Well I thought I’d seen it all in my 14 years of being a wedding photographer. Nope! 2020 has been filled with lots of surprises and those surprises continued at Lauren and Dustin’s elopement in Aspen this week. Couples usually plan September weddings in Aspen in hopes of Fall colors. Well, instead they got a blizzard!

As we piled into my 4Runner in Aspen and ventured out to Ashcroft, the snow fell thicker and heavier. We soon came to a standstill of traffic as a giant aspen tree fell into the road. Just as I was talking with Laurent and Dustin about our shared love for offroading and trail recovery gear, we got to implement that gear! We helped tug the tree off of the highway so that we could continue our adventure. That was surprise number two!

We continued the surprises as we soon found out that our initial lookout spot for the ceremony was simply unsafe to navigate to. We ventured about and found the perfect cathedral of aspen and evergreens tower over the trail. Lauren and I agreed, this was the spot!

This was my first actual elopement where I was the only other person present with my couple. It truly was an honor to share that moment with them and there day is one that I will never forget. -Ryan

Thanks to all of their wedding vendors who made their day fun and beautiful!

Planner - Bubbles & Bowties

Dinner - French Alpine Bistro

Floral - Carolyn’s Flowers

Beauty - Gambuti Robson Hair and Makeup

Cake - Coppelia Cake Design