wild basin lodge summer wedding

I love shooting weddings at Wild Basin Lodge!! The lodge and property are absolutely breathtaking. The sky is limit with places to take photos! Denice, Nils and all of the wonderful people who run the lodge are incredible – they make you feel like family! It truly is an amazing wedding venue. I am so excited that Erica and Josh chose to have their wedding at Wild Basin – it fits them so well!

I first met Erica and Josh last year during a consult at a Starbucks in Boulder and I knew right away that I had to shoot their wedding! They were both so nice and down to earth – my kind of couple! The next time I saw them was for their engagement session this past winter at Lily Lake in Estes Park and I was sold! They were amazing – so emotional and genuine. Not a slow moment during the shoot and they were full of joy and laughter! So, of course when July rolled around and it was time for their wedding – I was stoked! Erica greeted me with a hug and a big smile. I just love her spirit and the kindness that radiates from her!

We had set it up to where Erica and Josh would have a first look shortly after I arrived – I love these! I used to be weary of them because it wasn’t traditional, BUT the more of them that I do – the more I love them. For a few reasons, my personal selfish reason is that I can pick the spot and control what the lighting is like for this moment. When photographing a moment that is mostly about the emotion – lighting is crucial! However, more so I love the raw emotion that comes out in these moments. For many couples they are very nervous before their wedding ceremony – they have so many things are running through their heads and if they have any type of stage fright that plays a role. I have found that when couples do a first look and have this private moment to themselves, some of that nervousness disappears. With that said, I also love the moment when a bride walks down the aisle to her groom and he is seeing her for the first time. No matter how it happens… It’s magical!

Erica and Josh were amazing, as I have said before. The joy and love they share is something to be admired!

I’d say they were pretty excited to make it official!

With all of the rain we have gotten so far this year – the wild flowers are blooming to perfection! They are everywhere at Wild Basin!

Look at these pies! Oh my goodness they smelt incredible!

I always love heading back out with couples after dinner when the sun starts to go down… It gives them a little break and me time to shoot more in awesome light!

 Lovely words from the bride…

How did you two meet?  Josh and I met at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, where we were both math majors. (In Josh’s year at Reed there were a bunch of guys named Josh, so everyone there knew him as Enthusiastic Josh!) We had a bunch of math classes together and Josh thought I was cute but I was dating someone else at the time. When that ended, Josh offered me a ride to Seattle (near both of our families) at the beginning of winter break. There ended up being an enormous snowstorm that week, which is very unusual for the Pacific Northwest. It was so romantic! We danced in the snow in Portland and then went for long walks in the snow over the hills of Seattle. I kept calling my parents and asking if I could stay another day before they picked me up for Christmas. That was 2008, and Josh and I have been together ever since!

How did you get engaged?  We went snowshoeing in Peaceful Valley, which is just down the road from Wild Basin. I knew something was up because Josh was worried that the camera battery was dead, which normally wouldn’t bother him. We took a wrong turn and ended up on a long trek through the woods. On the way back, we stopped for a break, and Josh pulled out a ring! Then the sun came out.

Erica and Josh are incredible dancers… I asked Erica more about this… We’ve been swing dancing (mostly lindy hop, with some east coast swing, charleston, balboa, and collegiate shag) since January 2014. We started out as total dance beginners and we’ve learned so much! We take classes every Monday night at Boulder Swing Dance (they have a Facebook page for more info). We also go dancing at License No. 1 in Boulder, where Banshee Tree plays most Saturday nights, which is how they ended up playing at our wedding! As for the best part about dancing, I’m split between how fun it is to always be learning and having fun together, and all of the incredible friends we’ve made in our Boulder dance family.

Erica‘s dress: Ted Baker from Nordstrom
Erica‘s shoes: Kate Spade from Nordstrom
Bridesmaids: various
Josh’s suit: J. Crew
Josh’s shoes: Allen Edmonds from Nordstrom
Josh’s socks: Sock it to Me
Groomsmen vests: Calvin Klein from Macy’s
Josh’s bow tie and groomsmen ties: The Tie Bar
Erica‘s hair & makeup, bridesmaids’ hair: Bella Capelli
Pies: Tasha Sawicki at Spruce Confections
Flowers: Floral Design of Europe
Band: Banshee Tree