March 27, 2019

ROCKY MOUNTAINS COLORADO WINTER ELOPEMENT

DESTINATION ELOPEMENT PHOTOGRAPHER

ROCKY MOUNTAINS COLORADO WINTER ELOPEMENT | COLORADO DESTINATION ADVENTURE ELOPEMENT PHOTOGRAPHER | SAMANTHA+JACK

ROCKY MOUNTAINS COLORADO WINTER ELOPEMENT

Saturday, February 23rd, 2019;

The day my life finally felt complete. Jack and I had always known that we would have an adventurous elopement wedding.

Every moment of our journey was magnificent. From the moment we arrived in Colorado, we were in awe of the beautiful mountains that sounded us.

We happily took the scenic route everywhere on our trip. Jack and I had never taken a trip together out of state and were reviling in these new memories.

From navigating downtown Denver to obtain our marriage license to getting lost on spur of the moment detours, we finally made it to our little rented cabin in the snow.

That’s when I realized: this is it; this is now. ​It was a dark and cold morning when I groggily awoke at 3:00am. After laying there for a few minutes, I realized why I was jolted awake by my alarm so early.

This is the day that I will never forget. Snapping pictures and chatting my with mother via text, the morning was quickly getting away from me.

I knew that we had to leave by a certain time to catch this special light that Justyna had excitedly explained to me previously. ​Jack was ready in an instant.

He has always worn a suit quite well, but today he looked different. So much more handsome than he has ever looked before.

This man was the most handsome man that I had ever seen! Looking at him there, I thought about how much I loved him.

Jack is so very sweet, kind, and funny. A combination not often found in one package. But here he is, and he is my husband. ​

MEETING OUR ROCKY MOUNTAINS COLORADO WINTER ELOPEMENT PHOTOGRAPHER

Meeting Justyna was like seeing an old friend. I mean, we had exchanged countless texts after all.

Since Jack and I are from Florida, we had an outstanding amount of questions. Do we need to worry about bears? What about gear?

How do we get the necessary permits and licenses?

Justyna was always quick to respond and more than well informed. And no, there was no need to worry about bears.

As we arrived, Justyna exhumed warmth and excitement. It was a perfect morning and the light was just right.

Her excitement was the fuel to our fire. ​Now, here we were on the side of the mountain. All of my dreams were coming true.

I had imagined this day in my head over and over, but nothing I dreamt of came close to what was really happening.

The snow was perfect. It was not too cold and we had so much fun. There was so much love and romance in the air.

Snuggling up to Jack, I slowed my breathing and took in every moment as best as I could. Jack and I exchanged our vows, danced, and cried all on the side of that mountain, feeling on top of the world.

Arriving as two and leaving as one.

MORE ABOUT OUR ROCKY MOUNTAINS COLORADO WINTER ELOPEMENT

In our attempt to defy social norms, Samantha and I decided right from our earliest discussions of marriage that we would elope and get married on a snow capped mountain.

We mostly laughed those ideas off as unlikely to come to fruition but would be amazing if by some chance they ever did.

As the years of our relationship went by our marriage plans morphed into elaborate, expensive and extremely stress inducing affairs.

So we finally decided to go full circle to our original plan. So even though our families were not enormously thrilled about it, we decided that we would find our snow capped mountain after all!

Samantha found Justyna online and the two began chatting and planning our special day. Before I knew it we were stepping off the plane in Colorado.

After an exhausting drive to Denver, getting settled into our Airbnb and having a 14 hour nap we were ready to get married!

On the morning of I drove us in our rented Jeep up to Sapphire Point Overlook to meet Justyna. Even though I barely managed to keep my outward appearance stoic I was freaking out inside!

I had never driven this high in the sky! We were both terrified, after all we are from Florida where we get excited when there is a 45 degree dip in the road.

But the adrenaline was part of the adventure! I was so happy to be sitting terrified next to my best friend and the person who was about to become my wife.

ADVENTURE EXPERIENCE

We finally arrived at the top and Justyna was waiting for us. She promptly introduced herself to us and immediately made us feel at ease.

She was an excellent coach when it came to navigating us through the completely unfamiliar environment.

She made sure we knew what to expect when moving through deep fresh snow and we searched for our perfect spot.

Finally we found it! It was breathtaking. Samantha’s hand slipped into mine. We we were staring at a massive, gorgeous, perfectly shaped tree.

It almost looked fake it was so stunning. The view from there was mesmerizing. We were standing waist deep in fresh snow on the side of a mountain staring down at miles of endless snow covered valleys.

The day was crisp and clean. This was the spot were we wanted to immortalize our union. All the while Justyna was capturing everything.

She did an excellent of vanishing into the environment and making us feel alone. We never felt we had to pose. We were just sharing the most beautiful moment of our lives together.

Every now and then Justyna would give us some gentle guidance in order to get a good picture and then quietly disappear. Similar to how a wildlife photographer operates.

Emotion set in as I fumbled through my vows.

SELF-SOLEMNIZING ELOPEMENT EMOTIONS

We both cried and laughed and embraced as we pledged our lives to each other. I could not have imagined a more beautiful and perfect moment or a more beautiful and perfect woman to share it with.

Samantha had never looked so lovely and radiant as she did in that moment. Her hair fluttered across her face as we wiped tears of joy from each other’s eyes.

Her dress matched the fluffy snow around us. As we listened to our song I danced with my snow princess in our snowy love best.

We laid on a blanket and drank pink champagne from Star Wars champagne flutes. We laughed and threw snowballs at each other.

I will remember every second from those moments I shared with her for the rest of my life. I will remember the cold on my skin, the taste of Samantha’s warm lips and the taste of the snow in my mouth.

I will remember the feel of her embrace. I will remember the way the sunlight sparkled off the untouched snow like it was a diamond.

I will remember the smell of Samantha’s perfume mixed with the smell of the mountain wind and the trees.

I will remember the tremble in my wife’s voice as she so gracefully spoke her vows to me. I will remember the silence of the peaceful day.

I am so grateful that Justyna was there capture every one of those magical ROCKY MOUNTAINS COLORADO WINTER ELOPEMENT moments for us.

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