Molli and Shale’s October wedding at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen started with sunshine. By the time they were getting married at Cliffhouse, we were in a cloud. It was one of my favorite surprises of the day: after watching the wind pick up, we ended up with beautifully soft light for the ceremony.
Watch Molli and Shale’s wedding film
A chairlift ride into changing weather
Molli and Shale made it up the chairlift before the weather turned. Some guests got a much windier ride. The mountain looked different by the time everyone was up there, but the cloud softened the light around the chuppah. That change in weather is what I remember most about filming the ceremony.
High school sweethearts and family traditions
Molli and Shale met in high school. When I asked what they wanted their wedding film to feel like, they chose joyful and energetic and told me they preferred mostly candid footage. They wanted to stay with their guests rather than step away for sunset portraits, which told me a lot about where to keep my attention.
Molli walked down the aisle to Coldplay’s “A Sky Full of Stars,” with both parents by her side. Rabbi Steve Lowenstein officiated beneath a floral chuppah. The couple also asked me to capture the Jewish prayers led by family at the reception, along with their vows and the toasts from both sets of parents. Those were the moments they most wanted to be able to revisit.
From Cliffhouse to Buttermilk Mountain Lodge
The reception at Buttermilk Mountain Lodge felt like a different world from the open mountainside. Caroline James Floral’s arrangements, draping by Sheer Bliss and lighting by AV Aspen helped transform the lodge. The live band kept the dance floor full, and the hora brought both families into the celebration. The surprise that really got the party started came from DJ Todd Rose and the AV Aspen team: CO₂ cannons. Molli and Shale didn’t know they were coming.
Two of the moments Molli and Shale specifically asked me to catch were easy to miss if you didn’t know to look for them: their unannounced cookie cake cutting and a dance where each of them danced with the other’s parent. I love that those were on the same list as the hora. The big moments show you what the room felt like; the smaller ones show you who was in it.
For couples planning a mountaintop wedding, I’d take one thing from this day: build some breathing room into the chairlift transfer, and decide which family moments you want filmed before the reception gets going. Explore our Aspen wedding videography to see how we tell those stories.
Explore Molli and Shale’s film gallery
The personalized VidFlow gallery offers another way to revisit the day, including the widescreen and vertical trailers.
The wedding team
- Planning and coordination: Emily Alexander Hecht, E. Alexander Events — @e.alexander.events
- Ceremony, reception and catering: Cliffhouse and Buttermilk Mountain Lodge, Aspen Snowmass — @aspensnowmass
- Officiant: Rabbi Steve Lowenstein
- Wedding film: Summit Photo & Film — @summitphotoandfilm
- Photography: Caitlin Grace Photography — @caitlingracephoto
- Florals: Caroline James Floral — @carolinejamesfloral
- Entertainment: Todd Rose, Kickin’ Aspen Entertainment — @kickinaspen
- Lighting and audiovisual: AV Aspen — @avaspen_audiovisual
- Draping: Sheer Bliss, Matt Soltesz
- Cookie cake: Paradise Bakery Aspen — @paradise_bakery_aspen
- Rentals: Premier Party Rentals — @premier_party_rental
- Linens: Nuage Designs — @nuagedesignsinc
- Napkins: Theoni Collection — @theonicollection
- Day-of stationery: Maison & Pine — @maisonandpine
- Invitations: XOWYO — @xowyopaper
- Shuttles: CTS Colorado — @coloradotransportationservices
- Hair and makeup: Ashlea of Full Circle and Lacey Broughton