Beaver Creek Engagement Photos - Connor and Taylor

My last post featured Connor's proposal to Taylor at Beano's Cabin in Beaver Creek.  Following the proposal, it was also sprung on Taylor that she and Connor were booked for an engagement photo session the next morning!  

We started the engagement session outside the old barn at The Mirabelle restaurant at the base of Beaver Creek.  The barn has some great old timber that gives a great texture to the background of photos.  Once we finished up at the barn, we headed a little way up the hill to get some views of the resort.

I've written before about one of my favorite spots on the Beaver Creek Golf Course, which is a small path that you can only access for a few days in the fall and the spring.  It has to be timed right between both the snowfall and the golf season and as luck would have it, the conditions were perfect for Connor and Taylor.  With the sun starting to peek out from behind the clouds, we headed down the path to grab some photos with the ski runs centered in the background.

To finish up the shoot, we took advantage of the stonework outside of The Beaver Creek Chapel before heading to the skier bridge over the creek. 

For anyone thinking about getting engaged or doing engagment photos in the Vail Valley, here are a few ideas from our session.

Engagement Photography session at The Mirabelle, Beaver Creek.

Engagement Photography session at The Mirabelle, Beaver Creek.

Engagement Photography session at The Mirabelle, Beaver Creek.

Beaver Creek Engagement Photos at The Beaver Creek Golf Course.

Beaver Creek Engagement Photos at The Beaver Creek Golf Course.

Beaver Creek Engagement Photos at The Beaver Creek Chapel

Beaver Creek Engagement Photos at The Beaver Creek Chapel

Visit the website to see more Beaver Creek and Vail Engagement Photos.

Beaver Creek Wedding Proposal at Beano's Cabin - Connor and Taylor

Something strange happened to me a couple of weeks ago.  I shoot a lot of wedding proposals, but for the first time ever, I was asked to shoot three proposals in one week.  I'm just going to chalk it up to a strange coincidence.

Unfortunately, I also managed to break several ribs that same week.  There's never a good time for broken ribs, and this certainly was horrendous timing.  However, a very kind Dr. managed to get me strapped up and pull my rib cage somewhat back into place in order for me to be able to go out and shoot.  Thankfully 90% of my work is editing and proposal shoots are typically fairly short.

So with the help of a couple of ibuprofen, I set off to shoot the first proposal for the week at Beano's Cabin at Beaver Creek.  Connor had planned the proposal to take place on the deck facing the mountains.  A sign had been designed and shipped to the restaurant in advance, so we needed to get up to the restaurant ahead of his girlfriend Taylor to get everything in place.  I rode with Connor and his dad on the first sled up to the restaurant for the evening.  We had about 20 minutes before Taylor was going to arrive.  Just enough time for me to get set up, check on the lighting and figure out the flow.

Taylor's sled arrived right on schedule.  Before she entered the restaurant, Connor's dad invited her to check out the view from the deck.  Of course, Connor was waiting with the sign and the ring in hand.  Everything went perfectly and of course, she said yes!

We also sprung it on Taylor that we'd be shooting engagement photos at 9am the next morning.  More to come on that shortly...

Visit the website to see more Vail and Beaver Creek Wedding Proposals

Lifestyle/Travel/Fashion Blog Shoot with Melanie - Vail Village

Melanie contacted me recently about shooting for her blog, Something Dashing, with the directive of capturing the essence of Vail Village and The Sebastian Hotel while she was staying in town.  Of course I was excited to help her grab some images around our little resort, especially with her precious pup Mia.

We started out at the hotel, taking in the gorgeous decor in the lobby before heading out to do a walk around some of  Vail's better and lesser known landmarks.  The beauty of The Sebastian is that everything is in close walking distance.  We were able to shoot at The International Bridge, Gondola 1, Golden Peak and Gorsuch before ending our session at The Covered Bridge.  

It was Mia's first time in the snow.  It doesn't take much imagination to figure out how excited a husky pup would be to see the snow!  She was ecstatic to say the least.

Here are a few photos from our session.

Visit the website to see more Vail Photography

Vail Engagement Photos - Lucas and Leslie

My last post featured photos from Lucas' wedding proposal to Leslie.  He was so organized that he booked engagement photos for the following morning in Vail Village.  

We started at the Covered Bridge early in the morning, to be met by a small blizzard.  Not a big blustery mess, but just a small amount of snowfall that was perfect for some romantic engagement photos.  We took photos throughout the village, along the Gore Creek, in front of Golden Peak, Gondola 1 and an aspen grove at the base of the mountain.  

Here are a few of my favorite photos from their session.

Engagement photos in Vail Village along the Gore Creek

Engagement photos in Vail Village at the base of Golden Peak

Engagement Photos at the Covered Bridge, Vail Village

Engagement Photos at the Covered Bridge, Vail Village

Engagement Photos at the Covered Bridge, Vail Village

Engagement photos at the base of Vail Mountain beside Gondola 1

Engagement photos in Vail Village

Engagement photos in Vail Village

Visit the website to see more Vail Engagement Photos.

Vail Wedding Proposal - Lucas and Leslie

Wedding proposals take a lot of preparation.  Most of the time, I've never met the clients before, so there's a lot of texting regarding what you'll be wearing so that we can recognize each other.  I generally pretend to be a tourist taking photos, which is the route we decided to go when Lucas asked me to shoot his proposal to Leslie.  He had sent me a message saying that he'd be wearing grey pants and a blue ski jacket.  Just as they were scheduled to arrive, a couple turned up and the man was wearing grey pants and a blue ski jacket.  I was pointing my camera at him, taking photos and trying to catch his eye.  The poor man was staring at me with a look that said 'crazy lady, stop taking photos of me and my girlfriend!'.

5 minutes later, the CORRECT couple turned up and I was able to capture the proposal as planned.  To make sure the background was clear for the photos, I had spoken with 2 gentlemen that were in front of the fire pit and explained to them that I was about to shoot a wedding proposal right where they were standing and would they mind moving.  They were happy to oblige and ended up filming the proposal on their phone and sending it to Lucas and Leslie afterwards.  

Everything went so well and the following morning we headed out into Vail Village to take their engagement photos.  More to come on that shortly...

Visit the website to see more Vail Wedding Proposals.

Beaver Creek Family Photos - Hopper Family

When I headed to Beaver Creek to take photos for the Hopper Family, the skies were clear and bright.  We'd been told that a storm was supposed to hit the valley that morning, but 5 hours later, it was still no where in sight.   I took a walk to scout out locations and found a perfect spot with mountain views at the base of a ski run.  The family headed out to meet me there, just as the non-existent storm rolled in, ruining my mountain views!  Thankfully, the Hopper family were excited for some stormy photos before we headed inside to the warmth for a few more pics.  

I always talk about how much I like red as an accent color in the snow.  Check out Lulu the dogs scarf!  Love the accessorizing! 

Head to the website to see more Beaver Creek Family Photos.

Vacation Dates for White Starfish Photography - Heading Home!

I'm shutting up shop for a few weeks to head back to New Zealand with my kiddos.  After a long cold winter, it's time for us to thaw out and catch up with our beloved whanau and friends.  

I'll be out of the office from Feb 14-Mar 6, but still checking emails.  There may be a slight delay in replies due to the time difference, but I'll get back to all inquiries ASAP.

See you in March for spring skiing!