Liz + Mike { Spruce Mountain Ranch Destination Wedding in Larkspur, Colorado }

Last week I gave you guys a little glimpse into my trip to Colorado with John Payne, and since then I’ve been trying to pick my favorite images for the blog post. My first round had 398 picks in it…and the second round had 205. As you can tell, I had a hard time choosing my favorites. Every time I go though the photos I hope a magic genie pops out of my imac so I can be transported back. Colorado hit me hard, and I’m counting down the days till I can go back.

The couple that made part of my trip so amazing were Liz and Mike. (Other than John and his wife Nat of course!) Liz and Mike got married about 30 minutes out of Denver, in a place called Spruce Mountain Ranch in Larkspur, Colorado. John told me that Liz and Mike were kind, sweet people…but they were so much more than that. After 5 minutes of meeting Liz I wanted to give her a huge hug and a friendship bracelet. They were both the most laid back, sweet, and affectionate people I’ve ever met. Throughout the entire day they would hold hands, glance at each other from across the room and make-out like no one was looking. 🙂 They are so in love.

After meeting Liz and the girls we made our way to the venue. When I saw this location I died and went to rustic heaven. The entire ranch was-this-amazing. Seriously.

My first time shooting legit cowboy boots from the south. I hope it’s not the last. 🙂

Liz and the girls were getting ready in a rather dark ranch house, so when I got there I knew I needed to find a spot with great light. I found a goldmine. I found a little corner in this room where the light was gorgeous… And about 6 feet away you could see arcade games and a pool table. You do what you can for pretty light. 🙂

Liz reading a little note from Mike. 🙂

There’s something about the light in Colorado. It’s just so darn pretty. For the photographers out there…its still harsh at 2pm, but so workable.

You see the shot of the bridesmaid? I think that’s when I said something like “oooomeegeeee I-luves-thisss-light”. I was working on a couple of hours sleep, so I probably said a lot of things that made me sound like a squeaking 10 year old. I apologize. 🙂

Right before the ceremony I stopped myself and took a minute to just look at where I was. I put my camera down, took a deep breath and did a 360. It’s kinda hard to explain the feeling that I got when I realized I wasn’t in California anymore.