IN THE NEWS...
August, 2008
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Kevin Cooper and Marry Me In Colorado...
Featured in
the Fall 2008 Issue of
Bride's Colorado Magazine
2
Articles:
Feature Story 1 - Featured Wedding - Bonnie and
Erin - Steamboat Springs - March, 2008
Feature Story 2 - Unique Officiates in Colorado |
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May, 2008
Jennifer Moore, Windsor Now
May 31, 2008
Even without power and a lot of emotions running through
the town, Sherry Mascarenas and her staff in Windsor
made sure one bride's day started off just right.
Tiffany Black was scheduled to marry the love of her
life, Travis Vendela on May 24, and she and her six
bridesmaids had appointments for hair and makeup at
Rumors On Main Salon & Spa, 612 Main St., that same
morning. The devastating tornado on May 22 left most of
Windsor without lights, power and functionality,
including Mascarenas' salon, but that didn't stop the
salon owner and her staff from doing what they do best.
"It was a feat for Superman I
think," Mascarenas said. "And we pulled it all
together."
"I didn't sleep much the nights
after the tornado because I was so worried about pulling
this off," Mascarenas added.
Three generators where donated to
the salon, and the staff spent the night before making
sure the outlets for each hair station could hold the
amount of current for curling irons, hair dryers and
other tools. Windsor resident Diane Ransom and Little
Caesars Pizza in Fort Collins donated food for the
wedding party. When it was all over with, the seven
women received a new do and makeovers.
"The girls were all grateful for
what we had done," Mascarenas said.
Travis and Tiffany, who are from
Wyoming, had been engaged for more than two years and
their story was picked up by the Montel Williams Show.
Travis lost his legs in February when his convoy was hit
while on duty with the United State Army in Iraq. His
injuries postponed the wedding.
The producers of the show contacted
Kevin Cooper, wedding officiator with Marry Me In
Colorado and his wife Lorie Cooper, a master wedding and
event planner with Fountains of Loveland, for help with
coordinating a worry-free wedding for the couple. The
Coopers did some calling to Northern Colorado wedding
vendors, including Affordable Catering Co. of Northern
Colorado, Fountains of Loveland, Agapé Photography,
Finishing Touches, Palmer Flowers, La Quinta Inn and
Suites and more. Before they knew it, they had more than
$30,000 worth of goods and services donated for the
wedding.
"When you look at him (Travis) you
are like 'Wow, you sacrificed for me and my daughters,
so we can continue the way we are living,' " Lorie
Cooper said. "I can't thank him enough."
Lorie said the vendors all felt the
same way she did.
"There wasn't even a question. It
was amazing the people out there who did (step up) to
make this a beautiful wedding," Lorie said.
Tiffany and Travis were married in
front of 150 people at the Fountains of Loveland. Lorie
said Tiffany arrived like a princess on a carriage, ice
sculptures decorated the reception and 50 doves where
let loose at the end. She said the neatest thing,
however, was watching Travis stand, walk and dance with
his new wife on his prosthetic legs.
"It was a very touching story,"
Lorie said.
"Enough to make you cry," Kevin
Cooper added.
______________________________________________________________________
BY VIMAL PATEL
Loveland Connection • Coloradoan
May 25, 2008
Community Supports
Military Couple
Travis Vendela lost both
his legs when his Hummer was struck by an improvised
explosive device while serving in Iraq, setting off
more than a year of rehabilitation that continues
today.The
blast near Balad, about 50 miles north of Baghdad,
also caused a broken pelvis and arm, fractured
vertebrae and shattered jaw.
But beyond the
excruciating pain and lifelong implications of the
injuries, he had a more immediate concern: How and
when he would marry his sweetheart, Tiffany Black?
Financial reasons
forced the delay of the wedding, which they had
planned before Vendela's injuries in February 2007.
But with the help of
businesses from Loveland and the rest of Northern
Colorado, the Wyoming couple married Saturday at the
Fountains of Loveland.
"We just pulled
together as a local community and made it happen,"
said Lorie Cooper, general manager of Fountains of
Loveland. "We called our friends in our own backyard."
The effort started
with a phone call from "The Montel Williams Show" to
Lorie's husband, Kevin, who is a wedding officiant.
The show, which had
the couple as guests, sought assistance for the
couple.
The Coopers began
soliciting donations from local businesses.
With the community's
help, about $30,000 in donations and services were
raised for the wedding.
About two dozen local
businesses pitched in.
Agape Photography in
Fort Collins shot free photos of the event.
Affordable Catering
in Greeley provided a complete buffet dinner for each
of the expected 200 guests.
And Black Steer in
Loveland provided a full rehearsal dinner for 35
people Friday night.
"It's a feel-good
story," Cooper said. "You hear so much negativity and
sadness. To hear something happy is refreshing."
Now, the Discovery
Network, owned by Oprah Winfrey, plans to produce an
hour-long program about the couple's story called
"Miracle Wedding" that is expected to air in the near
future.
The couple was
traveling to Colorado Springs to pick up family and
couldn't be reached for this story.
"This couple is
having to endure something that no young couple should
have to endure," Cooper said. "The love that comes
from them is absolutely amazing."
______________________________________________________________________
Written by Rebecca Boyle for NEXTnc
Friday, 06 July 2007
Brides and gambling
aficionados have one definitive thing in common this
weekend: They're both hoping for a stroke of luck.
July 7, 2007, a date that only comes along once a
century, is likely to be one of the biggest wedding
dates in history. Plus, casinos in Las Vegas and in
Colorado are bracing for huge crowds, and even
retailers such as Wal-Mart are hoping to cash in on
the lucky day.
For wedding professionals like Kevin Cooper, owner of
Marry Me In Colorado in Eaton, the lucky date means
huge business.
"For our sales all over the state, where we would
normally do two weddings on a Saturday, we have five,"
he said. "Every facility has been sold out for a
year."
Cooper is an officiant and agreed at the last
minute to preside over a wedding in Colorado Springs
Saturday evening -- only a few hours after doing one
in Estes Park at noon.
"It is going to be crazy, most definitely," Cooper
said.
He said brides have had several reasons for picking
the fortuitous date, including the number seven's
importance in several religions. Couples are toasting
the day with their wedding favors, using white pairs
of dice or other luck-themed trinkets, Cooper said.
Couples can buy all kinds of 777 wedding-themed items
online, including T-shirts and other souvenirs. A
Google search on "777 wedding" on Thursday yielded
14,200 results.
"In Colorado, most of them are just taking advantage
of the date, and sticking with their own concept,"
Cooper said.
He does have one wedding, however, that is taking the
777 concept all the way. "I have been helping
plan a wedding at 7:07 p.m. on 7/07/07," he said with
a laugh.
Cooper believes Saturday will be a banner day for
engagements, too -- it's a lucky day for guys to pop
the question.
At Weiss Jewelers, 955 52nd Ave. Court in Greeley,
Rich Weiss said he wasn't sure if the date will mean
more engagements than usual, but he's hoping for some
luck.
"I'm looking forward to July 7 as being a real lucky
day. We're anticipating great things," he said.
So are casinos. Several Vegas casinos are planning
mass weddings, and the Wall Street Journal reported
last month that hotels are booked at six times the
rate of the previous weekend.
Kay Kosmicki at Cottonwood Travel in Greeley said some
travelers mentioned the lucky day, but many had wanted
to go to Vegas anyway.
"People are always looking for a reason to go to
Vegas," she said. "People just make mention of it, and
say, 'Gosh, it's fortunate that I'm traveling that
day, this is a lucky day.' "
While 7/7/07 sounds luckier, Aug. 8 next year is
already shaping up to be a big wedding day, too. The
Stanley is already booked for 08/08/08, Cooper said.
That goes with her theory that many couples didn't
pick this Saturday just for luck.
"For a couple girls, the date sounded fun, but they
also knew he would never forget," Cooper said with a
laugh.
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Eaton
couple give Iraq veteran a proper wedding
Bill Jackson,
(Bio)
bjackson@greeleytribune.com
December 24, 2007
Eaton resident Lorie Cooper has seen
a lot of people in love in her 25 years of wedding
planning.
But she has never seen the undying
love and commitment that she sees between Travis Vandela
of Wyoming and his wife-to-be, Tiffany Black.
About a year ago, Vandela lost both
his legs and suffered other serious injuries while
serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq. It was just a month
before he and Black were to be married.
Since then, the wedding has been on
hold.
It was on hold, that is, until a
television talk show host teamed up with Lorie and Kevin
Cooper and dozens of other northern Colorado businesses.
They'll all be part of a special "Montel
Williams Show," which will be aired today on Fox
television.
Williams, who is a graduate of the
Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., contacted the Coopers
to see if he could help the young couple with their
wedding plans as part of his tribute to the military
Christmas show.
Lorie is the general manager of the
La Quinta Inn and Suites and the Fountains of Loveland
and Event Center; Kevin is a pastor who operates Merry
Me in Colorado out of the couple's Eaton home.
Lorie said that within 24 hours of
their initial contact with the talk-show host, they had
assembled a group of wedding professionals in the
northern Colorado area who have donated their services
and products to provide the couple with a wedding valued
in excess of $25,000.
The wedding is scheduled for May 24,
as that's the date Vandela has set to be able to stand
on his prosthetic legs. He wanted to be able to see his
bride come down the aisle and dance with her at their
reception.
Last week, the Coopers, along with
the intended couple, were flown to New York to tape the
Williams show.
"It was so amazing," Lorie said. She
said Tiffany thought she was there just for the salute
to the military show and was not aware of the wedding
plans.
She said the couple's original plans
were to be married in a VFW with a cake because of the
medical expenses.
But now it will be at the Fountains
of Loveland, thanks to the Coopers and more than 25
other businesses from the region who are supplying the
wedding and reception, full catering, wedding
photography, cinematography services, flowers, formal
wear, a wedding cake, invitations, rental items, a horse
and carriage, entertainment, bridal party jewelry, a
chocolate fountain, ice carving and a host of other
specialty items.
She said Vandela and Black are
spending Christmas in Cheyenne, then he will return to a
hospital in San Antonio, Texas, for more treatment. In
addition to losing both legs in the attack on the Hummer
he was in, the Army sergeant suffered a broken pelvis,
broken arm, fractured vertebrae in his neck and had to
be revived three times by medical personnel.
"This man has a definite purpose for
his life that he was able to survive and conquer what
would have been the demise for millions of others,"
Lorie said.
ON AIR
"The Montel Williams Show" will air
it's special Christmas Salute to the Military show at 1
p.m. today on Fox 31.