Vail Proposal - Vail Back Country Tours

This winter, I was given the opportunity to start with working Vail Back Country Tours.  Like me, they deal with a lot of proposals.  Given that a lot of people want photos of their proposals, it was a natural fit for me to help.  That means I sometimes get to snowmobile for work now.  Yeeeha!

The locations that you can access during your snowmobile tour are breathtaking.  You won't find these views skiing down the front of Vail Mountain, so I highly recommend taking one of their tours.  

I jumped at the chance when I was asked to help Jimmy with his proposal near Piney Lake.  Luckily the handlebars on the snowmobiles are heated because the temps were unbelievably frigid.  Taking my gloves off to put my camera together left my hands completely numb.  Look at the view though!  It was absolutely worth it and so was the hot chocolate afterwards.  

Visit the website to view more Vail Engagement Photos.

Vail and Beaver Creek Wedding Proposals - Welcome to 2019

Happy 2019 from White Starfish Photography!  The holidays are a time for gathering with friends and family and taking a break from the daily grind, unless you live in a resort.  

For us ski bums, it's the busiest time of the year.  While most people in town were celebrating over the Christmas/New Year break, I was shooting all over the Valley and into Summit County.  

Over the course of a week, I was asked to shoot four proposals.  I'll write more about each of them over the next few weeks, but here's how I spent my Christmas Break.  More to come shortly!

Proposal at Zach's Cabin, Beaver Creek

Proposal at Country Club of the Rockies, Beaver Creek

Proposal at Intermountain, Vail

Proposal at Red Sandstone, Vail

Visit the website for more Vail Proposals.

Vail Couple's Shoot and Outfit Changes - Lionshead - Kaitlyn and Tyler

The conditions for Kaitlyn and Tyler's shoot in Lionshead couldn't have been more perfect.  Overcast lighting, snow on the ground, zero precipitation and temps that weren't ridiculously frigid!

One thing that lots of people ask me about is clothing changes throughout their shoot.  I'm happy to accommodate as many changes as clients want. However, I also remind them that we only have one hour, so more changes means less time shooting. 

I encourage clients to make sure that they have lots of layers.  If you want to wear a dressier jacket, make sure that you have a nice layer underneath.  That way, you have 2 different looks without doing an outfit change.  I also suggest that people use accessories to their advantage.  Scarves and hats change up an outfit easily and don't require you to strip down.  Bear in mind that changing outfits on the side of mountain can be a little tricky!

Kaitlyn and Tyler didn't change out their accessories, but they did a quick change with their outerwear so that we were able to get two looks during their shoot.   Here are some examples from their shoot

Visit the website to see more Vail Family Photos.

Vail Mountain Proposal - Teddy and E

When my sweet neighbor Jackie asked if I would help with her brother's marriage proposal on Vail Mountain, I jumped at the chance because I love a good proposal shoot.

It was decided that Teddy would propose to E on Windows Deck.  You can't tell from these photos, but Windows Deck is hands down, THE best view on Vail Mountain.  I also love Windows because it's much more private than most of the decks on the mountain.  

As I waited on the deck for Teddy and E to arrive, I spotted them in the distance at Wildwood Restaurant.  I generally pretend like I'm a tourist taking photos of the view when I'm shooting a proposal, but given the lack of visibility, I was afraid it might blow my cover.  Luckily Teddy got down on one knee before E had a chance to really think about what I was doing there!

After she said yes, they popped a bottle of Veuve to celebrate and we took a few more photos of their special moment.  I left them to head back down the hill and got in my one and only day on my snowboard for the season (I can't ski powder, but I love I love it on my board).  When I got back to my car, I noticed something on my face.  After 16 years of living in Vail, I had caught my first round frost bite.  Oh well, it was worth it!

Visit the website to see more Vail Engagement Photos.

Wedding in Golden, Colorado - Stephanie and Mike

Stephanie and Mike chose a remote cabin in the woods, just outside of Golden near Denver for their sunset wedding. With a small group of family in attendance, they had their ceremony on the cabins back deck looking out over the town of Boulder and it's city lights.

Following the ceremony, we set off down the dirt road to grab some photos of Stephanie and Mike as newlyweds.  The wind picked up suddenly and we were able to capture some moody Wuthering Heights type shots! Unfortunately, the temps dropped as well so we only lasted about 10 minutes out there.  We headed back to the cabin where they could warm back up again and party the night away with loved ones.  It was a gorgeous day and as always, it was an honor to play a part in it.

Visit the website to see more Vail Wedding Photos.

Beaver Creek Engagement Photos - Taylor and Ray

I'm 3 months behind on blog posts.  The kids had a 13 week summer break - 13 WEEKS!  As any parent knows, little people don't take too kindly having their Mama on the computer very often.  Now that the longest summer break ever is over, it's time to get back to work. 

So now that the weather is cooling off, we're heading into the madness that is leaf season in the Rockies.  In the next few weeks, traffic on I-70 will increase with large numbers heading up into these hills to get their leaf-peeping on.  It also means that I'm heading towards one of my busiest seasons of the year with fall photos. 

To kick things off, I'm posting an engagement session from last year with Taylor and Ray.  They drove up from Denver and wanted to meet in Beaver Creek.  We had overcast weather which is just perfection for daytime photos.  They were a gorgeous couple and thankfully, they didn't mind hiking up the mountain to get the perfect shot!

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

Vail Wedding Proposal - Vail Observation Deck - Joaquin and Alyssa

When I'm organizing wedding proposals, I'm usually doing the work by myself.  When Joaquin decided to propose to Alyssa, he had the concierge team at The Arrabelle lend a hand to put the details together.  They brought champagne and a sound system to the top of the mountain to play Alyssa's favorite song.  It made such a huge difference having their wonderful team there to help out!  

Everything went off without a glitch and I was able to not only capture the proposal, but a few engagement shots afterwards.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Visit the website to see more Vail Engagement Photos