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Alison Margo: The Princess’s Palate

Alison Margo
The Aspen Times
Aspen, CO Colorado

Guess what? I’m married!

As a writer, I gotta tell you there has never been a time in my life when semantics have held so much weight. Never before have words had so much meaning, so much power. These words are truly life changing; not only have they changed the meaning of my life, but they’ve defined me in a way I never knew was possible.

I’m married. I have a husband. I have a new name. I have a new family. I have a sister-in-law who makes photo albums for me and a darling niece who calls me “Auntie” and a mother-in-law with the same size shoe (and very hip taste) and a father-in-law with a Harley and a brother-in-law with a huge appetite and an even bigger heart.



I actually think the name Ali Margo fits me better than Ali Berkley. It has a little more spunk. It’s fun. It’s cute. It doesn’t sound so serious.

Wedding is another big word. The word wedding has dominated our vernacular and our daily lives for months. It’ll be strange, but nice, not to use it so much. The word now is honeymoon. I’m writing from La Posada hotel in Santa Fe where I’m going; that’s my husband and we’re married and my name is Ali Margo. I use “my husband” in a sentence whenever possible.




We’re staying at this amazing hotel because our friends from RockResorts, who also own the Hotel Jerome, hooked us up. A lot of people hooked us up.

From the day I landed in Aspen I knew it was a special place. But it’s so much more than that. It’s spectacular. Not because of its natural beauty or its culture or the number of days I snowboarded last year, but because of its people.

Somehow I’ve managed to manifest this whole Princess thing because my wedding was fit for just that. I can’t even begin to thank all the people who did so much for us, but I’m going to try.

Starting with Melina Glavas at The Little Nell who asked me (speaking again of the weight of words), “What’s the most important thing to you?” when I first started this whole crazy process. It’s because of you we had the wedding of our dreams and we will never forget it.

Big kudos also go out to Zachary Meyers, Susan Darch and Casey Kraut at the Hotel Jerome. Who knew you could bring the Minnesota State Fair to Aspen? Ditto that for Sabrina Judge and The Sky Hotel where this whole thing began and to DJ Dylan’s guy for lighting our after-party dance floor on fire.

Two other words that hold a lot of weight: Bluebird Productions. If you ever need anything in the way of events planning or marketing, call Virginia and Chelsea. They’re straight-up amazing and without them I would have been a straight-up basket case.

Another cliche: Diamonds are not a girl’s best friend; Robin Smith is. It’s because of you that my left ring finger is lit up like a Christmas tree. And if words mean a lot, I don’t know what it is about jewelry, but Ryan looks like an entirely different person with that incredible ring on his finger. Our rings are totally unusual and original and so us. We will cherish them for the rest of our lives.

Music is another big one. I’m not a huge music person, as much as I hate to admit it. I have a hard time hearing the intricacies of music the way some people maybe don’t have a palate for wine. I like a heavy baseline and percussion, the stuff that’s easy to detect. Music is also sentimental for me; if it has an emotional context or subtext, I can hear it OK. Never has that been more true than on my wedding day, and I have Ross Kribbs and his band, My Countrymen (with special guest Pastor Mustard), to thank for that. But from Ross, it was a gift. And he is also a gift as our friend. We love you Rozz. We also love Curt Larson for standing in as our sound technician (you wouldn’t even believe what local companies charge for that stuff, but it’s obscene).

What about the dahlia guy at the farmers market and his original strain of “ketchup and mustard” flowers that are the size of your head and look like fire? People left the reception wearing those. And Carolyn Riley, you have a talent with floral design you don’t even know. You took what was in my mind and made it a reality, and it will live on forever in our photos. That brings me to Kate Holstein and her adorable husband Matt. We’ll never forget the sight of you in a full sprint beneath the gondola in those sexy motorcycle boots to capture the perfect image. And thanks to Dan Bayer for lending your own unique artistic eye for the whole world to see.

Thanks to Laura and Matt Pfohl with Advantage Branding for printing “Ryan and Ali” on everything and anything we asked for and for being like our family. Also thanks to Tasha Rae Designs for materializing our personalities in your creative and amazing graphic design. And thanks to Aleece at Midland Bakery for turning that into a cake. Thanks to Rita Bellino at Queen B for the Princess hair, Kiki for the floral crown, and Amanda, Kate, and Ambere at Aspen Synergy for the wedding party bonding session.

Last but not least, thanks to our closest friends and family (Sarah for making Ryan cry, my brother Daniel for his brotherly love, our beloved Brad, Darling Dina, Pierre for calling me a fox, and to Richard and Ron for their unforgettable toasts). And to my amazing mom for making my dreams for the perfect day come true.

Last but not least, thank you, Aspen, for making me feel every bit the Princess I claim to be.

The Princess is getting very hot typing in the sun with her laptop and sends her love from Santa Fe. Email your bliss to Alison@berkleymedia.com.