Portraits in The Park!
Brooke and Nick had an absolutely beautiful, intimate wedding in the mountains in and around Estes Park this past fall. I had such a great time shooting it, and they and their friends were super psyched to get out into the mountains and go to all the beautiful locations around town.
Their wedding day started at a private home on the outskirts of town Pole Hill, which is the pass where you first drop into Estes Park from Boulder. They were married on a small deck overlooking the mountains, and then we headed into Rocky Mountain National Park for bridal party shots and couples portraits.
They did something during the ceremony that I’d never seen before, but was really fun: instead of a sand ceremony, where the bride and groom pour different colors of sand into a jar to symbolize union, they poured two different alcohols into a shaker and made their own cocktail. Ha! Reminds me of a sign I often see next to bars at wedding receptions: No good first date began with a salad.
After the ceremony, we headed over to Lumpy Ridge to shoot some bridal portraits, and we headed up to the rocks that look out over Twin Owls, one of the most iconic rock formations in Rocky Mountain National Park.
The crew, coming from the flatlands east of Colorado, was totally excited to see this part of the park.
After the bridal party shots, Brooke, Nick and myself headed up to the historic Fall River Power Plant, which is a great place for wedding ceremonies. It’s a gorgeous area at the base of Deer Mountain, and we did a bunch of couples portraits there.
Afterward, into Rocky Mountain National Park for portraits in Endo Valley.
The sun was low in the sky and the colors were so beautiful!
Finally we decided to head up Trail Ridge Road to get some sunset shots at 12,000 feet. It was cold and windy but so beautiful when we arrived at the Ute Trailhead.
You can see forever up there, and you have unobstructed views of the entire continental divide. It’s so amazing.
Anyway, congrats to Brooke and Nick! What a great afternoon!
