here we know LOTS of ins and outs, fun tips and tricks, and have great referrals for lodging, restaurants for a dinner after your wedding, venues for larger receptions, spas and salons, and lots of FUN activities for you and your guests to partake in to turn your wedding into a weekend (or week) celebration and Colorado Mountain Experience!  We are knowledgeable about the requirements and restrictions on weddings in Rocky Mountain National Park, can provide you tons of recommendations for you ceremony site as well as other locations in the area that may just be the site you have been envisioning for your wedding backdrop! 

Make a Plan… many couples don’t fit inside the parameters of our standard packages.  We are ALWAYS happy to create a custom package that suits your needs to a “T”.  We suggest finding the package that is closest to your goals and copy and paste those package details from our website into an email (be sure and change the color of the font after pasting – our website font is white and needs to be changed to black!). Use that list to make notes – tell us items you would liked added on, substitutions, or services that are listed that you may not need.  Send that to us (lorie@marrymeincolorado.com) and we can start to work on designing a package that is the perfect match!  Then, give us a call to discuss your questions or concerns.

Details, Details, Details!  Do you already have the "Vision" of your wedding?  Been keeping that scrapbook of photos of cakes, flowers and the list of songs for what seems like eons?  No worries!  We LOVE to be challenged and nothing is out of the realm of possibility - send us your photos, lists, Pintrest boards and we will start a file on our end to ensure that the services and products are exactly as you envisioned!  Do keep in mind that some additional charges can apply for flowers that maybe special order or cakes that require extra time to design - but we will let you know these prices in advance!

And, be sure to check our FAQ's for more questions you may have on MMIC!

THE RESERVATION PROCESS

Ready to take the next step in reserving your wedding date and time with Marry Me In Colorado?  The process is EASY!!  You can simply go onto our Online Booking form at www.MarryMeInColorado.info and complete the details on the form.  Here you can select your package or services, notate add-ons or upgrades, and list questions.

Within 72 business hours we will send you a Wedding Services Agreement (WSA).  This details the services and products for your wedding day and will secure your date and time on our calendar.  You will have 7 days to review, make any changes and get that signed WSA back to us along with your deposit.  Deposits are 50% of your package price (with the exception of our Aspen and Platinum Packages which are a lesser percentage) and any site or permit fees.  MMIC will secure your wedding permit with Rocky Mountain National Park for your location, date and time.  Having MMIC on the permit along with you gives you the perks of the rangers knowing us, and not interrupting a wedding in session to see that you have all of the necessary permits.  It also saves you days of paperwork exchanges with the park’s concessions office to secure your own permit as we have a streamlined process with RMNP.

SIGNED, SEALED AND TIME TO DELIVER!

Once we receive your signed Wedding Services Agreement, along with the deposit amount, you will receive a Welcome Kit from us.  Along with a receipt for your payment and confirmation of your wedding date and time, we will confirm that your ceremony has been scheduled with the park service or other site.  This kit will include several pieces of the puzzle that will allow you to start on planning the details for your event. 

Welcome Kit: This document is your handy-dandy resource to all things in Estes Park that will be an essential need for your Colorado experience!  From hotels, lodges and cabin rentals to restaurants that will tempt your taste buds for every type of cuisine and budget size.  Suggestions to hair stylists who specialize in weddings, spas and salons and activities galore – from horseback riding, golf, hiking, photography tours, white water rafting, fishing tours and of course… TONS of shopping!

Ceremony Questionnaire: This is a document that helps us to get to know the two of you better, and to enable Kevin to write your custom ceremony.  It asks important questions such as how you met, what your hobbies are, your religious preferences, if you have children and more.  Based on completion of this questionnaire, you will receive a preliminary ceremony typically the week or so before your big day.  You have complete creative control over your ceremony – so look it over carefully to see if there are any changes that you would like made!

BEFORE YOUR BIG DAY…

The worksheets you will complete become the ‘Bible’ in which we use for planning and implementing your wedding details.  It is important for accuracy on both of our ends that these forms be completed – and equally important that if you decide on changes after submitting them to us, that you send revised versions for our records.  These worksheets become an extension of your Wedding Services Agreement with us, meaning that you need to sign and approve them and that you are authorizing us to proceed with the orders and to include any add-ons or upgrades to your final invoice.

You are able to make changes to your package in the form of substitutions or upgrades at any time. This is normally done with these worksheets.  The objective is to bring to light any aspects of your wedding that you may not be thinking about.  They will guide you through the planning process of details of how your ceremony will be written, to the colors and types of flowers, to the music for your walk down the aisle and your favorite photo poses. 

Our goal is to have your completed worksheets 2-3 weeks from your wedding date.  This allows us to place any orders for specialty flowers, cakes, etc.  Once we receive your completed worksheets we will review them in our office.  IF there are any issues with your selections, we will contact you as soon as possible for any necessary changes.  This rarely happens with the exception of special order flowers that may be out of season or unable to be received or require a premium fee.  At this time we will place your order with our floral growers/wholesalers, our baker, confirm details with our photographer and in-house coordinator as well as any other items that will need to be booked.

If time allows upon your arrival, we may be able to schedule a meeting prior to your wedding.  Please keep in mind that our schedules are very full during high season, so after hours appointments may be the required. 

FINAL CONFIRMATIONS AND COMPETING THE DETAILS...

We will contact you typically within 72 hours of your wedding.  We will confirm any last minute changes, your ceremony site location, ceremony changes, guest count and meeting time and location prior to your ceremony.  Any changes or last minute add-ons need to be completed by this time.

Final Payment – Final payment MUST be received by 72 hours prior to your wedding, and in some cases (Platinum Packages) as early as 2 weeks prior.  Please refer to your Wedding Services Agreement for your final payment details.  Checks must be sent 2 weeks prior to allow for the funds to clear.

Add-Ons – Any upgrades that you may have made during the planning process will also be due prior to your wedding date. 

READY FOR THAT TRIP DOWN THE AISLE…

MMIC will plan to meet you in the parking lot of your designated wedding ceremony site 30 minutes prior to your wedding start time.  We request that you have your guests, family, and wedding party arrive promptly to allow enough time for walking to your site and doing any last minute set up preparations.

At this time we will present you with your bridal flowers and pin on any corsages or boutonnieres that you may have ordered, give flower girls their baskets with instructions on the art of ‘petal throwing’ as well as ring handling instructions for the ring bearer, best man, or whoever will be holding your rings.  Kevin will collect your marriage license at this time as well to allow him a few moments to complete his portion of the license.

If you do NOT want to see one another before your ceremony, you can arrive in separate cars.  We will ask that the bride stay in her vehicle, but have someone notify us that you are onsite.  Typically Kevin will take the groom and guests to the ceremony site to get everyone into place – and to ensure that there is no peeking on the part of the groom!  Our photographer will then escort the bride to the location adjacent to the ceremony site where you will be cued to make your entrance. 

After your ceremony you will complete the marriage license.  Kevin will show each of you were to sign your license and give you instructions.  If you have witnesses (In the state of Colorado you are NOT required to have any witnesses, or you can have your entire group sign if you have an intimate group – and we carry a stamp pad for babies and fur-kids to make their own special mark on your license as well!)  At that time you will let Kevin know your preference on managing the license – whether you prefer to hand carry it in for processing, or you would like MMIC to ensure it is sent to the proper location for processing.

Marriage License – If you ask MMIC to send in your marriage license for you, it is then mailed from our office, or if issued in Larimer County is couriered to the local Estes Park office.  It will go directly to the County Seat County Clerk’s office in which you picked it up (i.e., here in Estes it will go to Fort Collins for processing and filing). It takes an average of 4 weeks to process and for you to receive your license in the mail.  Depending on the season, it can be quicker in the off-season and has taken up to 8 weeks during the busy wedding season.  If you need to inquire about it during the process, you will want to call that filing office directly for information. Our advice also is that you obtain 2-3 copies of your certified marriage license in case of loss or other malady to your copy.

It generally takes 4 weeks to process your photos.  As soon as we received the edited versions, they will be edited and ready to be prepared for you.  There are a couple of steps involved to help you keep watch for them… once received, we will begin uploading them to our online gallery.  The link is www.MarryMeInColorado.SmugMug.com Youc an click on your gallery and view the photos and share this link with family and friends.     If your package provided you with a set number of photos (i.e. Last Minute Elopement Special Package (20)) it will be indicated on your Wedding Services Agreement.  When your photos are published online, you may go in to review and select your photos.  You can email me a list of your selections.  Additional photos – including the entire collection taken of your wedding – can be purchased if there are others in your gallery that you would like as well – please contact me for details!  You will notice a MMIC watermark on the photos online – this is to prevent unauthorized use from anyone in cyberspace and to ensure that your photos are protected.  The photos you receive will NOT have this watermark on them.  This is the perfect medium to be able to share your entire wedding photo collection with family and friends – so feel free to email the link out, post it on FaceBook or on your wedding website to your heart’s content!  Prints can also be ordered from this site. SmugMug is a professional lab, and their low cost for high-quality prints is something that we simply pass on to our clients as a convenience.  So, if you are considering ordering prints you may want to have a look at this option.  Other locations (Walmart, Walgreens, etc.) can certainly print them for you as well, but the materials in the printing process that 1-hour locations use does not hold up over time as well as a professional lab process will.  This is ESPECIALLY important on wall photos!  

If your package includes a DVD (some packages receive 3 copies - 1 for you and 2 for parents/family), once they have been loaded online, they will be burned to a DVD and will be mailed to you.  We use Priority Mail through the US Postal Service and you will receive an email from the post office to allow you to track your delivery.  

IF YOUR ADDRESS HAS OR WILL CHANGE FROM THE DETAILS YOU PROVIDED DURING THE TIME YOUR WEDDING SERVICES AGREEMENT OR ELOPEMENT PACKAGE WORKSHEET WERE COMPLETED, PLEASE LET US KNOW ASAP!   

Please note that the box that containing your DVD is sometimes too large for community mail boxes and does require being picked up at your local post office, or requires delivery to your door where available.    When they arrive you will find a Print Release Letter along with your DVD – this is required in some printing locations before they will process your photos to verify that they are not copyright protected.  The DVD itself will also specify that the photos are NOT copyrighted.  

Please do note that the photos are NOT allowed for commercial purposes without MMIC’s written authorization  Photos will remain on our current system for 6 months.  After this time they will be archived in our Safe Deposit Box.  We keep photos at least 2 years, so if there is ever an emergency don't hesitate to contact us!  

If your package included a collection of printed photos, you can send me an email indicating the number of the photo from either the SmugMug site, or your DVD, and the size you choose for each of those photos.  Printed photos take 4-6 weeks to process and will be shipped to you directly from SmugMug, our processing lab.  Please confirm your mailing address for this shipment – the photos do come in a large envelope that, again like the DVD, sometimes requires Post Office pick up or delivery to your door. 

If your package includes a wedding certificate keepsake, you will need to send me an email and please ATTACH the photo you chose for your certificate directly from your photo DVD.  They can be made in either landscape or portrait format so the direction of your photo does not matter.  In your email please specify any details such as the names you wish to be on your certificate if it is different than what was in your ceremony.  Certificates take 8-12 weeks to process.  Once completed, your certificate will be emailed to you for any changes, and the final copy will be provided to you as a JPG file via your email.  We now provide this to our clients to allow you to print multiple copies to give to parents or to have for your own enjoyment.

As we hope you found as well, our online reviews are an invaluable source of information for couples who are making their choices for wedding professionals… and especially those who are finding us from long distances and planning their own destination wedding.  We are offering a special promotion for couples who will go online to provide 3 reviews for us – a free 11x14 professional lab printed wall print of your favorite wedding photo – a $75 gift - as our thank you for taking the time out of your own schedule to provide that for us!  After you have done your 3 reviews at your choice of the links below, send us an email with the sites you left reviews on, along with your photo choice, and we will have it ordered and shipped to you from SmugMug!!  (This, as with photo prints can take up to 6 weeks to receive).