Colorado Wedding Weekend in the Mountains near Denver
Brooke and Jordan started their photography coverage on their wedding day with a first look.
First Look on Genesee Mountain
If there’s one thing that inspires me in wedding photography, it’s a dramatic landscape. It makes sense—I became a photographer when I lived in Colorado. Even though I lived there for 13 years, I’d still drive out of my way to catch a glimpse of a mountain I’d seen a hundred times before, and I’d still audibly gasp when I drove west out of Denver on I-70 and saw the first really GOOD Mountain View at exit 254.
Which is exactly where Brook and Jordan were planning to get married: The Pines by Wedgewood is a conveniently located venue just outside of Denver in the foothills of the Front Range. I’d photographed a wedding there before, and knew, despite the beautiful aspen and evergreen covered ceremony space, that there wasn’t a mountain view to be had on the property—and I just feel like if you get married in Colorado you’re legally entitled to have at least a few wedding photos with a dramatic mountain vista.
“I just feel like if you get married in Colorado you’re legally entitled to have at least a few wedding photos with a dramatic mountain vista. ”
I asked Brooke and Jordan if they were up for taking photos away from their venue for the sake of the mountain view and they were all in. The years I lived in Denver I camped and hiked extensively, which also doubled as photoshoot location reconnaissance. I knew from one such weekday hiking trip that the hills immediately West of the venue were public land and had some good views on them given the view from the highway was so good. The two dealbreaker questions, when scouting any spot for potential portraits are: 1. How far is this beautiful view from a parking spot? (hello…a bride in a white dress doesn’t need to be hiking a half mile) and 2. are there places for the subjects and the photographer to stand where they’re not in any danger? (You wouldn’t believe the great views you can only see from the passenger seat because there’s nowhere to step out of the car). There’s also the consideration of “does this place allow photography or require a permit?” but I’d already known that when I started looking.
Sure enough at the top of the hill, there was a trailhead parking lot adjacent to the spot you see here. Big blue mountains and fluffy pine trees and attractively strewn rocks made up the landscape, plus plenty of space to move around. Just the perfect setting for the quintessential Colorado Wedding portrait. And it was only 7 minutes drive down to their venue when we were done!
Family Portraits on Genesee Mountain
When you do a first look at your wedding (which, for the uninitiated, is a planned moment before the ceremony for the couple to see each other in their wedding attire for the first time—usually captured by the photographer and videographer), you gain a lot of flexibility in your wedding day schedule.
One of the most boring parts of the wedding day, but one that matters a lot an after the fact, is the portraits with family. For most people family portraits at their wedding will consist of several groupings of family members, usually sorted by how they are related to the couple. Typically there are only a small number of large group photos of all the extended family, and many more permutations of the couple’s parents and siblings with their spouses in law and kids if they have them. If a couple doesn’t do a first look, and instead opts to see each other in the aisle for the first time, all the family portraits, all the couple’s portraits, and all the portraits with the bridal party must happen after the ceremony. This typically means spending the entire cocktail hour taking portraits to be sure all of the expected groupings are done.
To save all this trouble, Brooke and Jordan invited their parents and siblings to join us at the first look location about 30 minutes after they got there. This ensured they had some quality quiet time together as a couple before their big day (and got some epic portraits of just the two of them), and then they got to spend a little extra time with their immediate families as well.
As we went through the list of photos that Brooke and I had made together before the wedding, a sudden mountain cloudburst sent us all fleeing for the cars (another good reason to find a photo spot with parking nearby. Fortunately, as is often the case in Colorado on Summer afternoons, the rain vanished within 5 minutes, and we resumed taking portraits at another spot by the trailhead.
Details & Decor at The Pines by Wedgewood
Brooke and Jordan chose a natural spring palette for their wedding, with beautiful terra cotta linens, and vintage replicas of WPA National Park posters for their table numbers. They had signature cocktails inspired by their alma maters.
Outdoor Ceremony in the Pines
Brooke and Jordan had a short, sweet, and personal wedding ceremony, with friends and family taking up roles as their officiant, musician, and reader. They shared some ceremonially blended wine, as well as a shot of fireball that the minister pulled out of his pocket, referencing an informal family tradition.
After the ceremony, it took about 10 minutes total to capture the remaining family photos from Brooke a Jordan’s list. The officiant asked family to stay put while other guests went to cocktail hour, and the bride’s sister helped me ensure that the right family members were in each shot.
I stayed with the couple to capture a few more photos of them in the ceremony space. Then we went inside to sign the marriage license. Brooke’s family helped get her dress bustled, and the couple joined cocktail hour just in time to be surprised by a sentimental slideshow the Bride’s sister had put together.
Dinner and Dancing
Celebrations continued with a plated dinner, speeches, parent dances, and the traditional Hora dance that I’m not sure Brooke was entirely ready for. (She told me the black and white photo of her and Jordan being lifted in chairs and apparently fearing for their lives was one of their favorite photos—which is why I included it here.)
Rehearsal Dinner and Brewery Welcome Party
Brooke and Jordan opted for photo coverage of their Rehearsal Dinner and Welcome Party the night before the wedding. I joined them for a buffet dinner with 40 or so people at Golden, CO’s Buffalo Rose. After the dinner, they met up with their friends at Mountain Toad Brewery. I walked the few short blocks with them and captured a few portraits. (Downtown Golden is beautiful and I’ve done full length photoshoots there for years.)
Vendors
Venue: The Pines by Wedgewood | www.wedgewoodweddings.com/thepines
Rehearsal Dinner Venue: The Buffalo Rose | https://buffalorosegolden.com
Welcome Party Venue: Mountain Toad Brewing | https://www.mountaintoadbrewing.com
Floral: Juniper and Honey Designs | https://juniperandhoneydesigns.com
DJ: Zeta at DJ Maestro | https://djmaestro.com
Dress: Vow’d | https://vowdweddings.com
Groom’s Attire: Bespoke Edge | https://bespokeedge.com
Cake: The Bakery | https://www.themakery.com
Brooke and Jordan booked one photographer (Libby) for 6 hours on the wedding day and 5 hours rehearsal dinner coverage and received 1319 total images.