Before you start planning your wedding, I want to ask you the
most important question I can think of.

IF YOU COULD HAVE THE MOST PERFECT DAY TOGETHER, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

If you could do anything you have dreamt of doing, or if you could visit any place that you want, and if money wasn’t an issue, if guests and family expectations weren’t a concern — if you could plan out the first day of your marriage (ahem, your wedding day is the first day of marriage) how would you want to start the first day of the rest of your marriage?

My point is that your wedding day is literally for you two — your family and friends can be there to love and support you, but they aren’t marrying you — you two are making vows to each other. Think of each other, think of your dreams, hopes, and experience together. If you could take away all the stress, all the planning, the pressure of making all your guests happy, the financial stress of a wedding and a honeymoon (tip: plan to have your wedding and honeymoon together somewhere epic!), etc. — how would you want to spend your day with your spouse from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep?

THE GENERAL TIMELINE

— you’re booked! // let’s start dreaming up your wedding!

in - between // schedule an engagement shoot & book your accommodations

two months before // make sure you have booked all your vendors, set up a honeyfund.

one month before // final payment is due with me, review your elopement supply list

the days before // get your marriage license, relax & have fun! walk into your marriage with joy!

fourty - eight hours after // your sneak peeks are ready!

six - eight weeks after // your beautiful wedding photos are here!

six- eight months later // I will send your USB drive with all the edited images to you!

How do we plan our elopement day?

The beauty of an elopement is that it’s an open book. You can do literally anything you want. That limitless perspective can make it tricky to narrow down what is important. Here is some guiding advice.

1. Are you a morning person or night owl?

2. Is there an activity you two love to do together, or is there something new that you’ve always wanted to try together?

3. What is important to you to feel and sense during your ceremony and vows?

4. Do you want to hike to your destination, or do you want more accessible options and/or have more variety?

5. Is a DIY lunch or dinner a good option, or would a restaurant or private chef more suited to how you’d like to invest your time, money, and general convenience?

These are some questions that will help you start narrowing down how to spend your day together, how to invest your money wisely, and how you can experience your first day of marriage in a way that fills you with absolute joy.

Light affects aLL your photographs, and experience.. 

The reason why photographers talk about lighting is that it is arguably the most important “technical” aspect to photography — it’s what sets the mood, makes you look good, and enhances your experience.

To help you plan what works with your vision for your wedding day, I have some basic definitions to help you understand light:

1. Golden Hour is the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset. This is the golden light that many Pinterest photos are photographed in.
2. Blue Hour is the 30 minutes - hour before the sunrise and the 30 minutes - hour after sunset. This is particularly good in mountain regions, because the sun will drip behind the mountains much earlier than sunset, so you will have amazing soft blue light on your skin for up to an hour.
3. Cave Lighting is when we are outside for portraits but you are standing in the shade. The sunlight highlights your skin and it’s darker behind you, like a front porch, so it makes you pop more.
4. Window Light is important for indoor photos, as it brings the outdoor light in for natural, but moodier images.
5. Ambient Light is the not natural light that sets the mood, like string lights, candle light, lamps, etc.
6. Harsh Light is the hardest to photograph, which is usually the middle of day when the sun is out. It can bring out more vibrancy in the landscape, but also create some intense shadows on your face. Typically, I’ll try to find shade if photographing during the middle of the day.
7. Flash can create an entirely different mood to your portraits. I generally stick to flash for the dance floor, or later portions of the evening. I much prefer to use ambient lighting to enhance your experience.

Ideally, we want to do most of your portraits together either during Golden Hour or Blue Hour, especially if we are in Colorado where the light is very harsh on the skin throughout the day. Cave lighting is great throughout the day if possible. Window light is great for getting ready portraits or moodier couples portraits, as well as wedding details. Ambient light is the best supporting character for any reception, so go to town with your candles and string lights!

As a note, I am not a miracle worker — I can’t recreate golden hour if it’s in the middle of the day, or inside a home, or in a dark church. If golden hour images are important to you, let’s plan your wedding events around that to maximize your wedding portraits together during golden hour!

Getting Ready Portraits

For the best getting ready photos, I like to keep things as natural and minimal as possible.

I suggest a space with lots of windows - you'll look your best with natural light! If there isn’t a window in your suite, and if you’re open to it, we can do your ‘putting on the dress’ photos somewhere with natural light, even a hallway will work better. Keep the room clean, please!

If you want to be even more adventurous, let’s hike somewhere and get you changed with a view!

Things you might need or want:
+ a bride emergency kit
+ ring boxes [like this wood one or this traditional velvet one]
+ your invitations + save the dates
+ perfume
+ tissues
+ sticky-tape
+ setting spray [I am obsessed with this one]
+ cute bridal slippers and pajamas

Ceremony

For Outdoor Ceremonies:

1. Consider the weather and seasons. In Colorado, seasons are basically different.

a. Winter is November - March/April. Higher elevations will continue to get snow through April or early May. The biggest snowfalls will likely occur Feb. through March.
b. Spring sort of exists between February and April, but not really. You can have 60 degrees days with a snowstorm the following day. The trees, bushes, and flowers don’t start growing back until early May at lower elevations, and in late May to early June in high elevations.
c. Summer is magical. The weather is much warmer (75 -90) and the wildflowers start growing in June. There are frequent afternoon thunderstorms that roll through, so consider having a flexible ceremony time or have a backup plan just in case. Summer weather will continue through early September.
d. Autumn is my favorite time of year. The fall colors begin in mid-September in the highest of elevations and continue through late October in the lowest elevations. The weather is the mildest at this point as well.

2. Consider accessibly. I have a list of locations that you can walk to with older grandparents or handicapped, and others that require more effort if you want to get off the beaten path.

3. If possible, please do your ceremony later in the day or earlier in the morning. The light is so harsh on skin in the middle of the day, and your photos will look so much better with softer morning or early evening light.

4. If it rains, I will have clear umbrellas and we can find a beautiful spot under some trees to either embrace the beauty or wait for the rain to disappear.