This is my last official wedding blog and I can’t think of a better way to go out.  Often I am disappointed in my wedding images because I had some vision of perfection in my head and the images never matched up to that perfection.  But I have to say that I had no expectations going into this wedding, I wasn’t trying to shoot for the next booking and somehow not having those expectations for myself…..made the magic happen.  I am damn proud of these images.

Also, credit is due to these two.  Typically my brides are pretty easy going, low key and wonderful, but Elizabeth was so chill it was unbelievable.  Nothing got under her skin and the day was a huge reflection of that.  Even with a few (not minor) hiccups, she rolled with the punches and nothing ruffled her feathers.  She trusted me to do my work and everything fell into place beautifully.

These images are some of my all-time favorite!

The festivities all took place at Block One in Ft. Collins.  I love the close-knit feel of Ft. Collins!

It was a small little place surrounded by lofts, but it had great charm and ambiance and had everything you need for a wedding, including a beautiful outdoor area.

The venue was just down the path from the New Belgium Brewery so Elizabeth and Zach wanted a picture in front of the brewery.  On this warm warm Saturday afternoon, the place was jumping and they got lots of whistles, claps and well wishes!

Elizabeth was a sight to behold.  Her makeup and hair were amazing but her inner beauty and happiness shined through.  In fact, when I showed her the back of my camera she got a little teary-eyed and said “I didn’t know I could look that beautiful”.  It touched my heart.

She is a Colorado bride for sure in that, she had a big charlie-horse the night before the wedding so she chose to wear her Chacos instead of the heels she was planning on wearing.  How’s that for a Colorado wedding!?

And Zach is no slouch.  He fits the mold of his James Bond socks.  Quite the GQ model, right?

Sigh.  This might be my favorite one of the day.

What a beautiful wedding party!  I love the mix-match guy/girl wedding party instead of all ladies on the bride side and all guy on the groom side.  It made for fun photos.

Speaking of fun.  This wedding party was SO easy to work with, happy to comply, helpful and easy going.  What more can a wedding photographer ask for?

Let’s just pause for a moment and talk about this parking garage gate.  Who knew that this would make for such a dramatic and interesting backdrop?

It was a beautiful location and the fall leafs were at the peak of perfection, and the weather was darn near perfect as well!  Colorado in October can be sketchy, especially for an outdoor wedding, and other than a little breeze during the ceremony it was stunning.  Zach was all smiles and ease before the ceremony.  That is one of things I love best about a first look in that it gets rid of a lot of the pre-ceremony jitters.

Elizabeth chose to walk down the aisle alone and I love that I caught her taking a brief moment to breath and take it all in before the ceremony.

What a shot.  Zach looking at his bride while in the foreground, Elizabeth’s brothers and parents watch her walk down the aisle too.  Thanks to Julie, my second shooter for this fun picture!  It takes a team to make the magic happen and Julie has been at my side for almost every single wedding of my career.

These two could not be more in love.  It was a joy to watch them become one!

Once the ceremony was over, it was time to party!!  They had a delicious meal catered by Illegal Pete’s and an assortment of local beers (which incidentally made for fun, can towers during the reception).

During the reception we slipped outside for some quick sunset pictures and the warm glow was unbelievable!!

There was a brief little interruption by a woman who was trying to crash the party (pretty sure some substance abuse was involved) but the wedding coordinator and the police cleared up the situation without much incident.  For a minute I thought it was going to be my first wedding where punches were thrown, but thankfully it wasn’t the case.  It makes for a funny story (now) and I am sure a memory that Zach and Elizabeth can tell their kids someday.

Oh what a night!

Zach and Elizabeth love beer.  Their first date was at a brewery, they love to visit local breweries and they even brewed their own beer for the “champagne” toast.  It was a cute little twist on a long standing tradition.  Why not serve beer instead of champagne???

Elizach, thank you for allowing me to be a part of your special day.  It was the perfect way to end my career as a wedding photographer and it even caused me to have second thoughts (for a millisecond) about giving up weddings!  But don’t worry friends….I am still doing family photography, newborns and senior photos!!!

Want to see more LiLo weddings???  Click here to check out Lynnsey and Carter or Rebecca and Shawn’s festivities.