January 31, 2010 Posted in Etc.
Hooray! My first wedding of 2010! I have been axiously awaiting Wes and Cassy’s wedding for a long time now. My last wedding was in October of ‘09 and this is the longest break from shooting weddings I have taken since I’ve been a wedding photographer. Don’t get me wrong, it was a lovely break, but I was SO ready to get back to photographing a wedding!
When I first met with Cassy and Wes to chat about their wedding, they told me about this beautiful wedding that they had planned. Everything sounded like it would happen perfectly. Except one minor thing…They were getting married in January and really wanted an outdoor ceremony. Now I’ve always been an unwavering optimist, but planning an outdoor wedding in January in Colorado takes more than just optimism and crossing your fingers that it doesn’t snow. It takes guts. You never know what’s going to happen with the weather in CO! In January it could be snowing, raining or 20 below zero with howling winds. Or it could be warm and sunny. I was absolutely overjoyed to wake up to blue skies and downright tropical temperatures (ok ok, maybe not tropical…but it was really nice!) on the wedding day. It was wonderful!
Wes and Cassy were married at the Golden Hotel, in Golden, Colorado. It is such a beautiful venue with a great wedding ceremony site on Clear Creek. The day went off without a hitch and everything was perfect, from the flowers to the cake to the beautiful ceremony. The Golden Hotel did a wonderful job coordinating everything for the wedding, I was very impressed!
Cassy and Wes, thank you both for allowing me a peek into your lives and into the deep love you share for one another. I couldn’t be happier that you two found one other, you’re just perfect for each other! I was honored to be a part of your wedding day and I can’t wait to show you all these great pictures! I wish you a lifetime of happiness!
Some favorites…
Oh how I loooooooooooooove this shot
Yummmmmmm…….
My favorite shot from the day!
Oh, and on a random side note. I have a funny story to tell about something that happened to me at Wes and Cassy’s reception. During dinner, my assistant and I were in the hotel lobby taking pictures of the wedding rings and the event coordinator told us that the actor, Vince Vaughn, happened to be staying at the Golden Hotel that night. Pretty cool huh? Well, not even 5 minutes later, the elevator doors open and he walked right out. He took one look at my assistant and I with our cameras and immediately thought we were the paparazzi! He gave us dirty looks and told us something like “no pictures please” and proceeded to put his hand over my camera lens that my assistant was holding as he breezed out the door. We thought it was pretty hilarious! The rest of the evening, I kept wondering if he was going to come join the wedding reception. Afterall, he was in the movie, Wedding Crashers… 
January 25, 2010 Posted in Etc.
I baked some strawverry-vanilla cupcakes the other day (I know, I know. Big surprise!). The only thing better than strawberry-vanilla cupcakes is strawberry-vanilla cupcakes with pink frosting and sprinkles. MMmmmmm!
Pink Buttercream Frosting
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk or cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 drops of red food coloring
Directions:
- Combine butter, confectioners sugar, milk, vanilla and food coloring in medium sized bowl
- Beat on medium speed (preferably with a whisk or wire attachment to your electric mixer. It makes it much fluffier!) for 3-5 minutes
In case you haven’t noticed by now, I love Colorado. I think this is the most amazing state in our country. It’s beauty is literally everywhere you look, I just can’t get enough of it! So it makes sense that the vast majority of my engagement sessions take place somewhere that highlights the awesome beauty of this state.
So when Laura and David said they wanted their engagement session to features some of Colorado’s beauty and mountain backdrops, I was so excited! It’s so wonderful working with clients who share a vision with me! We had a grand old time tromping through mud and melting snow in order to get to the perfect spot for pictures. This was my first “official” session of 2010 and I must say, I couldn’t have asked for a better session to start with!
As always, a few favorites…
Having Rocky Mountain National Park as my backyard is amazing. I have easy access to one of the most beautiful places in our country and I try to always make the most of it. It’s pretty easy to do in the summer because there are hundreds of miles of trails to explore. Things kind of change in the winter though. It’s not always as easy to access some of the most majestic parts of the park in the winter. Trails get buried under feet of snow, rocks get icy, and it’s often insanely cold!
David and I have learned first hand how difficult things can get in the winter. Every year we go snowshoeing in RMNP and every single year we have gotten lost. What you think is a trail you’re on is really just a path some bunnies made. What you think is a trail is really a dead-end path a prior snowshoer took to admire the views of a valley below. While getting lost is a bummer because you never make it to your final destination, there is no one I would rather be with while aimlessly wandering around the woods than my husband.
I am happy to report that we finally made it to a destination this weekend. We headed out for Emerald Lake, which is one of the most popular summer hikes in the park, and for good reason. I have been on just about every trail on the east side of RMNP, but the trail to Emerald Lake was the one area I had not yet explored. In the summer, it’s always just too darn busy for me to want to deal with. While still busy in the winter, this place is an amazing place. Few other places are as beautiful as Emerald Lake in the winter.
For those interested in showshoeing to Emerald Lake, here’s some directions:
-Start at the Bear Lake Trailhead in RMNP
-Hike approximately .5 miles to Nymph Lake
-In the summer, hike around Nymph Lake and go another .6 miles to Dream Lake
-Continue around Dream Lake and follow the trail up to Emerald Lake
Roundtrip hike is about 3.6 miles with an elevation gain of about 600 feet.
by Becky
4 comments
add a comment link to this post email a friend