Lionsgate’s Featured 2013 Couple: Katie & Chris

Introducing the wonderful couple Katie & Chris

Katie & Chris are making it official on September 29th

 

How did it begin…

Chris and Katie met online and sparks started flying!

Time well spent…

Chris and Katie have been dating for over 2 years now. Love happened in no time!

The proposal…

“Well, I (Katie), had been anticipating the proposal for a while. I actually had a little breakdown the weekend before the proposal because I just “knew he would NEVER propose!” WRONG. I was at Chris’s apartment on a Sunday morning and came into the living to a bouquet of roses on top of a box. Chris said they were for me, he knew I had been stressed out and said he was sorry he had been dragging out the whole proposal thing. I said “thank you” and went to put the flowers in water. He told me to look in the box because there was more. Inside the large box I found a stuffed puppy. On the collar of the puppy, there was a gorgeous ring!! Chris got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of course, I said YES!”

Why the Dove House…

“The same day Chris proposed, Lionsgate was having a bridal show. My sister-in-law and I had planned to attend this since I knew the proposal was coming soon and I really wanted to check out the venue. At the bridal show, we met Amy. We had an instant connection with her and it was hard not to book on the spot! The Dove House really stuck out to us as our venue. We loved the grounds, the layout and how it felt so “homey”.”

 

A message from Lionsgate to Katie and Chris…

We simply love you and just how adorable you are. We can see your love for each other like a glow when you are together. We are incredibly excited to be such a big part on an important day! It’s couples like you that make our jobs enjoyable!

A special thanks to Kristi Hill from Hillside Studios for great photography!

 

 

LET US HELP YOU MAKE YOUR WEDDING DREAMS COME TRUE!

At Lionsgate, we are not “just the facility,” we are a group of women (and a few guys) that really know weddings inside and out.
We’re full of ideas, suggestions and methods to take the stress out of planning a wedding, and most importantly – make it fun!

The history of Colorado’s Liongate Center

The Lionsgate Center has two facilities that both have amazing histories. Both places began as houses and the current owners are constantly adding and improving the grounds. Many of the defining features of The Lionsgate Center have a separate history themselves. With all the stories and tales I just couldn’t pass up writing a blog about it!

The Dove House

The Dove House was built in 1927 for Miss R.A. Dove and it is a rather scandalous story!

Once upon a time in a far away land, aka New York, there was a girl in love. Dove came from a long line of money and a very prestigious family but Dove had fallen for the butler and just couldn’t keep away. Dove was soon expecting a baby. The family was astonished and ashamed and just wouldn’t have anything to do with it! So they built her a house in the middle of nowhere, Colorado for her to move and raise the baby. What a punishment huh?

We have a beautiful yellow rose bush on the fence near hwy 287 (used to be the driveway) that Dove herself had brought with her from NY. It still blooms to this day and has been here for over 80 years!

The Bar

Eventually the events held at the Dove House outgrew it’s room and we had to add on. We tore down the garage and turned it into a bar. It is now home to an old New York bar that was originally from the Hampton Hotel in Albany. The dome stain-glass that you see when you look up is also from New York. It originated on a boat ride in Coney Island. Notice a NY theme?

The Phone booth

Who doesn’t want to jump inside this bright red booth for a photo shoot? Before you go jumping in, don’t you want to know where it has been?! This phone booth isn’t just any ordinary phone booth. It is the largest model that England ever built and only 200 were produced. The rarity comes from there only being 4 in private hands. We know of two people for sure that own this model, us and Madonna! Madonna bought one of the 4 for her New York apartment that she later turned into a fish tank. How about that for awesomeness in your wedding photos?!

The Gatehouse

The Gatehouse and surrounding barns were built in 1910. The original house is what we now call the “East Room”. The porch and front yard are all original. Everything else is newly built for events. It was originally a dairy farm, hence the barns and silo! This cute little old house doesn’t have much more history on the original grounds but the fun stories come from the pieces the owners used to make it what it is today.

The Stair Case

The grand stair case that is all carved wood came from a mansion in Denver. It’s beauty caught the eye of the owners at an auction and forced them to redesign the add on. Marie (the owner) called up her architect that moment and told him to add on a second level…they just bought a stair case!

The Stained Glass

The unbelievable sight of the massive stained glass has taken the breath from many of people. From pictures to in person, people just can’t get enough of it. It’s beauty, being over 130 years old, came straight from France. The center two panels were originally doors and the 4 largest panels were added later in the 1920’s. The gorgeous scenery of flowers and birds has one small frog in the left corner that is a cute hidden gem. Next time you see the window, try to find the frog!

The other miscellaneous stained glass including the peacock and arched windows on the north side are also from France. The arched pieces are the oldest at about 150 years old. When the owners had bought them originally they were covered in sticky tar from all the years of coal burning stoves. They had to have them professionally cleaned with acid. They turned out gorgeously!

 

 

The Entrance

Have you walked up to the front and yanked on the massive door? Well, you just touched a gem from Argentina! The door and both the side lights were on a mansion in Argentina and give the feel of royalty.

The wood work

Lining the walls in the Gatehouse ballroom is stunning wood work that included an amazing fireplace and server. These are all panels from a library in Germany. My favorite part? The seemingly “secret” door under neath the copper bar. The owners purchased this unique find and used every piece!

A new engagement – Alex and Steve

Where did it start?

Steve and I met in high school. The moment I saw him I had the BIGGEST crush on him. However, at the time he was a coach at my high school. I know what you are thinking, but for quite some time it was just a dream of mine. A long four years later, after I graduated we went on our first date. We aren’t really sure as to when we officially started dating and stopped being friends but somewhere along the line we decided we liked each other. 🙂

How long have you been together?

We have known each other for 9 years now but have been dating for 5ish years now (remember, there was no official date that we started dating).

The proposal:

Steve and I are very non-traditional. We had been talking about it for a while and I was looking at rings I liked. I finally found a ring that I just couldn’t pass up. So we were sitting around and he looked at me and said “Let’s do it”. I know, I know…it’s not some crazy story with hot air balloons and rose petals but it was perfect. It was low key, personal and very him. I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Plan your wedding on a budget!

Planning a wedding can be one of the most expensive things you do in your whole life. So, how do you do it on a budget? Well, you are asking the right people! We here at the Lionsgate Center have been around for 23 years and find it almost like a tough sudoku to work with small budgets. We have become pros at it!

The first good thing to figure out BEFORE you go look at all the pretty, glittery and shiny things is to set your budget. Have you seen “Say yes to the dress”? God forbid you fall in love with something you can’t afford. Debt is no way to start your life off with the man (or woman) of your dreams! So sit down together and be realistic with yourselves.

Next, while you are sitting in the same room together, make a list of all the things a wedding entails (i.e. caterer, photographer, cake, etc.) and put them in order so what matters most to you is on top. Now, take a good look at that list. What is on bottom? Is it something that you can cut out completely? If not, try finding cheaper ways around it! But, just incase google hasn’t been helpful to you, I also will start a list of ways to help reduce cost! Like I said, we’ve done this for a long time!

1. Ditch the Dress cost

Not totally sure what you are going to do with the dress after your big day? Have your heart set on a Pnina but can’t afford it? Then rent it or buy it pre-owned! There are some great sites out there to get designer dresses for less than half the price!

2. Cut the Cake

for just the two of you that is! You could easily save if you purchased a two tiered cake for just you two to cut and have a sheet cake hiding in back for everyone else! It taste the same and you still have the prettyness of the tiered cake. Another small tip to save some moolah is to use fresh flowers for your cake instead of sugar. Sugar flowers are very time consuming and therefore cost more!

3. Flourish with in season Flowers

This one says it all. You will get prettier flowers AND save on cost if you find out what is in season and stick to that.

4. Fake the Favors

How many weddings have you been to where the favor was something that you TOTALLY wanted and actually remembered to take home? Point made. Most people will forget your favor on the table at the end of the night anyway. I know I am a happy camper if I get some food and maybe a drink!

5. Crop out the costly photographers

Photographers can be one of the biggest costs in a budget and there are so many other options. In this day and age you could make a cute sign and ask your guests to take pictures for you! If that is just not an option there is a great site called www.yellowpaddlephotography.com that is newer and less experienced photographers that don’t have the price tag you would normally see.

6. Demand Drop-Off

If the facility that you have booked allows drop-off catering this is a great way to go. Have your favorite restaurants (think Rodizio Grill, Carrabba’s, or even Chipotle!) drop-off food and then you can usually hire an event staff (Lionsgate has an on-site staff) for considerably less dough.

7. Decide for a different Date

Most facilities, photographers, DJ’s and even officiants will charge you more for “In season” months as well as weekend days. Believe it or not, people will still show up for your wedding if it is on a Thursday! Plus, then you have all weekend to spend time with that out of town family!! You could easily save thousands if you decided for a winter wedding.

Well, I hope that helps a little bit! Now, get planning!

 

LET US HELP YOU MAKE YOUR WEDDING DREAMS COME TRUE!

At Lionsgate, we are not “just the facility,” we are a group of women (and a few guys) that really know weddings inside and out.
We’re full of ideas, suggestions and methods to take the stress out of planning a wedding, and most importantly – make it fun!

www.lionsgatecenter.com