This is one of those feel good stories where we truly believe fate was hard at work. Like many couples this year, Jackie and Ryan’s original wedding plans were scrapped due to COVID and government restrictions. Even more so being in the northeast as this region was hit harder than most. Coming to terms with all of this can be an emotional time for many couples. You plan for months and sometimes years for that perfect day and then something completely outside of your control throws everything off. Thankfully for Jackie and Ryan, they took this unfortunate change of events and were able to spin it into something positive, totally true to themselves. Instead of postponing love, they decided to follow their hearts and do something adventurous. They planned their elopement in Colorado, specifically the Rocky Mountains!
We were able to connect with Jackie via one of the elopement facebook groups and after she saw our style, she knew we would be a good fit to document this special time for her and Ryan. Even though we’re based in Asheville, we already had a trip planned to go back out to Colorado for a couple of portrait sessions during the fall! The timing literally could not have been any better! After a few weeks of eagerly waiting and discussing ideas, locations, etc. we were face to face with these two at the trailhead! We were able to get a permit (always do that if shooting in Rocky Mountain National Park), the weather was perfection, and thankfully the wildfires which we were oblivious too had somehow didn’t affect their time or location. Within minutes we felt like we had just been hanging with two old friends! They had already been out west for a few days hiking so their legs were thoroughly warmed up and I’m surprised they didn’t drop us on the trail given the crazy elevation different from NC to Colorado. I soon discovered Ryan was also a photographer! I think we ‘nerded’ and totally talked gear for 90% of the hike. I’m not sure what the heck Jenny and Jackie talked about (lol), but we spaced out and talked about everything from cool shooting locations, to new technology, lenses, etc. Ryan also brought his tripod and camera so he could grab some nice landscapes along the way, after all it was an adventure elopement style session in one of the most beautiful places on in the US, Dream Lake! In truth, Jackie and Ryan had already had their legal ceremony back home but this session was how they wanted to remember celebrating their love! Having renewed our vows out west earlier this year for some of the same reasons, we totally got that!
After a nice hike in, we started to hit all of the beautiful spots along the way, and believe me there are a plethora! A few times I had to remember that we still had to make it to the top before sunset in order to capture all the beauty at Dream Lake, but the trail up did not disappoint! This is usually the point in the blog where I would describe more of the session in detail, but I’m not sure there’s anything I could say that would ever do this location or their beautiful connection justice! With that, we hope you guys love following along on Jackie and Ryan’s elopement, and if you’re thinking about traveling to Colorado, definitely put this epic location on your must see list! If you’re thinking about eloping in the rockies yourself, give us a shout!
ALSO - - be sure to check out New Jersey Bride's feature of Jackie and Ryan's special day here!
Thanks as always for following along ya'll!
-J&J