A Wedding That Whispered Between Canyon Walls

A Closer Look

Audrey and Garrett's wedding had a quiet kind of beauty. At heart it was a classic wedding, and what set it apart was where it happened. Planet Bluegrass sits in a canyon in Lyons, Colorado, where red sandstone cliffs rise behind cottonwoods and a river runs past. Isabelle Kline Designs, who planned the day and designed its flowers, let the canyon lead and echoed it everywhere else in stone, wood and clay.

The canyon walls gave the ceremony all the backdrop it needed, so the flowers stayed low. Blush and green hydrangeas poured out of weathered clay urns at the front of the wooden folding chairs, and calla lilies rose among wild greenery beside them as though the meadow had grown up to meet the aisle. Nothing stood taller than the guests, which left the red rock to frame the vows.

The fashion kept to the classics. Audrey's strapless gown was scattered with beading and dimensional florals, sheer panels fell from her shoulders past an open back, and a cathedral-length veil with a pearl-trimmed edge trailed over the grass. Her bouquet of white callas had green amaranthus hanging below. Garrett wore an ivory dinner jacket with black trousers and a bow tie, beside groomsmen in black tuxedos. Against rough sandstone, all that ivory, beading and pearl looked even crisper. Her bridesmaids wore mismatched satin and crepe gowns in olive, sage, dusty blue, champagne and ivory, colors that matched the cottonwoods, the river and the rock around them, each with a small white bouquet.

Before dinner, guests found their seats on stone. Their names were printed on clear acrylic panels and fixed to a raw white slab that leaned against the barn's wooden siding, with greenery spilling from its top and white vases of orchids at its base. Up close, it looked as if it had been cut from the canyon walls. At the bar, the signature cocktail menu hung on a linen banner tied with taupe silk ribbon.

Dinner brought the canyon's shape to the table. Serpentine tables of bare wood wound across the lawn beneath the trees, curving the way the canyon cuts through the foothills, with round tables in white linen set between them. The wood was left bare to show its warm grain, with ivory napkins draped over the sides, mother-of-pearl-handled flatware and low runs of ferns and leafy stems. Green strands dangled from the table ends, and the ceremony's urns, full of blush and green blooms, gathered at their feet. The rounds turned softer, with blush napkins, gold flatware, blush tapers and bud vases of tulips. Slender candles stood in glass hurricanes, and table numbers were written on torn handmade paper finished with wax seals and set on small rough-cut bases. Audrey and Garrett's chairs wore lace backs embroidered in script. The bends and the bare wood tied dinner to the canyon, and the lace, wax and blush kept it classic.

The cake arrived in three textured ivory tiers with a cascade of tiny pale blossoms down one side. After dark, the formality loosened. Audrey changed into a fringed, beaded minidress with sparkling tights and white sneakers, Garrett got down to his shirt, suspenders and bow tie, and Soul X took over the dance floor under string lights. Nearby, guests signed their names in marker across a vinyl copy of Taylor Swift's 1989, which meant the night's guest book could also be played.