The Penrose Room Giveaway Winning Submission

For many people, The Penrose Room was the elegant setting for some of their most memorable celebrations since it first opened in 1961. To celebrate our reopening, we held a giveaway for a VIP dining experience. We were thrilled that so many people wrote in with their story - with memories of falling in love over a meal, unexpected Colorado snowstorms, making lifelong friends, and nights that "felt like a fairytale." Out of hundreds of submissions, this is the winning story.

A Group Of People Sitting Around A Table

Many say there is no place like home, but for the Dungan Family, there is no place like The Broadmoor. This special place is teeming with stories, memories, and inside jokes shared among three generations.

Shortly after David and Laura Dungan moved to Denver, a tradition was born in 2000 to gather as a family at The Broadmoor for Thanksgiving every year. Their family’s favorite venues was The Penrose Room, where Grandpa Jack and Grandma Joan Anttonen had their “regular” booth and a special connection with Maître D’Hôtel, Duane Thompson.

Jack and Joan had long known about the exceptional Broadmoor resort, after spending their honeymoon there in 1963.

The highlight of The Penrose Room for sisters Amanda and Lauren Dungan was the dance floor, where they practiced swing moves to “Sway”, performed by Lila Mori, and created priceless memories dancing with Grandpa Jack Anttonen and Grandpa Rick Catena, who have since passed.

The lounge equally made its way into the itinerary for checking on Thanksgiving football scores, discovering our favorite family bourbon, and watching Ann Alba and Santa light up the grounds for Christmas during the White Lights Tree Ceremony.

The Broadmoor halls continued weaving into the fabric of the Dungans’ lives as the girls grew older. Lauren brought her then boyfriend, Marc Dunbar, home for July 4th, 2017. That weekend, Laura, David, and the young couple travelled to The Broadmoor to show Marc their special place.

The cherry on top of a perfect meal and tableside Caesar salad in The Penrose Room was watching the fireworks light up Colorado Springs from the panoramic windows.

The following Thanksgiving in 2018, Marc asked David for his daughter’s hand in marriage while walking around the property.

A Man And Woman Posing For A Picture In Front Of A Pond

The Broadmoor quickly became the obvious venue choice for Lauren and Marc to exchange their vows. Against all odds, they were married on the West Tower Lawn on August 7, 2020, as scheduled, just 40 days after The Broadmoor reopened due to the pandemic and 2 days after an infamous hailstorm pummeled the area. The couple was blessed to have both of Lauren’s grandmothers, Elisabeth Catena and Joan Anttonen, in attendance. The month before the wedding, the couple cancelled their international honeymoon and pivoted to spending a week at The Broadmoor’s sister resort, Sea Island, where they will be returning this August with their families to celebrate 5 years of marriage. In August 2021, both families gathered at The Broadmoor to celebrate Lauren and Marc’s first wedding anniversary and to devour the re-made top layer of the couple’s Broadmoor wedding cake.

The Dungans, Dunbars, and Anttonens alike cannot wait to experience The Penrose Room once again. While joy and laughter will undoubtedly fill the air, their tear ducts may also well while reminiscing on the storied walls of the elegant setting and those not at the table. To our family, The Penrose Room, like all of The Broadmoor, is home.

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The Penrose Room Giveaway Winning Submission