Laurel + Bill– wow what a timeless Colorado Mountain wedding at the dreamy Wedgewood on Boulder Creek so you can only imagine we were unsure if the weather conditions would prevent us from our mountains dreamy shoots. The risk you take when plan Colorado mountain wedding! It all cleared up by the early Saturday morning, and the sunshine blessed our beautiful couple, after snowing for two straight days, so shortly after the ceremony we hit the road. Laurel + Bill on an epic bike Bill named it “THE REDHEAD”, Ducati multi strata S in red to LOST GULCH OUTLOOK up in Boulder, CO. Gah, did I mention I absolutely love adventurous couples? Each time I get to photograph their wedding DAY, the small moments, quiet moments, and BIG feelings, I am in heaven! Combine this with painterly , EPIC mountain views, and incredible LIGHT, I kid you not, my heart skips a beat. But as usual, I’m getting ahead of myself because this is their sneak peak story…meet Laurel + Bill
I met Jaime Laural through our employment with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH). At the time, I organized weekend hikes and snowshoe adventures for our staff, and Jaime was a regular participant. Her outgoing spirit, sense of humor and laughter caught my attention!
It turned out that Jaime and I both volunteered for a special review committee at our office. It was the first time I was able to observe Jaime in a business setting and I was very impressed with her professionalism. It also turned out that we concurred on all important issues and outcomes. I was rapidly becoming very interested in Jaime Laural! This is the point in this story where I have to admit that I am very shy about dating.
I had a wonderful dream about Jaime. When I awoke, I thought I ought to get to know her on a more personal level. So, I emailed her and asked her to hike just the two of us. I started to spend time just with Jaime Laural rather than the full hiking group, and I very much enjoyed our adventures. Still, for a while I was nervous and did not want to be overly aggressive.
An important turning point in our relationship was when we attended the wedding of a mutual friend in our hiking group. It was then that I realized that we were a well matched a couple. We both came to the wedding as singles; however, we sat together at the wedding and at the reception and we talked all night. We discovered that we shared core values, and I could feel our mutual attraction. Still, I was nervous. We hiked and got to know each other all summer that year, and then I decided it was time to get serious about dating.
At last, on a beautiful fall day in the mountains, the time felt right for the first kiss. Sitting by a stream, I leaned in for the kiss and it was amazing! We started dating seriously at that point, and one day I realized that I had fallen in love with Jaime Laural.
Our love for each other grew and we started to discuss marriage. Jaime wanted the engagement to be a surprise so I chose a date to propose that felt significant and also allowed me sufficient time to plan a few surprises!” ~ Bill
“Bill and I met at work…you know one of those stories of the experienced VP taking advantage of the young, wide-eyed office gal….or not. 🙂 He was this nice guy in Housing Development who led a hiking and snow-shoeing group from work. Thinking, “I don’t see my co-workers enough all week,” I started hiking with them about once a month. He was always so interesting! He knew all about the flora and fauna, was great at helping even novice hikers feel comfortable, and was so friendly and fun. One winter, I broke my foot and was out for snowshoeing that winter. When my cast came off, and I was ready to try out my new foot, I had popped into his office to see if maybe he could find time for a beginner’s hike that would let me ease back into hiking. He said yes, but, frankly, seemed a little bothered. I was worried I had sent the wrong message, so I did not follow up.
I saw him often, as we co-chaired the Appeals Committee together, but we did not really follow up on a hike. Then, out of the blue (I now know it was following a dream he had, but he wisely left that part out until we were dating), he sent me an email asking if I still wanted that hike. Something about his email make me think that it might be more than a hiking invitation, but I agreed.
We had planned to hike the day after a friend’s wedding that we both attended. We both went alone to the wedding, and ended up sitting together at the ceremony and the reception. That was it. I was charmed. We talked and laughed and drew pictures on napkins of the snow caves we would build. We ate and talked some more and planned the next day’s hike. We joked and danced and drank and flirted. Then the waiting came….
We hiked and flirted and talked and emailed and went to dinner and flirted some more all summer. I was losing my patience — which is not my most plentiful virtue anyways, as most of you know. We would have these great times, then no kiss. No hug. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
That fall, I had even told my one of friends, that I couldn’t wait any longer. It was so hard to tell if he was shy or if I was mis-reading his feelings. I was going to give him one more hike, and if he didn’t like me enough to make a move, I was going to try to move on. Luckily, that was THE hike that will go down in history for our relationship! We stopped to have some lunch by a stream, and he kissed me. That was that. I even changed jobs so that we could start our relationship without any barriers or weirdness. (Then I came back to the job, because I loved it so much!)
Our life together has been amazing – full of laughter, joy, adventure, romance and play. Whether we are having a snowball fight (I won the last one, by the way), catching snow flakes on our tongues, dancing in the kitchen, hunting mushrooms, gardening, travelling, walking the dogs, or grocery shopping, I just love being with him. Every minute. Every breath. Every giggle. Every word. I love it all. I am so happy to be marrying him, and I am overjoyed to share it all with you. Thank you for participating in the next chapter of our story.” ~Laural
To hear the entire story make sure to visit their beautiful wedding site on The Knot!
COLORADO MOUNTAIN WEDDING PHOTOS | DENVER MOUNTAIN WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY | BOULDER WEDDING PHOTOS
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Amazing! As expected, you captured our love! Thank you!