If you asked Connor today *(my four and a half year old, for those of you who are new here) if he loved the snow on this trip…

…he’d say he never got to play in it.

*(yes, that’s him… in the snow.)

He is holding to that story, though. In firm anger of being forced to leave all his snowball throwing, snow-angel making activities after hours of playing. It’s a tough life, kid.

This wedding was in one of the dreamiest cities, Colorado Springs, Colorado. If you are looking to add beautiful cities to your travel list, you’re welcome. Now I had never heard of the area where this venue was, and I love that. Bring. me. somewhere. new.

The bride is to thank for finding this gem of a venue, La Foret, which is tucked away in Black Forest. That translates into being surrounded by huge pine trees. I can’t even call them huge. I think the technical term for these trees is majestic.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that your view once you step out from the gorgeous log-cabin-style lodge?

Pike’s Peak.

Casual, right?

Nothing about this trip was casual. Our AirBnB had it’s own incredible views, horses, dogs and all the snow we could want for Connor to play in, all without leaving the property. Since the wedding party was staying down the road, we grabbed bridal portraits at our AirBnB before even heading to the venue.

*this is Bentley, Connor’s best friend for the weekend.

Once we got to the venue, I wanted to just go hiking and explore every bit of the 400 acres... but if you know me you might already be laughing because you know I was winded after even carrying my equipment through the doors.

It’s no secret- I cannot breathe in Colorado. I never seem to have enough time to get acclimated to the altitude before it’s time to leave. Add in all my heavy gear? And I could sound like a seal barking by the end of a hike if I went to far.

We did their first look on the balcony of the lodge. These two weren’t set either way on doing a first look, they were fine just seeing each other casually before photos. Butttt when I saw the way the light was coming in through the doors up there I figured if they were going to see each other anyway- we might as well make it a moment.

Let me just tell you about the girls in the wedding party, including the bride. I already knew almost all of them coming into this, and loved getting to see how they all went above and beyond the entire day to create the dream wedding and enjoy every minute of it. They even walked right through the snow for a photo, instead of walking around it, which made my photographer heart the absolute happiest.

Just scroll on down if you want to see how it looks to have a ceremony outside while there’s snow on the ground. You might think it would be too cold, or impossible to walk… but the day turned out to be sunny and the pathway was clear all the way to where they wanted to say their vows.

I’ve already mentioned that I couldn’t breathe, right? Right. Now add a couple rounds of stairs to that. Yep. I couldn’t help myself! The views of the first dances were so sweet from all around the balcony I probably got double the amount of steps I needed for the day… or week.

I’m so thankful I didn’t have to end up pulling the groom out by his shoes *(only if you know me does this not sound threatening) to go get the sunset shots. It’s hard to leave a warm cabin and delicious food, but hey– Pike’s Peak sunset photos will wait for nothing. I included a photo that cracks me up of their 4 year old covered in his mama’s cape, just standing like a little ghost during their portraits. (he wanted to be held, because the poor little guy wasn’t feeling great, but also, his mama and I were determined to grab the sunset shots while we could! so, he got wrapped up) 😆❤️❤️

What better way to end their session then walking back to the cabin as the sunsets, with a minor snowball fight between the bride and groom? I don’t think I could live around too much snow, but weddings with access to snow and mountains might be the exact thing I need to get a fix.

Enjoy the full dance floor and reception shenanigans that happened. And note how amazing it is that the guests could go upstairs for a photo booth and really take advantage of the full views of the venue. All of that paired along with a few night shots out in the cold under the Pine trees made for a great ending to a beautiful day.

And let’s be clear:

I can’t wait to shoot another Colorado wedding.

Summer & Jordan- thank you for sticking to your dream plans and having me along for this incredible weekend! You guys are great parents and I hope you love these photos as much as I do.

Venue: La Foret

Accommodations: AirBnB

Day of Coordinator: Lauren Wood

Bridal Gown: Lows Bridal

Bouquets: Blumenhaus Denver