the weekend it all started

There’s a story behind #funwiththefrels and we’re going to tell it to you.

It all started in mid-September during one of our many 2015 wedding weekends. Lindsey, a sorority sister of Elizabeth’s, was walking down the aisle in Vail, and all of the Gammas near and far were flying into Colorado for the occasion.

Enter: Elizabeth (aka “Liz J”) and her then-fiancé-now-husband Jack.

Liz J is one of the most intellectually savvy and kick-ass women we know. But her insane musical talent, big time corporate profession, and confidence-oozing persona doesn’t detract from her unique inclination for fun. (Back when we lived on the east coast, our annual “Elizabash” February gatherings with our friend Mallory were somewhat legendary.)

Jack, in perfect complement to Liz, is a bundle of energy. This guy could make friends with a rock and be the happiest man alive. Put together, you have what we would call a “challenging” couple. Only because they are always challenging us to take life by the horns and live it to its absolute fullest.

So you can imagine our surprise when they announced that their official hashtag for our weekend together was #funwiththefrels. We loved it (YAY alliteration)! And we tried to live up to the moniker as much as we could (despite our inclinations for sleep).

The official plan was to go out to Vail for the Friday afternoon wedding, hike in the mountains Saturday morning, and return back to Denver for a day of brewery-hopping.

We kicked it all off by gathering in our side-by-side group cabins on Friday and getting dolled up for the ceremony.

Nailed it.

Lindsey and Matt’s wedding was absolutely stunning, set against the beauty of the changing Colorado Aspens. Cue stunning-ness:

We won’t go into the details of the epic speeches, delicious BBQ, and nonstop dance floor, but it’s safe to say that most of our time at the reception looked something like this:

The fun only continued to accelerate on Saturday. Instead of hiking, we opted to sleep in a bit, catch up with friends, and take a scenic drive to the Continental Divide. Even though we had driven by it many times on our way to the ski slopes, Elizabeth had never actually stopped to take it in.

Have we ever mentioned that we love where we live?

Next up, some green chili smothered breakfast burritos from Tafolino’s, a little hole in the wall Mexican joint in Golden that all of Jason’s co-workers swear by. Spacious, un-crowded, and queso galore–we were in heaven.

Finally, it was time to begin our mandatory Denver brewery-hopping tour.

We began at the essential heart of it all, Great Divide, which is situated right downtown and a must-visit for any out-of-towner.

One pint of our favorite Colette later, we randomly stumbled upon Mile High Spirits, an awesome gem right next door offering warehouse-worthy spaces and Colorado distilled liquors. Fireside Colorado Bourbon Whiskey has been one of our recent go-to’s, and it turns out this place is where it’s made. New spot discovered!

Then it was on to River North, one of our top five favorite breweries in the city. While their tasting room is tiny, their French and Belgian inspired ales are a welcome reprieve from all of the Colorado hops that run so rampant here.

The last stop on our tour was Prost Brewing. This place used to be our main watering hole a couple of years back. It has such a fun, Oktoberfest vibe and plentiful bench seating, plus a delicious Marzen that comes round every fall. Add in some life-size Jenga and some extra-large steins for the guys, and it’s no wonder why we ended up staying here well into the night.

There are no pictures documenting the rest of the evening, although it may or may not have involved a lot of animated Hobbit YouTube videos and some rapping to Amish Paradise (we’ll never tell…). But after all of that, it’s really no surprise why Elizabeth ended up looking like this all day Sunday: