A Winter-Inspired Wedding At The Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City, Utah

Valeria Valdes and Christopher Alfaro met through Chris’s brother and Valeria’s best friend who had been dating for a couple of years. Even though Chris and Valeria knew each other for a long time, they were both in relationships so they never saw each other as anything more.

Once they started getting to know each other it was more like “how did we go so long without each other, what were we thinking?” says Valeria.

It wasn’t until they were both out of those relationships that Chris began to get to know Valeria and they started realizing how much they really enjoyed each other’s company. “Within three weeks we were officially dating and in love!” quips Valeria.

For the proposal, Chris took Valeria to a restaurant by the water in Miami, Florida and after dinner, he suggested they go for a walk outside. “I, was clueless as can be…” remembers Valeria and was all for it. Once they were alone with the waves crashing, Chris suggested they should take a “selfie”. Valeria took her phone and as she pointed for their selfie, she noticed Chris disappeared. She turned around wondering where he went, just to see he was on one knee, holding a ring, exclaiming “will you marry me?” She immediately burst into tears of joy. “It was the best surprise he’s ever even given me and the best idea yet!” says Valeria.

The couple opted for a destination wedding. Rather than staying in Miami and having a beach wedding, they decided to do the opposite and chose a wedding in the snow in Utah. Half their family was on board; the other half thought they were crazy.

But a few months down the line, everyone was so happy to go to a wedding and a vacation at the same time that they just loved the idea. Chris and Valeria planned things together and shipped as many things as they could to their destination. They traveled to Park City, Utah twice before the actual wedding. It helped tremendously since they met with all their vendors and made sure everyone was on the same page.

The day of the wedding it seemed like they were in a dream. Everything was covered in snow outside, it was sunny, the white and pink orchids at the ceremony were blooming, and the food was spectacular. There were so many compliments about her dress, the venue, and the food.

Valeria describes the wedding day as magical. “I can’t think of any other word to describe it,” she says. “It was a fairytale that could have been out of a romantic Hollywood movie! We were so pleased that all came together as beautifully as it did. It was the most beautiful day for Chris and I and you could not take our smiles off our faces. Our close family and friends were there, all the décor looked beautiful and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. We are blessed!”