Life on the Lee-Side: Our Wedding

After months of work and planning it was time, our wedding weekend had arrived. A year of researching, reserving, meetings, invitations, thousands of emails, and finding someone who would deliver sumo suits to the middle of the desert had preceded this weekend. Since our engagement Jo had taken a liking to wedding shows on TLC. I endured my fair share of these shows and learned a valuable lesson. Most of the weddings I saw on TV portrayed boring people spending obscene amounts of money in vain attempts to be special on their special day. This is a gross generalization, as everyone has something that makes them special, but the majority of weddings I saw looked lame. I'd like to think Jo and I aren't boring and we don't have much money, so we were headed in the right direction. The weddings that failed the worst were the ones where people weren't true to who they were. For our's to succeed we had to be true to who we were and share that with our friends and family. The end result would be a fun-filled weekend in the desert and mountains above Moab, UT. We found a picturesque lodge, scheduled a float down the Colorado River, and would have sumo suits, small bikes, and fake cakes at our reception. There was no more time left. The weekend had arrived. It was time to stop planning and start doing!

We stayed up late the night before loading a ridiculous amount of gear, food, and drinks into our three vehicles. Lee, Amy, and Chris had arrived in the morning and helped with some last minute shopping. An unseasonably cold day had turned even colder as a light mist fell. We stood in our driveway next to the sagging shocks of our overloaded vehicles and prepared to embark. We didn't make it far because my card wouldn't work at the gas station. The strip had been worn to failure so I had to bum cash off of Chris and Lee to fill the vehicles. Typical!

Loading Up

The Raft

Soda and Martinelli's

Lee, Amy, & Chris in Front of the Tacoma

I was driving the M Coupe with Chris, Lee and Amy were in the Tacoma, and Jo was enjoying some quiet time in the Element. As we traversed the eastern Rockies the Aspens were in full form with leaves colored in brilliant yellows and oranges. We made Edwards by sunset where we met up with Sean and Jonny V in his M Coupe. After a dinner of Lark Burger we pressed on to Grand Junction where we would bed for the night.

Our Caravan

Overloaded Element

Vail Aspens

In the morning we split up. Lee and Amy headed to Moab, Jo met up with her parents to do some shopping, and Chris and I washed the M Coupe confident we would catch everyone. I had never driven the M Coupe to Moab so the scenic route was definitely in order. What a route it was! After blazing through miles of straight, desolate, lightly patrolled interstate we found Route 128. Which is an even more desolate two late stretch of road that meets with the Colorado River at Dewy Bridge and follows it through red-walled canyons past Fisher Towers and Castleton Valley. It was one of the single most enjoyable driving experiences I've had in the M Coupe. Needless to say, we made good time!

Utah

The "Scenic" Route

Ahh Bliss...

Dewy Bridge

Wait It's Over Here

Fisher Towers

Wait, They're Over Here!

Chris Happy to be Alive

Beautiful Canyon Walls

In Moab we found Lee and Amy and headed up to Whispering Oaks Ranch. Whispering Oaks is nestled at 8000 feet in the La Sal Mountains above the Moab desert. It's surrounded by a mix of pinions and junipers with peaking yellow aspens slightly higher. The main lodge is a rustic mansion that sleeps 24 comfortably. It has a wrap-around two level porch complete with a hot tub on the southwest corner. Below the main lodge are three smaller cabins, a large pavilion, manicured green lawns, and three small ponds. I can think of no better place to get married. It's the perfect intersection of rustic outdoors and luxury.

Whispering Oaks

From Above

After we settled in we headed higher up the La Sals to Werner Lake to reserve a few campsites. Werner Lake was some how more picturesque than Whispering Oaks. It's an alpine lake surrounded by aspen groves which are capped by rocky peaks. Larry, the mildly intoxicated camp host, and I hit it off like we were old friends and he was happy to reserve a few spots for us. By the end of our conversation I gave him a big hug and invited him to the wedding!

Driving to Werner Lake

The La Sals

Amy in the Aspens

Werner Lake Cabin

Werner Lake

Larry & Ziggy with Our Crew

107 Year Old Aspen Carving

By the time we got back to the lodge more friends and family had trickled in. Mom, Andrew, and Bill had arrived from Maryland, Adam and Kristie from Atlanta, John and Tracee from Albuquerque, Eliza, Andrew, and Charlie from Philly, and cousins Chris and Tessa all the way from England. Jo, Pat, and Allan had caught up to us, Rachel, Lori, and Jayden, came from Denver, and Nicole and Aly from New York City. We took in the evening grilling on the porch and enjoying the sunset from the hot tub. The festivities had truly begun.

Adam & Kristie