New Year's Resolutions for Brides

Brides often make New Year's resolutions (any time of the year!) because they envision a new "me" to go along with their new life. Here are some tips to make those resolutions stick:

Tips for Effective Resolutions

We sometimes make resolutions and then fail to keep them. Sometimes this repeated experience can make us feel a sense of futility. And yet we also long to change, and we continue to sense a more magnificent life we could be living- if only we could shift but a few habits. Here are a few tips that can help you shape resolutions that can succeed. #1 Make it directional The key is to understand that all our progress is directional. If we want to make real changes we need to mentally map the terrritory between where we are now and where we want to be- in order to discern a next step that will stick. Couch Potatos would do well with resolving to exercise for even just 5 minutes a day. What seems ridiculously do-able is what provides the traction for actual change. If we can make 5 minutes happen, consistently, it can easily and naturally grow into more. And despite what we think, that 5 minutes will initially take an heroic effort. #2 Make it specific and tie it to something specific A vague resolution will be an even thinner cloud of nothing in a few weeks. We have to make a real gameplan. Make the action specific and tie it into an already specific routine. "Right after I brush my teeth I will do 5 yoga stretches" has a far greater chance of success than "everyday I will exercise for 5 minutes". #3 Plan support A well chosen buddy is one of the best ways to support a new habit. Don't pick your fiance if their well intentioned help will feel like nagging. Ask a reliable friend if you can report your progress for 30 days- the time it takes to form a new habit. (Maybe they have a new '5 minute habit' you can support for them too). Call or email your friend after you've done the 5 yoga sun salutions. In other words, find a way that you can be held lovingly accountable for your follow through. #4 Change your mind Ultimately, our identity is our identification. The more we can shift our self perception the faster and deeper the change can take root. Begin to think of yourself as one who loves to exercise. Loosen your identification with the slug who loves the couch. #5 Affirm the new reality Add affirmations to your new habit. Just before or after your 5 minutes of exercise repeat an affirmation such as "I am healthy and strong. I am filled with vitality". Affirmations are most effective when they are repeated first loudly- to get the mind's attention, then more softly, to sink in deeper. Finally, say the affirmation just mentally, but hold your attention at the point of concentration between the eyebrows. #6 Be kind with yourself No one can stick with a program if its run by a tyrant. Every time you fail refuse to berate yourself AND refuse to give up. Give yourself loving encouragement. Be patient and persistent and you will win over your inner slugs and saboteurs. If you can follow these simple suggestions you will be on your way to a new way of being with yourself. When we cultivate will power and persistence in even one tiny area of our lives, we gain a power that can be applied to ever larger domains. Remember that our real accomplishment in life is the mastery of ourselves.

Transitions like weddings

Take time to adjust to transitions! Marriage is a huge transition. Whatever big changes are happening in your life, take it is easy, go slow, and give yourself and people around you time to adjust. It's not a time for impatience!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's to a blessed Thanksgiving for all... a favorite holiday of mine, just to pause and be grateful! A great saint once said gratitude alone is enough to take you all the way to God. I'm so grateful for my incredible wife, my sweet cat, my family and friends, great music, inspiring mountains, my wedding chapel and all the wonderful couples who come here to have their wedding, my freedoms... I could go on and on. The Thanksgiving feast ain't half bad either... Rev Chris Mohr

How Much Time Do You Need for a Wedding?

Brides often have no idea how long a wedding takes at Foothills Chapel. A lot depends on how many people are coming. If you have between 30 and 120 people, you can get by with 2 hours at a wedding chapel. Come with your hair and makeup already done and delegate everything to friends and family so you can get into your dress and do final touches in 30 minutes. Leave 35 minutes for the minister wedding ceremony (starting 5 minutes late, 5 minutes to process in, 15-20 minutes for a simple ceremony, five minutes to march out) and 15 minutes for the guests to leave. That leaves about 40 minutes for pictures and your two hours is up.

That's a little tight but it can be done. With a time block of two and a half hours you can have more prep time and a little time for pictures with you and the bridesmaids as well as the groom and his buddies beforehand. Three hours is really comfortable. More than that and your photographer will just waste time and your guests will get antsy waiting for you!

With 10-30 people and a very short wedding ceremony, maybe you can get by with only 90 minutes. The one-hour wedding time frame is for brides who come dressed and ready to go (no dressing room), with 10 guests or less. It's hard to pull off and be at all relaxed!

We normally rent the wedding chapel for six hours if there is also a reception happening in our wedding banquet room. That's just one hour to get ready, 75 minutes for the ceremony and pictures, 90 minutes for dinner and cake, 30 minutes for toasts and the first dances, 90 minutes or so to mingle, and 30 minutes to knock down and go home.

Visit http://www.foothillschapel.com for more information.

Couple visits Foothills Chapel after five years

Congrats Dottie and Jean on your fifth anniversary! They'll be visiting the chapel where they got married as part their anniversary celebration. They have a kid and a second one on the way. Can't wait to see you all!

Quad-Chris Wedding

Rev CHRIS Mohr performed a wedding for CHRIS and CHRIS at CHRIStie's of Genesee on September 25 2010.Last year I did a triple Chris wedding at Foothills Chapel but this beat my old record!

Princess Bride

This summer several couples who have been married at Foothills Chapel have come by just to visit. One couple was celebrating their anniversary, another brought their six year old daughter to show her where their wedding was. She was enchanted and walked down the aisle, imitating the wedding video her Mom had shown her!

Just did a wedding for a bride whose Mom died two months ago. Many tears as she lay a rose on the front pew in her memory. I misted up a bit too, thinking of my mother, who passed away earlier this year as well. Something always connects us, even if sometimes it is grief.

Find what you're looking for

Look for meanness and you'll find it. Look for beauty and you'll find that too. What do you look for in your fiance or spouse? Look for flaws and you'll find plenty to criticize. I'm not encouraging blindness or wearing rose colored glasses, but remember the power of our minds to see what we want to see... if we look for what is lovable, we'll find plenty is there to find! Keep this in mind not only as you plan your wedding but in the years to come.

Flower Boy and Girl ringbearer

At one wedding the six year old boy really really wanted to toss the flowers so the girl became the ringbearer. Enlightened parents, enlightened couple!

I petted a hummingbird at a wedding

Just before an outdoor wedding was to begin, a hummingbird flew right by me. oth the bird and I suddenly got totally quiet, and I moved my finger towards it and petted it six times. Soft as, well, a feather, and delicate as a mountain wildflower. Then it flew off. Needless to say I was extra inspired performing that wedding. I never dreamed I could pet a hummingbird!

Flower Girl Blows Kisses

Last week I did a wedding where the six year old floower girl held a basket of flowers and blew kisses at everyone while walking down the aisle. I've officiated at thousands of weddings but people come up with new and unique ideas all the time! Rev Chris Mohr, Foothills Chapel, Golden Colorado (near Denver).

Respond With Love

Love is who we are. God is Love, and we are made in the image of God as Love. Marriage is an incredible opportunity to bring love into our day to day lives. Try it sometime. The next time an old argument is flaring up again, or you feel frustration with your spouse or fiance, ask yourself how Love wants to respond. Jesus said to love your enemy, to fight hatred with Love. Sri Poonjaji said, "Love all, no matter what, love all, it will win all battles."

Your sweetheart is not your enemy, and a marital tiff is not a battle... or is it? In the moment you let a little thing get in the way of love, you position yourself in opposition and try to win... to defeat your "enemy," the person you have chosen to spend the rest of your life with.

Try it once in a while. Take a deep breath and surrender into love. Right in the middle of a fight, just stop. What is Love saying? It's a quieter voice so you have to listen very carefully. But Love melts our hardened shells and invites us to a place beyond right and wrong, where nothing needs to be fixed and nothing is won or lost. It seems to leave us vulnerable but it is the source of our greatest strength, for it is, at the core of our being, who we are. Who seems more confident and self-assured, someone who bickers and picks fights or someone who radiates a calm and loving presence?

Erin and Travis May 30

Congrats to Erin and Travis for their wedding May 30 at Foothills Chapel! We added Catholic elements to their wedding. Photographer Rachel Berg (http://www.rachelberg.com/) is finishing pix right now. Then they head downstairs for a reception hosted by Blackeyed Pea, then off to Las Vegas for their honeymoon! Thanks for getting married here where your family is and not with a faux-Elvis "minister"!

Baptism by the River with Goddog

Today I did my first baptism by a Colorado river just upstream from Coors (no immersion; spring runoff is cold and dangerous!) We used river water in a silver chalice, and the parents are both avid kayakers. Rosie the family dog was there to protect the 8-month old boy, and she would give her life for him. No godparents so Rosie became the official Goddog. The little boy was happy and loves water, fortunately!

September 11 Weddings OK this year!

For years no one wanted a "9/11 wedding." But last week a couple came in and said 9/11 would be perfect for them... great weather, the first Saturday after Labor Day, deep blue skies, ideal schedules, except for THAT date. I said first of all, your wedding will be on September 11. Would you call it a 9/18 wedding if you were getting married the next week? No! You'd say you were having a September 18 wedding.

It's your day. This is the perfect year to take that date back. No one thinks twice about a December 7 wedding (Pearl Harbor Day), and enough time has passed that we shouldn't let a terrorist attack from a decade ago rob us of the joy of an important and beautiful day. So if you're thinking of a September wedding, think September 11, and take back the day for you and all of your guests!

Chinese and American Wedding 4/17

Congratulations to Xian and Daniel for their wedding at Foothills Wedding Chapel in Golden Colorado! Biscuits and Berries provided a lovely lunch, and Rev Chris Mohr officiated. Rev Mohr opened the ceremony by speaking a little Chinese: "Huan Yung Da jia," or Welcome! for the benefit of the Chinese-speaking family members. The rest was in English, which Rev Mohr admits to speaking mlore fluently! Thank you Xian anjd Daniel for honoriung us by having your wedding here.

You’re Invited to a Foothills Chapel
Open House!

Monday, April 26, 5:00-8:00 pm
1950 Ford Street, Golden, CO 80401
Phone 303-279-2152
Here’s What We Have For You:

•A tour of our beautiful chapel and reception hall
•Door Prizes from our vendors!
•Cake Samples from Elegant Bakery
•Delicious Snacks from Pan Fired Catering
•Visit With and Hear the Professional DJ’s from Quality Mobile Sound
•Horse and Buggy Ride from Denver Carriage (weather permitting)
•Vintage Luxury Automobile from Excursions Limousine Service
•A Chance to See Our Beautiful Invitations
•We Offer You Colorado’s Largest Selection of Tuxedos Starting at $49: (Rent Five Tuxes at the best prices in the state, the Sixth is Free!
•Presentation: Fifteen Money-Saving Tips for the Budget-Conscious Bride.
•Visit With Nondenominational Rev. Chris Mohr to Discuss Your Ceremony
•An Entertaining Wedding Rehearsal Demonstration to give you ideas on how you and your attendants can walk down the aisle (with bagpiper!) and more
•Music from Bagpiper and Classical Guitarist Michael Lancaster
•Gorgeous flowers from Amore Fiore
•Discounts from our Photographers and Videographers

RSVP at info@foothillschapel.com Phone 303-279-2152

Association of Bridal Consultants Fact Caravan March 11

We had one of our best Fact Caravans ever, with 17 people attending our downtown visits to eleven venues. We started at Phipps Mansion and Tennis Pavilion wedding facilities, then took a ride in a "bus limo" generously provided for the full day by Charles at Excursion Limousine Service in Denver. We rode in style to downtown Denver and visited the Oxford Hotel in Denver (enjoying seafood snacks from McCormick's Catering), the Sheraton Denver Hotel, the Westin Tabor Center Denver, a fabulous lunch at the Hilton Garden Inn Denver, the Hotel Monaco and Panzano's Restaurant and Catering Denver (great truffles!), Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret and Clocktower Events (the view right next to the clocks has to be the best in Denver), The Curtis Hotel Denver (some of the best chocolate chip cookies ever), and finally ended up enjoying wine and hors d'ouevres at the Warwick Hotel Denver.

Foothills Wedding Chapel Supports Our Troops!

Since opening in 1996, Foothills Wedding Chapel in Golden Colorado has always supported our men and women in uniform by being extra-flexible with scheduling, last-minute cancellations and delays due to sudden deployment, and informal counseling for military brides whose wedding plans have been turned upside down days or weeks before their scheduled ceremony. This kind of flexibility and understanding is especially important when the bride or groom is in the military in a time of war.

Our chapel was first started up in a prisoner of war camp near Leadville, Colorado. The German soldiers being housed at Camp Hale were mostly Lutheran, and one of the American captains asked the German POWs if they would be interested in helping make stained glass and lantern-like lights for a new Lutheran Church for the glory of God to be built in Golden after the war. Several of the POWS joined in with the American captain, making this one of the few cooperative ventures between Germans and Americans during World War II. When the war ended, the rest of the church was completed in 1947. A Navy shipbuilder actually created the beams using old shipbuilding techniques, warping them in water just the right amount to give them a perfect curve in the final architecture. The entire top of the church was built to look like the hull of Noah's ark turned upside down!

If you are a military person, thank you for your service. And consider Foothills Chapel, where we will show extra consideration for your special situation. We have helped organize weddings complete with catered receptions, in as little as seven days when a soldier is suddenly being deployed. We help you emotionally through the sudden changes because we have seen so many other brides who have had to go through this. We allow the archway of swords (some churches consider swords weapons and forbid this important military tradition). We have understanding ministers or you can bring your own chaplain or pastor. Call us at 303-279-2152 today to see the chapel of your dreams!

Dirt Bike and motorcycle Wedding at Foothills Chapel, Golden Colorado

Here at Foothills Wedding Chapel in Golden, Colorado, we encourage our brides and grooms to bring special things they love for the big day. These folks brought a couple of dirt bikes to make the entrance feel more welcoming for their guests! March 6, 2010.

Joella's Colorado foothills nondenominational baptism

Anna and Ryan got married at Foothills Chapel in Golden seven years ago. Now proud parents, they brought their families in for a beautiful, simple, nondenominational baptism. It was great to recognize the faces of so many family members, and Ryan said he was a lot less nervous at the baptism than he was at the wedding seven years ago. Grandparents were beaming on this beautiful Sunday morning in March. Thank you little Joella for putting smiles on all our faces!

Liz and Tom get married 2/27/10 at Foothills Chapel!

Here's Liz and Tom leaving Foothills Chapel in Golden Colorado with friends and family blowing bubbles at them on the first springlike day we've had in awhile. Our wedding chapel saw tears of joy, lots of laughter, great families. Congratulations and God bless to both of you!

Karen Mohr Picture at Foothills Chapel

Hi,

This is just a test of my cellphone camera to see if I can download a picture onto my blog. Looks like the answer is yes!

Lose Weight with a Destination Wedding in Colorado

Recent research suggests that people who take vacations and honeymoons on the beach tend to gain weight, while people who visit mountain regions tend to lose weight! Which would you prefer during your destination wedding? Coloradans have the lowest average BMI (Body Mass Index) of any state in the U.S.A., and that may be partly due to the fact the we live at the highest elevation!

Here's a link to the study, for your enjoyment:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35220214/ns/health-fitness/

There are hundreds of other reasons to have a destination wedding in Colorado. Visit our sister website, http://www.destinationweddingcolorado.com for more information, or http://www.foothillschapel.com.

Two-Party Receptions for the Budget-Conscious Bride

Here at Foothills Chapel and Banquet Room, we're seeing a new trend emerge in these budget-conscious times: the two-party reception! No, it's not a political thing... it's a fun way for everyone to have a great time celebrating your big day without breaking the bank.

Say you have 150 guests on your invitation list. Right after the wedding you can have a formal reception for your family, wedding party and close family friends. So 50 people get together for a relatively formal reception, complete with full meal, bar, etc. A gathering for 50 will cost about 1/5 as much as a gathering for 150 because bigger rental spaces are also much more expensive.

Then, the next day or the next weekend, you have a separate reception for all your work buddies, neighbors and local friends. It's a come-as-you-are party, perhaps a BBQ with a keg of beer, or a back yard bash. For your friends, you spend maybe $10 per person for snacks and drinks.

If you're thinking of going this way, don't think of it as your A List and your B List of guests! Tell your friends you're having a real small formal reception for the family and a fun party for your friends. You'll not only save money, you'll also have a lot more time to visit with friends.

We find that if there are more than 75 people at a reception, it's hard to even say hi to everyone. With two parties you double the amount of face time your guests get, while cutting your expenses way down. Some close friends or family will come to both receptions, and that's fine too.

Ultimatums

Don't give your loved ones ultimatums! Or else! Really, everyone hates them. Unless you absolutely have to (for example, "if you hit me one more time I will call the police and get a restraining order"), ultimatums "box in" your partner and create passive-aggressive retaliation. Try trust: instead of an ultimatum, say "I have to admit I really want you to join my family for this Sunday's dinner, and I'll be really disappointed if I have to go without the man I love. If you do this for me, you'll make me very happy and I promise not to drag you to too many things."