For more than 2 years, my fiancé and I had planned, booked and paid for our Halloween wedding at a well-known haunted Hotel in Colorado. But when the venue canceled 3 days before our Wedding Date because of wildfires in the area, we were left scrambling for a new Venue.

A friend of mine asked if we had considered The Ranch, and reached out on our behalf...at 6:55 pm. By 7:05 pm, I received a call from Danielle Ochs, The Ranch Country Club's Catering Manager. She said the Venue was available for Halloween and would be thrilled to host us. We discussed her Wedding Packages, and agreed to meet the following morning at 9 am to review the location with our photographer.

Wednesday Morning, barely more than 12 hours after we had been introduced to Danielle over the phone, we met at The Ranch. During our visit, Danielle lead us on a tour of the grounds, pointing out ideal picture locations, and explained that our Wedding Party would have full access to the Men’s & Women’s Locker Rooms the day of. After walking in (and honestly being AMAZED at the view from the back veranda!) we sat down and literally re-planned our entire wedding....in an hour! She took notes, made suggestions for new layouts, discussed linens, and reviewed menu options. Additionally, we had FOUR Guests with Celiac Disease (myself included). Danielle was not only knowledgeable about what items didn’t have Gluten but ensured extra care would go into our Dinner preparation. On Thursday morning, my Day of Planner/Maid of Honor and I went back to the location and walkthrough. Danielle, yet again, greeted us with smiles and assistance. She gave another tour, and patiently answered another round of 21 questions.

Fast forward a whole 2 days, we showed up at 9:30a to setup on Halloween Morning. Nearly every employee at The Ranch knew who we were, and was absolutely ecstatic to see a Halloween Wedding come together in their location. They also knew how last-minute everything had become and went above and beyond to help. For about 2 hours, we set up the location wearing Halloween-colored Tutus, which warranted a couple double-takes from unsuspecting golfers. The ceilings were even tall enough to very comfortably fit my 12’ Tall Blow-Up Grim Reaper! Once setup was complete, we ordered lunch with Danielle’s team for our little group…again…all mindfully prepared to be Gluten Free. After lunch, it was time to shower in the locker rooms and begin hair and makeup for photos.

I’d previously mentioned that all wedding guests would be in Costume (it was a Halloween wedding, after all), and Danielle was quick to ask if her staff could dress up as well. I believe my response was “OMG YAAAASSSSSS!!!” So, as we began taking pre-ceremony pics, Danielle and her staff walked in. Danielle was Cat in the Hat, and her staff was Thing 1 & Thing 2. So absolutely awesome! It was just one more little thing Danielle did to make the day unforgettable.

At 3:30 on Halloween, the boutonnieres and corsages were pinned (with help from Danielle again), the Firepit outside was lit, the overhead string lights were on, the chairs set, decoration were all in place, and guests were beginning to trickle in. Danielle, or Cat in the Hat, greeted everyone and lead them to the outside veranda (with the most amazing view of the Front Range.) As our Ceremony began at 4p, she lined us up and guided us down the aisle……following my Blow-up T-Rex Flower Girl. Once our ceremony was over, since everyone was in costume, ALL guests went out to the Pergola for Group pics. As we did that, Danielle and her staff prepared for Cocktail Hour. Drinks were provided from the Bar, and carefully selected (gluten-free) hors d'oeuvres passed by Thing 1 & Thing 2. (I can’t even type that without smiling)

We eventually transitioned to Dinner, where we were served the best, most perfectly prepared Ribeye and Salmon plates…and the Drink glasses were never empty. And, for anyone who is unfamiliar with Celiac Disease, there’s always a little (or a lot of) fear about how sick you’ll be from Gluten Contamination while eating out. However, NOT A SINGLE GUEST had a reaction or got sick due to Gluten cross-contamination. This speaks volumes to Danielle, and Chef’s attention to detail in keeping us safe. Following Dinner and Cake, we did our first dance (Thriller by Michael Jackson) and then the party really began. The Bartender was prompt and very patient as we gathered ‘round his bar…for shots. Several rounds of them. I don’t even remember how many. But the whole time he had a smile.

Close to 10p, we did our last dance, then everyone filed outside for our ‘GlowStick Sendoff’ (arched over as we walked underneath). I’m told the staff was also a tremendous help with teardown and clean up after the wedding.

In the end, our Wedding at The Ranch was absolutely phenomenal. Danielle and her staff ensured our event was flawless and flowed with ease. Every guest agreed it was executed perfectly, and no detail was missed.

This was the perfect location for us! We enjoyed working with the staff and the wedding turned out great, in spite a couple of hiccups. My only issue was that we got passed onto 3 different wedding coordinators without much communication, however it turned out great in the end and Gary was fantastic!