Jill and Mike's Wedding - Estes Park, CO

I remember sitting over at a friend's house on a warm summer evening in 2009.  Jill was engaged and was starting to plan her wedding.  Wine was discussed and plans were made to go dress shopping.  Then she turned to me and asked if I'd photograph her wedding.  When I told her I had never photographed a wedding and wasn't sure if it was something I wanted to do, she reassured me by telling me that it would be a very laid back wedding, that it was going to take place in a big field and the guests would all be sitting on blankets.  She also said that she had a few other friends who were going to be taking photos as well, so I wouldn't be the only photographer.  To me, that sounded like a pretty good deal, so I said I'd do it.  Might as well get the experience, right?

Fast forward to a week before the wedding.  Jill and I meet in a coffee shop to go over the wedding and finalize everything.  Unfortunately, Jill has a broken foot, there's a forest fire near Estes Park where she's getting married and her reception site is currently occupied by an army of firefighters.  Still, her spirits are high and I promise to do everything I can do to make sure her wedding day goes smoothly.

Fast forward to the day of the wedding.  Belinda and I show up in Estes Park early Saturday morning to help decorate the reception site.  Thankfully, the army of firefighters has been replaced with an army of guests who are helping to decorate the pavilion for a fabulous reception.  Although I love decorating as much as the next person, I'm there to do a job, so I pull out my camera and get down to business.

It doesn't take long before I spot the other photographer (it turned out to just be the two of us).  Bart is a family friend from Michigan who also does some photography.  We chat and make a plan for the day and then go back to doing our own thing.

After decorating we head up to the cabin to photograph Jill and Mike getting ready for the wedding.  Since all of the bridesmaids knew Bart, Jill thought it would be best if he took the photos of her getting ready while I photographed Mike and his brothers getting ready.  I really enjoyed my time just hanging out with the guys.  It was good to have them on my side.

From there, it was on to the wedding and reception.  Guests were transported to the site of the ceremony in school buses.  It was wonderful seeing big school buses pulling up and all of these guests piling out in their suits and dresses.  The wedding took place in a big field and, as promised, almost everyone was sitting on blankets.  Although Jill and Mike might have been laid back about the wedding, there was nothing lacking in the ceremony.  It was put together beautifully and they couldn't have asked for better weather.

Jill looked absolutely amazing when she appeared out of the shade of the aspen grove into the sun-drenched meadow.  There was a slight breeze that helped to flutter dresses but not enough to blow off hats.  The guests looked on as Jill and Mike made their vows and there was a lot of laughter when Jill gave Mike a good squeeze during the first kiss, which made Mike's foot kick out behind him like he was in a '50s movie.

After the ceremony everyone got back on the buses and headed back down the mountain to the site of the reception.  The music started playing, the beer started flowing and everyone enjoyed a beautiful sunset and the beginning of Jill and Mike's life together.  Congratulations Jill and Mike!  Thank you for giving me a chance and allowing me to photograph your wedding.  You turned what could have been a very stressful experience into one that was quite enjoyable, educational and something that I won't ever forget.

Here's a slideshow of a few photos from Jill and Mike's wedding. Enjoy!