This sweet bride and groom decided to have their Colorado wedding over Thanksgiving weekend, which was a fun-filled time for families and friends to get to know each other. These two were both dressed to the nines, with Greg in his dress uniform and Catie in an absolutely stunning wedding dress with voluminous skirt. Read below for Catie's thoughts on wedding planning, as well as more details about their wedding weekend. Thanks to Ais Portraits for sharing this lovely late autumn event with us!

What was most important for you to include in your wedding?
Family was definitely the biggest priority for our wedding. Greg and I both have large extended
families scattered all over the country, and most of our family members were able to come out
to Colorado. We got married over Thanksgiving weekend, on my parents' 28th wedding
anniversary, but we spent the week before the wedding having a huge family reunion - we
rented a huge house so both sides of the families could get to know each other, we all
celebrated Thanksgiving together, and we even had a chili cook-off rehearsal dinner, where
we pitted both sides of the family against each other! It was a blast.

What is your favorite memory from your wedding?
On the morning of the wedding, my hairdresser had given me a tip that keeps you from crying -
she said all you had to do was clench your butt-cheeks together, and you wouldn't spill a tear.
When it came time for the wedding to start, I felt the tears coming, so I tried her trick, and it
worked like a charm. When I met Greg up at the altar, though, he was teary, and I felt awful that
I wasn't crying and he was, since I've usually always got the waterworks going! The whole
wedding ceremony was a huge blur, but one of the things that stands out the most was us
facing each other getting ready to say our vows, him crying, and me mouthing the word 'buttcheeks' at him repeatedly. His look of confusion was priceless, and it was a hysterical way to begin our marriage.

What was your favorite detail?
Greg is a pilot in the Air Force, and my dad is a retired Marine pilot, and both wore their dress
uniforms for the ceremony. My favorite part of our wedding was after my father walked me down
the aisle, Greg and my dad saluted each other instead of shaking hands.

What was your first dance song?
My sister played the guitar and sang "When You Say Nothing at All" by Allison Kraus. I had
been dreaming of her playing that song at my wedding since I first heard her sing it when I was
a teenager. Greg and I actually heard the song while on our first date and I told him that it was
going to the song I danced to at my wedding! When the time came, he was all too happy to
make that dream come true!

What is your advice to couples who are planning weddings now?
Everyone told me to savor the day, because it FLIES by, and they were right. Savor the day,
savor the week, savor all of the crazy stressful planning moments as they happen, because it's
the biggest day of your life and it's all over in a flash!

Photography: Ais Portraits | Venue: United States Air Force Academy Chapel, The Cliff House | Wedding Dress: Allure Bridals | Hair & Makeup: J. Gregory Salon | Catering: The Cliff House | Officiant: Chaplain "Chappie" Watties | Music: Joe Galema