Captured & submitted by Sheena Shahangian Photography LLC
Ethereal Pastel Garden Elopement in a Historic Greenhouse
To say Manisha and Greg went all out for their garden greenhouse elopement would be an understatement. They actually eloped over the course of two days, with the first day being their ceremony and private elopement reception in a historic greenhouse at Denver Botanic Gardens and the second day being adventurous post-elopement photos at Great Sand Dunes National Park.
Manisha is an incredible designer, and she actually set up their entire ceremony and reception herself, curating plates from West Elm, champagne glasses from Anthropologie, vow books from Rifle Paper Co, and getting custom marble coasters with her and Greg’s names engraved in gold. She’s also amazing at baking and baked and decorated their two-tier wedding cake herself.
The whole greenhouse setup was elevated with stunning floral arrangements done by the talented Beet and Yarrow, with various pink pastel shades of peonies and roses for days. To pair nicely with the slightly minted green of the historic greenhouse where they had their ceremony, Manisha opted for pastel pink accents throughout, which added to the whimsical, ethereal feel of the elopement. This included a pink saree draping, along with pink and gold bangle bracelets.
Day one of the elopement, Manisha and Greg wanted to honor Manisha’s Indian heritage, so they incorporated the traditional Indian garland exchange during their ceremony, and Manisha donning a saree with stunning henna. As is common in Colorado with elopements, the two of them married without an officiant.
We continued the first day’s festivities with a private reception with the two of them, where they cut into Manisha’s homemade two-tier cake and toasted to their new life together. The evening wrapped up with the two of them exploring the gardens and adventuring amongst the stunning plant life on the grounds.
We met back up two days later for sunrise at Great Sand Dunes for the second part of their elopement celebration. The sand dunes are actually home to North America’s tallest dune, towering at over 750 ft tall. These two hiked and ran around the dunes in the morning light, soaking up the desert. The contrast between the lush garden greenhouse and the desert-like dunes was such a cool way to embrace two entirely different landscapes over the course of their multi-day elopement.
During springtime at the dunes, there’s actually a creek that runs through the sand. You can only see it in the late winter and spring season, and by the time summer rolls around, the water is usually gone. It’s the wildest phenomenon, caused by the snowmelt in the mountains, and Manisha and Greg ended their adventures by playing in the water. Talk about the perfect ending to the perfect two-day elopement adventure.
Dress Store: Panash India//Paper Props: Rifle Paper Co//Beauty: WedLocks Bridal Hair & Makeup//Floral Designer: Beet & Yarrow//Ceremony Location: Denver Botanic Gardens//Photographer: Sheena Shahangian Photography LLC//