Kate and Charles' Wedding at Eagle's Nest, Vail Mountain

 There have lots of new and exciting changes going on here at White Starfish Photography.  Firstly, I am now doing photography work as my sole job, which is exciting and daunting all at the same time.  This was always my long term goal and sometimes the universe has a way of pushing you into doing things, even when you think you're not ready.  Ironically, since this has happened, I haven't had 2 seconds to really sit down and think about it because I've been swamped with work, which is a great problem to have!

I'm a little backlogged on my editing, but I wanted to share some photos from a wedding that I shot earlier this month at Eagle's Nest at the top of Vail Mountain.  Kate and Charles' decided to get married the weekend before closing weekend in Vail.  I know I've posted about this before, but when I worked in Group Sales for Vail, we always said that the nicer the bride was, the better the weather would be on her big day.  The forecasts were calling for rain and snow for the day of the wedding, and every app or website I looked at said the same thing and it wasn't looking good.  Luckily, Kate was possibly the nicest and easiest bride I've ever worked with, and of course we ended up with beautiful weather for their outdoor ceremony and the photos.  The snow didn't roll in until everyone was inside for dinner and it made for a beautiful backdrop outside the giant windows at Eagle's Nest.

The ceremony took place on the 4th floor deck at Eagle's Nest at the top of Vail Mountain.  Not too many people know about this hidden gem.  I love it because it has the most spectacular views of The Mount of the Holy Cross, and it also gives the wedding party and guests some privacy as it's removed from the public eye.

The wedding was a great success, and also my last wedding that I'll be shooting for a couple of months.  When I was pregnant with Maxwell, I shot a wedding at 33 weeks.  I was 30 weeks pregnant when I shot this wedding and at a certain point, you have to stop and ask if you could really keep up with the pace that is required to be running around getting photos.  I've had a couple of requests to shoot weddings once I'm 38 weeks, but given how early people tend to have babies at this altitude, it was better to pass these leads onto my photographer friends.

Thankfully this was a great wedding to shoot.  One thing that I loved about this one was the amount of laughter between Kate and Charles.  All day they were making each other laugh, which helped both of them to relax and really enjoy their day.  They're about to embark on a year long trip around the world, so I congratulate them and wish them well on their new adventure!

Getting ready at The Landmark in Lionshead.

A quick moment of solitude before seeing the groom.

I love these next photos!  These were taken just before the saw each other for the first time on the big day.

The Landmark in Lionshead.

Walking through Lionshead.

We took the wedding party photos at the Gore Creek in Lionshead.

Eagle Bahn Gondola, on the way to the ceremony.

On the Gondola, Vail Mountain.

The wedding ceremony on the 4th Floor of Eagle's Nest, Vail Mountain.

The wedding ceremony, Vail Mountain.

Married!  

Wedding photos taken on top of Vail Mountain.

Wedding photos taken on top of Vail Mountain.

The Game Creek Cat was running that night and joined us for some photos!

Wedding Reception at Eagle's Nest, Vail Mountain.

First Dance at the Wedding Reception, Vail Mountain.

Wedding Reception at Eagle's Nest, Vail Mountain.

Bowers Family Photos in Silverthorne, Colorado

Spring time is a wonderful time to take photos in the Rockies...if you can time it right!  For all of the beauty and wonderful backgrounds it provides, it can also provide some equally challenging scenarios.

The Bowers (all 7 of them!) were driving up from the front range and we were all set to meet in Frisco.  I was coming from Vail and it was blue skies and sunshine in Eagle County.  By the time I hit Copper though, things weren't looking so great.  After a few phone calls, we met in Frisco and watched as the snow and rain came in waves.  The girls all had cute outfits to wear and our first location was simply too wet and muddy, so we headed for location number 2, which was the river front running through the Outlets.  Although this location was dry, the scenery wasn't so great.  Location number 3 turned out to be just perfect though.  We found a spot with no crowds, 2 bridges and access to the stream.  The weather calmed down and suddenly everything fell into place!  I'll definitely be keeping this spot on my list of great locations in Summit County.

Here are some of the photos from our little adventure.

Adrianna's Senior Photos in Edwards, Colorado

It's been over 2  months since my last my post, and although this is technically not a good idea, it was nice to have a bit of a break.  I have lots of fun stuff to post, but I wanted to start with some graduation photos that I did of Adrianna last week.  I love the spring in the Rockies, but it can also be a bit of a headache if you're doing anything outdoors that requires good weather.  We started Adrianna's photos on a Sunday afternoon that was unseasonably cold, but still manageable.  After we'd been out shooting for about 15 minutes, everything changed and a huge blizzard rolled in.  Although this made for some gorgeous photos (see below), it wasn't much fun for Adrianna, as she was wearing a cute sun dress.  So, we re-scheduled the rest of the photos for a few days later and it was definitely worth it.  We drove up to Lake Creek in Edwards (my dream place to live!) and found an amazing spot with the New York range in the background.  Here are a few of my favorite photos from the shoot.  I love the sassy red boots!

Photo Display at the Avon Library in Avon, Colorado.

This week marks the last week of my 2 month display at the Avon Library, featuring 50 of my favorite photos from the last couple of years.  It took a while to get the logistics of the display organized, including hoarding photo frames for about 6 months leading up to December (much to my husband's dismay, due to the lack of room in our garage!).

Given that our closest Michael's is in Denver, I surprised myself by being able to make it down there 3 times over the fall to collect numerous supplies including spray paint, mod podge, brushes, canvases, ribbons and a couple of frames.  A lot of the frames were given to me by friends or found in thrift stores, which gives the display an eclectic look.  I based the color scheme on a pad of scrap book paper that I found in Denver.  I was hoping to cover some of the frames with the funky designs, but that didn't go according to plan and alas, the pad is still sitting untouched in my closet.

For 2 weeks I was getting up at 5am to paint, repaint and frame the photos.  I had to get up early to do it before work and also before Maxwell woke up.  Although he wouldn't have made a good helper in the paint department, he was a great helper when it came to hanging the display, handing me nails and the hammer whenever I needed them.  Russ was also a big help in making sure all of the frames were safe and sturdy and not likely to drop off the wall!

Seeing as I'm in the photography business and not the framing business, I learned a few lessons the hard way.  For example, if you don't smooth everything down with Mod Podge, it will bubble up on you and you'll be forced to order re-prints and you'll need to pay extra to have them rush ordered.  I'm hoping to show the photos again in the Vail library later on this year.  That can only mean one thing...storing the photos in our little garage for little while longer!  Oh well :)

The Hooker Family Photo Session in Eagle Vail, Colorado.

The last time I took photos for the Hooker's, it was only Jen, her 4 month old son Trace and Jen's mother Marcy.  Marcy is the leader of our Mountain Mama Care group, that I have written about in previous posts. Jen had asked me to help her with some family photos again and she wanted a similar style to our last session, using a black back drop.  This time around, I got to shoot the whole family though, with 3 generations and 3 dogs!

Here are a few of the photos from the session.

Marcy and her dog, Juicy.

Older brother Wyatt was able to join in the fun this time.  

Wyatt and Trace

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The whole family.

The Bailey Family in Beaver Creek. Through the Lens Series, Entry 39.

We're nearly at the end of the holiday season for another year, and now that Christmas is over, I can post some holiday card photos.

The Bailey's had requested for their photos to be taken at the Hyatt at Beaver Creek in front of their fabulous fireplace in the Great Room.  We took the photos on Thanksgiving afternoon, which meant there were plenty of people in the Great Room area coming in from their day on the slopes.  Luckily, we didn't have any problems getting in front of the fireplace and we were able to re-arrange the furniture.  We had plenty of bystanders watching us and even helping out a little and the photo shoot was done in half an hour.

I raced home afterwards to collect the boys and to head out to a friend's house for Thanksgiving dinner.  As soon as I pulled up to my house, I realized I had left my hand bag in the lobby, so we had make a pit stop back at the Hyatt on our way to dinner.  Luckily it was still there!

I hope everyone is having a fun holiday season and enjoying time with family and friends.  We're freezing here in Vail with a high today of 14 degrees (-10 Celsius).  Wherever you may be and whatever temperature you find yourself in, happy holidays to you and yours from me and mine!