I have been so excited to share this session with you! This was my first “styled session” since my amazing weekend in Creede with Katrina and Brian. You can see those images HERE 🙂 Canoe sessions are very popular amongst photographers, but I had still never had an opportunity to do one. So during slow season, last spring, I started dreaming up this session. I figured this could provide some inspiration for the unique things you can get in your Estes Park elopement photos.
I met Jessie a couple years ago during a bridal show at the wedding dress shop, Bridal Collection. This is where Jessie works, but she was modeling a gorgeous pale blue wedding dress this day. We became Facebook friends after that. She had said to keep her in mind if I ever needed someone to model for me. So, I approached her for this session, and she and her boyfriend Chris were happy to help out! Chris was a bit nervous, since they had never had professional photos together, and he hadn’t been in front of a pro camera for a very long time. The session went really great though!
For these Estes Park elopement photos inspiration, I wanted to keep things pretty low key…as far as styled shoots go! I hired a florist to create a bouquet, a boutonniere and a unique floral necklace. I had purchased a burnt orange tulle skirt from Mr. Pretty Skirts, during a sale. A super sexy lace top from Forever 21 finished out Jessie’s “bridal look”. Luckily Chris owned a nice suit, so we didn’t have to try and buy or rent something for him.
Jessie and Chris rented a canoe from the Lake Estes Marina, and they headed out on the water. Everyone that has seen the photos wondered if we purposely matched Jessie’s skirt to the canoe. That was just about the happiest accident we could have asked for lol! I had scouted out a nice spot on the lake, to get a great shot of the mountains, without too many houses/buildings blocking our view. The canoe part of the session was a total success, so we returned it to the marina, and headed up the mountain for some gorgeous mountaintop photos on Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.
This is definitely one of my favorites from these Estes Park elopement photos. In fact, I entered it into the annual Shoot and Share photo contest, that is going on right now. Hopefully others will like it as much as I do!
Jessie had a boho style white dress, so we started with that to provide more Estes Park elopement inspiration. We added a cool hat and edgy leather jacket for some of the photos. I just love how the attire popped against the very blue mountains and sky 🙂 They changed into some fun, casual outfits for Colorado engagement style portraits. Then right at sunset we did a few more in the tulle skirt with the dramatic skies and an elk herd in the background. I had spaced getting some closeup photos with the cool floral necklace, so she put that on again, with yet another lace top. So many outfit changes for one afternoon lol!
Even in July, way up on Trail Ridge Road, you can usually find some leftover snow to have a little fun with!
We were about out of light…so it was a wrap! What a long, exhilarating, and absolutely creatively fulfilling afternoon in Estes Park! Thank you Jessie and Chris, I am forever grateful for your guys’ part in bringing my vision to life 🙂 And AGAIN a HUGE congratulations to you two on your recent engagement!! I would sure love to be considered as your real wedding photographer, when the time comes. Wishing you a lifetime of happiness together!
Florist: Emily Rose Florals
Tulle skirt: Mr. Pretty Skirt
Canoe rental: Lake Estes Marina
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