Ceremony Sites in/near Boulder?

nefariousmango

Hello everybody!  I just got engaged, and my fiance and I both have sisters living on the other side of the world (his is in Tokyo, mine is in Hobart, Oz) and, by sheer luck, both will be in the USA the week of July 5th, 2010.  So suddenly we're rushing about, trying to plan a wedding that they can both attend AND our families can also make it to.  NOT the easiest of tasks!Anyway, I am having the hardest time coming up with a ceremony site!  We'd love for it to be outdoors, but we have a lot of people who do not do well at altitude so we don't want to venture into the mountains.  We live in Jeffco and love our little area, but again with the altitude...We have an emotional connection to the hotel Boulderado, and are thinking of having the reception there, BUT we don't want to have the ceremony in the stairwell :-) so somewhere nearby?  Our guest list is about 100 people, we have equal parts Jewish, Christian, and Buddhist guests attending so we're avoiding a church/temple/Shambala center venue, and a few of our relatives use walkers and oxygen so stairs = very hard.  Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!    Also, if anyone has any comments on the Boulderado, we'd love to hear them, especially if it was a bad experience since we haven't heard anything but glowing reviews...Thank you so much for your help!

Blurbs43

You could try CU.  We had our wedding there.  There are several places outdoors that could work although it may be difficult for those with walkers.  They also have a few indoor options - the UMC, old main, etc.  They were pretty cheap as far as rental rates go, but in my experience they were a little difficult to work with (mainly communication difficulties).  It might be worth looking into. Good luck!

KariMichael

I would think about hiring a planner to help you with all the part of planning. With that being a holiday weekend, you're gong to have lots of obsticals to conqure. all of the public parks are going to have festivals... streets will be closed... Lauren Ripko with its Quintessential is really affordable and creative. She has a background in both graphic design and flower arranging... She's a complete package for a small price. As far as places, I'd look at CU first, they have lots of options for facilities. I'd also ask the coordinator at Boulderado about any places they have seen used in conjunction with them. Try Stone Mountain lodge too.

katkilday

There is a Baptist church across the street from the Hotel Boulderado that is very flexible with different types of ceremonies. 

Lotus1021

Try Flagstaff Ampitheatre, it is near Chataqua (also known as Sunrise Ampitheatre) http://www.bouldercolorado.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1162&Itemid=411 HTH! and Congrats!!

patrize

I second Chatauqua and recommend Flatirons Golf Course.  At the golf course you will have beautiful scenery, access to golf carts for your older guests, and be able to marry on the green.

alora365

We are getting married on the Chautauqua lawn at the end of the month with similar criteria. With the circular drive around we figured it was pretty easy for people to be dropped off super close to the site if needed. The Lawn (or green) is rented through the city and the only payment is a $100 deposit. Super awesome. Rembrandt Yard also does ceremonies and is right across the street from the Boulderado. It is upstairs but I am almost positive they have elevators, and though it is inside it has great views (and the perk of AC!) I know that the Boulder Modern Art museum (BMOCA) also rents out their facility for private events/weddings and has a great central location and parking potential. Hope you find something perfect!

bobanna

I got married at the Boulderado last year and I assure you will love it!! Don't even think about getting a coordinator, for the hotel's coordinator takes care of everything for you at the reception.  If you do plan to do an outdoor ceremony, you could get an off-site ceremony coordinator, but don't worry about the reception details.  The most popular outdoor ceremony locations are Chautauqua and Flagstaff, but both tend to book up very fast if you are looking at a Saturday.  But frankly, we had planned to get married at Flagstaff, but we ended up releasing our date and just getting married on the mezzanine because the shuttling, the dirt and the potential thunderstorm spooked us too much!  It was such a relief for our guests and for us to just have eveything under one roof, and we opted to have our rehearsal dinner at Flagstaff restaurant so everyone in from out of town could experience the views.We had looked into some art galleries for our ceremony nearby, and they would be neutral for all of your attending religions, but they are rather expensive, especially the one across the street ($3000 + ...eeek!) but we did not try BMOCA.  There is also a lovely teahouse next to BMOCA and I have heard of weddings there, so that could be worth a try, too.Good luck and Congratulations!

nefariousmango

Thanks everyone for the great ideas!!  We're looking into Chautauqua and Sunrise Amphitheater, and it's great to hear that the Boulderado was amazing :-)  We're currently leaning towards a family venue- either my aunt and uncle's farm about ten minutes North of Boulder, or my mom and dad's massive garden (although we'd originally vetoed it because it means re-locating an entire bed of plants and buying annuals in our colors next spring... but now that's sounding kind of fun!).