Samantha + Zach | Rocky Mountain National Park Elopement

Today began a little different than most of the elopements that I film. Since this wedding took place around sunset, I had the morning free to make some more memories. I woke up at around 4:15 am since I was so jet lagged from a trip to Europe that put me back in Colorado two days ago. I organized all my camera gear and left my house to drive up to Eldorado Canyon where I spent the morning rock climbing at one of the most famous climbing routes in Colorado. I needed some rock climbing footage for another client project so after lugging my camera gear up a surprisingly challenging route for a couple hours, I packed up, changed out lenses and batteries and drove up to Estes Park. Driving up from Boulder to Estes Park is something memorable in itself. I pulled off at the lake that borders the town and just took in the beauty. After shooting around Paris in the rain for a couple weeks, the mountain views were nothing short of spectacular.

I took some deep breaths of gratitude and bliss then made my way into Rocky Mountain National Park. As I was driving in I was scouting out snowshoe trails for future trips up to this area. I arrived a pretty early as I always get nervous that traffic or an accident would result in me missing the special moments. I had my running clothes on and went on a light run around the area but it was pretty snowy and icy so I’m sure all the visitors to the park were wondering, “why did this guy think this was a good idea?!” They would be right. It was silly… but beautiful. I stand by the decision. I then met up with Brandon Baker, the wonderful officiant on the day as well as Lisa Rose, the incredibly talented photographer who had such a creative eye for photography.

The couple, Samantha and Zach, were from Texas and had gotten married 5 years ago today but Zach was pretty sick and it just didn’t live up to their expectations so they wanted to do it again. They could not have picked a more beautiful day as the snowy path surrounding the lake was packed enough for relatively easy mobility but the whole area was a mix of white and blue. The lake frozen, the sun just setting over the snow capped mountains and the chilly Colorado air all made for those moments where you really feel alive. Samantha and Zach were both so easy going and braved the cold with grace. The wind was whipping during their ceremony and photoshoot but they both still had smiles on their face the entire time.

It was hard not too as the sun set over the mountains as they renewed their vows. Their love was so evident it warmed my heart in the cold. After the ceremony, Brandon said his farewells after the ceremony then Lisa and I took the two lovebirds around the lake for a photoshoot. I stayed mainly on the gimbal for those smooth, slow motion shots I love so much but ended the day going handheld because I wanted to get some more raw moments in 4k. By the time we ended the photoshoot, it was pretty dark but Samantha and Zach were all-stars and read their vows to me one more time so I knew we had the audio. The wind was really rough during the ceremony and their vows were so beautiful that I wanted to triple check they were documented. I then got in the car driving through Estes Park at blue hour and pulled over one more time to really take it all in before I headed home. A great way to start off the year.

Planned by Simply Eloped: http://simplyeloped.com

Stills