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!