Collins Wedding in Colorado

We arrived home Sunday from the wedding in Breckenridge, what an adventure!

We left early on Wednesday evening to try to get out to Western Kansas to beat some of the weather we heard was coming! We had dinner with friends Jason and Deanna in Salina who were also traveling to Colorado to go skiing for vacation at Keystone just down the road! We made it to Hays before we were utterly exhausted and hit the hay about midnight. We were then up early on Thursday to drive to the Rockies. We made a stop at Outdoor World in Denver when we got a call from Deanna who was ahead of us at that time stating we had better get a move on as there was white out conditions near the Eisenhower tunnel. I fired off a shot of the stuffed lion and off we went. In good time, too. The conditions were starting to deteriorate, with truckers required to chain tires, etc and the tunnel closing a few hours after we made it through! When we arrived, we stayed at River Mountain Lodge. The weather remained blustery, cold and snowy for the next two days. I had started to wonder if there was a back up plan for the "outdoor" ceremony! After a little shopping, we met up with the bride, Jessie, and her family and friends at the same restaurant we chose for dinner, Mi Casa! So we visited a while before dinner and at that time Jessie chose not to do the Love Story so we decided to film the rehearsal dinner instead. No problem. The Oehmke's are pretty laid back folks! After a really great dinner, including a brief power outage from all the snow they'd received and great service from our waiter Kevin, we were off to bed. The next day we ran around town, well walked, at 10,000 feet to get our bearings and shoot some B-roll. Beautiful town. The rehearsal dinner was fun at a place called Eric's Downstairs, the best pizza in town. The grooms parents were wonderful hosts driving all the way from New York! Everyone was given gift baskets thanking them for coming, as well as party favors of chocolates in the shape of skiis and ski boots! The actual rehearsal did not take place till Saturday morning. So off to bed we went.

Saturday morning we loaded the truck and headed to the ceremony site for rehearsal. Afterwards, I documented the ladies at lunch and getting their hair and make up applied. It was a very relaxing morning with close friends and family. The bride's sister, Jenny was her maid of honor, whose wedding we filmed a few years prior. She wore a strapless dark brown two piece gown with heels and the bride was stunning in a strapless champagne gown that gathered to the sides on the bodess, replacing any intricate beadwork. She had a mid-length train that bustled into a bow in the back and to stay warm outside - a fur shawl/throw and to complete the winter look, killer cream colored snow boots with a bow in the front from Zappos.com.

Barry was able to spend a few minutes with the groom prior to the ceremony before having to set up equipment. Scott was very calm before the wedding and had enjoyed his week-long stay skiing the black diamond slopes with friends!

Before we knew it, it was time to head to the tent for the ceremony as the sun started to come down over the mountain. It ended up being a gorgeous day, with a clear view of the ski slopes in the background, not hardly a bit of wind. The bride walked between Christmas light adorned trees and into the clear tent with both her parents, with music from a talented Native American musical artist, Leon Littlebird, playing in the background. A friend who lives in Denver made the trip to be the officiant and read a part of the brides favorite childrens book in her homily, The Velveteen Rabbit. Friends and family read scripture and prayer after the vows and exchange of rings. Before we knew it Jessie and Scott were husband and wife and exited the tent for some photos as the guests remained inside the tent for cocktail hour.

The couple was soon announced into their reception hall that was beautifully decorated with white toule and shades of blue and brown. We played a photomontage, the couple toasted, cut the cake and enjoyed a great dinner. Then we saw a familiar face with the catering staff, Kevin, our waiter from dinner our first night there! The dancing went into the evening and our hats off to everyone who braved the dance floor all night long at 10,000 feet when nearly everyone was from out of town (and a much lower elevation)!

We wrapped up the evening exhausted but very happy we made the trip for Jessie. The Oehmke's have always made us feel like family.

To Jessie and Scott, thank you very much for letting us capture your day, we had a great time with both of you and your families. It was great seeing everyone again, please stay in touch! Click below to see the wedding day prequel!