This elopement is incredibly special to me, not just because of this amazing couple but because it showcases my newest service: simultaneous photo AND video for elopements!
Alexa & Jerry contacted me in June looking for someone who could photograph AND film their elopement in Rocky Mountain National Park. They were flying into Colorado from Grand Rapids and wanted the day to be as intimate as possible. Which is why having one person who could do both photo and video was non-negotiable.
We met at the visitor center before entering the park, with Alexa and Jerry following me to the first look location I had chosen for them. As Jerry walked out into the meadow, Alexa slipped into my pop-up changing tent to put on her dress. The tent ($40 on Amazon) is great for changing outside your car when wiggling into a new outfit in the back seat just doesn't sound feasible. When she stepped out of the tent I was blown away and I had only just met Alexa in person, so I knew Jerry would feel exactly the same way - times a thousand.
After their emotional first look we took in the views, marveled at how we had the location to ourselves, and of course: captured photographs and film. For me this meant photographing certain things, and then picking up my gimbal-mounted camera for film shots. Mostly we did different things for photo versus video, but occasionally I asked them to do something again so that I could capture it in both formats. The process felt very smooth, and since it was just the three of us they could use any down time while I changed gear to bask in the mountain views.
After a few hours roaming the park we arrived at Sprague Lake where their officiant was waiting. They chose their officiant David Hazen because they liked his humor and he reminded them of the pastor they were planning to use for their postponed Michigan wedding. As we walked to the dock, passersby congratulated them and one couple told us that they had gotten married at the lake on the same day ten years earlier. They had four kids with them and wished A&J all the best. After that we all had to agree that July 26th seemed a very lucky day for a mountain elopement at Sprague Lake! As they said their vows on the dock, hikers on the lake path stopped to watch. At the moment they shared their first kiss, cheers erupted across the water and the newlyweds couldn't help but laugh. How's that for a socially distanced wedding?
The sun began to set as Alexa and Jerry sat on a wooden bench to read letters from their families. Postponing their wedding was a hard decision to make, but choosing to elope in Colorado brought them such joy. They hired me specifically because they wanted not only photos, but a video to show at their reception once restrictions are lifted. They wanted the video to showcase their adventure and their joy, for their families to hear their vows and watch them slide rings onto each other's fingers. For my part, it was an honor and a privilege to be there for them. I never knew when I began adding video services that offering both to eloping couples would be possible for one person to do, but I think as you look through these images and watch their elopement trailer video and elopement ceremony video below you'll agree that it absolutely is.
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