A Colorado-Inspired Wedding With Foraged Foliage at Devil’s Thumb Ranch

“I wanted something that honored my Colorado roots, with a mix of traditional and non- traditional elements—organic sophistication in spirit, flavor, elegance, and style,” Eliza Nell Philpott says of her wedding with Josh Peck at Devil’s Thumb Ranch in Tabernash, Colorado. “I’m a Colorado girl at heart.” 

To pull off their vision, the bride, an art director, and groom, a music composer, sought out the expertise of planner Elise Seagren of Revel + Bloom, whom Eliza says made the entire process "so easy." The couple got to focus on ways to bring their family and friends together over a weekend of events at the ranch, some of which included horseback riding and mountain biking, while the Revel + Bloom team took her Colorado landscape-inspired decor ideas to the next level. For Eliza, it was about finding the right vendors to create something she couldn’t ever dream up instead of recreating a photo she found online. “I felt honored to work with them,” she says “My biggest advice to couples would be to choose vendors for their artistry and trust them to do their craft.”    

But Eliza and Josh weren’t completely hands-off. They sourced their own band, Slavic Soul Party, from a music festival in upstate New York, and they gathered bunches of wild white sage from the property to use for a special ritual during the ceremony. They also wrote their own vows. “Holding back the tears was a joyful challenge,” Eliza adds. 

Read on for all of the details of Eliza and Josh’s Colorado-inspired wedding, planned by Revel + Bloom and photographed by Clark Brewer Photography.  

Eliza claims that the pictures of Devil’s Thumb Ranch don’t do it justice. “Luckily, my father convinced me to visit the venue and then, of course, it’s the one we chose,” she says.  

The couple hosted their 100 guests for a weekend at the ranch, which included Western pastimes like horseback riding, fly fishing, and mountain biking. “It has the authentic Colorado mountain feel I was hoping for,” she adds. 

Nature has played a big role in Eliza and Josh’s relationship. He proposed on a hike in upstate New York, where the pair were spending a weekend. Though Eliza felt more like leisurely eating breakfast that day, Josh convinced her to take a walk in search of blueberries. At a picturesque overlook, he popped the question.

“We hiked to a spot called Blueberry Overlook and the sign to the entrance says ‘marked but not mapped,’” Eliza recalls. “‘Marked but not mapped’ is how we want to define our marriage.”

Eliza first saw her Anna Campbell gown on Instagram and knew she had to try it on. She bought a last-minute flight to Colorado from her home in New York to see it in person at Anna Bé Bridal. Though she tried on a few other gowns, she ultimately picked this ivory tulle dress with 3-D laser-cut flowers and petals with glass beading and sequins, plus a sheer open back.  

Eliza’s bouquet was inspired by the local foliage and foraged grasses of the Colorado countryside. La Rue Floral combined ranunculus, roses, and blushing bride in neutral colors along with pops of green eucalyptus and sage.  

Eliza’s bridesmaids carried a smaller version of the bridal bouquet, complete with a matching raw silk ribbon from Hey It’s So Pretty.

Eliza’s flower girl wore a light pink dress to match those of the bridesmaids.

Eliza and Josh met on a field for a first look before the ceremony.  

Josh paired a custom Suit Supply navy suit with a burgundy tie.  

“Choose an amazing photographer because the photos capture the moments that you will have forever,” Eliza says. “Our photos were incredible—we cried when we saw them for the first time—and I felt like I could relive the entire wedding through them.” 

“The ceremony was outside in a field in front of a horse pasture,” Eliza says. “Right before we walked down the aisle, they ran the horses through the pasture. I grew up riding horses so this was definitely a fairy-tale moment.”

Revel + Bloom worked with La Rue Floral to design the ceremony space, including the aisle arrangements crafted from pampas grass and foraged Colorado foliage. Eliza’s father designed and built the wooden arch that was ultimately covered in garden roses and green vines.  

Friend and guitarist Martin Rivas played for the ceremony, including Eliza’s entrance to “Over The Rainbow.” 

Before the start of the ceremony, Eliza and Josh had their guests smell handfuls of wild white sage in a grounding ritual that Eliza says they hoped brought them right into the moment. “Now every time they smell sage, we hope it brings them back to this special day,” she says. 

“Josh really encouraged us to write our own vows,” Eliza says. “It added a special touch to the day and allowed us to authentically express our love for each other in front of our family and friends.” 

The couple and their planner got quite the surprise during the recessional: a blank was fired out of a cannon! “I watched my wedding planner jump three feet into the air then start laughing,” Eliza recalls. “It was truly a surprise and one of my favorite moments!” 

Eliza's opted for a classic diamond eternity band for her wedding band.

Jackalope Press designed the couple’s escort card wall. Each table was named after a different tree found in the area.  

The reception took place inside a barn on the property.  

Eliza and Josh invited 100 guests to the celebration and focused the weekend on showing them the best of Colorado. Part of that was the reception, where they served a feast of Western dishes and danced to the music of a nine-piece brass band.  

“When I first walked into the reception space I burst into tears,” Eliza says. “I felt like I was walking into a fairy tale. There were flowers and vines draped everywhere.” La Rue Floral hung natural foliage from the ceiling and rafters to create an ethereal vibe in the space as well as bring some of the outside in.  

Eliza says that the centerpieces were designed with “organic sophistication in mind.” She loved that the floral arrangements didn’t obstruct guests’ views while eating and drinking but still managed to draw the eye up to the high ceilings.  

Each place setting featured a light blue linen napkin, letterpress menu, and spring of eucalyptus. 

“Choosing music that stands out and brings people together is one of the surest ways to anchor in a memory,” Eliza says of asking their guitarist to be the front man for the Baltic sounds of the brass band, Slavic Soul Party. That included the couple’s first dance, a custom arrangement of Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love.”

The couple’s menu included Western favorites like coffee-rubbed ribeye with creamy polenta, braised chard, and mole as well as a sage-stuffed trout with grits and brown butter caper sauce.  

“The wedding cake pattern matched the pattern on my wedding dress!” Eliza says of the five-tier cake designed by Wildflower Cakes. It included chocolate with mocha buttercream and lemon cake with raspberry filling.  

“We took a bit of a risk not knowing exactly what we would be getting into with this eclectic mix,” Eliza says of the band. “I have never witnessed people dancing so hard at 9,000 feet. One of the biggest comments about the wedding from everyone was: ‘Wow! That band.’”