PLANNING YOUR WEDDING OR MAYBE

RENEWING YOUR VOWS?

Celebrate your Wedding Vows surrounded by the Peace and Tranquility of the Poudre Canyon.  Archer’s Poudre River Resort offers you a variety of unique and memorable opportunities.

The Great Room at the Lodge here at Archer’s Poudre River Resort is located on the Poudre River.  Large picture windows bring the feel of the outdoors while enjoying the comforts of the indoors.  Or celebrate on the redwood deck which juts out to the west and is approximately 25 feet above the river and surrounded by Majestic Mountains and Towering Aspen and Pine Trees.  The flow of the river will serenade you as you repeat your vows to each other.

The historic Poudre Canyon Chapel, using native stone which compliments the beautiful back drop of the Poudre Canyon combined with the 1905 Oak baptismal fontcreate a unique and historical place to begin your very own history.  What started as a local community effort to build this chapel soon captured the interest and participation from visitors around the state.  Men, woman and children working together toward the common goal of building their church was a gratifying experience for all.  Their efforts live on in giving you a great foundation to start building your life together.

The adjacent Poudre Canyon Community Center provides a great location for all of your guest to celebrate your wedding.  Local catering is also available so you can sit back and enjoy your special day.  Or picture your wedding under a canopy of aspen trees set against the towering 500 foot high canyon walls with the Poudre River flowing behind you.  This picturesque outdoors venue has central gathering/picnic areas, raised platform stage, electrical outlets and lighting for your “Wedding under the Mountain Stars”.

You can share your love of the outdoors with your love for each other by combining some of the great outdoor activities available with your Wedding Day/Honeymoon.  The Poudre Canyon offers Whitewater rafting, fishing, hiking, hunting, 4x4 Off Roading and bicycling through the canyon.  Your imagination is the only limit to making this event special.

Want that Native American Indian Flair to your Wedding?

Native Americans express their respect for nature through poems, prayers and symbolic traditions.  You can capture that same feeling by including some of their rich traditions set deep in the beauty of Nature.

TRADITIONS:

In Pueblo ceremonies, couples would drink nectar from the double spouted Wedding Vase.  Each spout represents the bride and groom and the looped handle represents the unity of marriage.

Navajo communities used corn meal to enhance fertility.  The white corn meal represented the male and yellow corn meal, the female.  The Navajos combined the two meals into a corn mush and placed it into a wedding basket before the ceremony.

Alogonquin tribes preferred to hold their ceremonies outside or in a ceremonial lodge.

Many different tribes used poetry and prayer as part of their ceremony. For example:

APACHE WEDDING PRAYER:

Now you will feel no rain,
For each of you will be a shelter to each other.
Now you will feel no cold,
For each of you will be warmth to each other.
Now there will be no loneliness,
For each of you will be companion to each other.
Now you are but two bodies,
But there is only one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling place,
To enter into your days of your togetherness,
And may your days be good and long upon the earth.

To make your own wedding special:

·        You can choose some customs and traditions that have meaning to you, and make them a special part of your day.

·        Choose a prayer or poem that you would like to have someone read at the ceremony.

·        Ask someone to play an Indian Love Flute.  Legend says that this flute, which is carved out of cedar wood, holds the power of attraction and was used to enhance courtship.

·        Select a site to hold the ceremony, such as Poudre Canyon Historic Chapel, The Lodge with a beautiful view of the outdoors and the Cache la Poudre River, or in the great outdoors itself.

OUR PRAYER FOR YOU

May your joining be a sacred union.
May the two of you find peace within this union,
A haven for your souls.
Come together in heart, mind, spirit and body.
Be guided in the ways of holiness.
May your relationship be a fount of love and wisdom,
For yourselves and for those you touch.
May your bond be a channel for your love and healing,
A vehicle of your grace and power.
As lessons come and challenges grow, may you always remember –
That in each other’s arms you are strengthened.
May you remain young at heart in this relationship.
May you grow wise in this relationship.
May you always be all that you truly are.
Thank you for bringing us your love.

Amen

Begin planning your special day by calling Archer’s Poudre River