Josh & Jessica

Rocky Mountain National Park

This engagement session was SOOO FUN, and I’m so grateful I got to be a part of the experience! You can imagine my excitement when Jessica reached out about wanting to do her and Josh’s engagement session in the Rocky Mountains, and it was even better than I initially imagined! I’ve been to Colorado tons of time, but have never been to Rocky Mountain National Park. Let’s just say that it did not disappoint! I arrived a day early in the hopes of scouting out some locations, and had the best time exploring the park. It was October and a majority of the park was closed already because of ice and snow, so some of our initial location ideas were off the table. I found a few spots I loved and couldn’t wait for the shoot!

The day of the session turned out to be snowy and COLD, which was a little unexpected but turned out beautiful! They brought along Josh’s best man Justin to help with the session, and he turned out to be such a blessing! He was the perfect coat rack and comical relief, and helped me with all my strange requests during the session. Shoutout to you Justin!

Jessica powered through like a BOSS in her outfits, and I’m still not sure how she did it!!! Kudos to you girl! We all live in Minnesota & Wisconsin and are used to the cold, but I was bundled up and still freezing. I can only imagine how much of a beast the Rocky Mountains are in the heart of winter!

We started the session at a lake with this grand mountain view behind it that was gorgeous. When we got to the top of the mountain the wind was so intense – like legit felt like hurricane force winds! Jessica was in this amazing silk dress, and I was determined to photograph them in that location in that outfit! I asked Justin if he could hold up a blanket next to them to attempt to block the wind, and I kid you not he almost took flight! Poor idea on my part considering holding up a blanket in extreme wind just creates a sail, but we gave it a shot! The wind was coming in from what seemed to be every direction, so despite our best attempt we decided to move to a different location. Although we didn’t get to shoot there long, I shot some of my favorite images of the day there and got my share of laughter from how crazy the wind was! I think that spot was worth it just for the memory of what the true experience of photographing on top of a mountain is like! Not to mention this is one of the most amazing couples of all time who were just ready to have a good time and roll with it! You guys are the best!

The second location turned out to be much warmer (the sun actually came out!), and a heck of a lot less windy! I adore those shots because of the epic mountain view behind them, but I think the favorite part for all of us at that location was running in to a moose!! While Jessica & Josh were switching outfits Justin and I spotted a mom & baby moose a little ways down the lake. We were so bummed because we knew Jessica & Josh would want to see that and figured they’d be gone by the time they got back. But luck would have it that they’d actually start coming our way! We decided to go for it and head towards them a little to grab a few shots, but those things move WAYYY faster than we expected! Once we got set up for a shot they came around the corner and were maybe 15 feet away so we started moving pretty quick down the trail! I was able to grab a few shots thankfully because it was definitely a moment to remember!

Our final location was toward the bottom of the mountain in a prairie, and I’m so glad we stopped there because it was the perfect compliment to Jessica’s dress! It was the perfect end to the session, and my favorite image from the whole day was in that location!

I legitimately had such a blast at this session, and am so thankful for the experience! Jessica & Josh, thanks for trusting me enough to fly me all the way to Colorado and for braving the cold with me for hours!!! Jessica, you killed it in your outfits and looked stunning! Josh, I know you probably didn’t want to take pictures for hours, but I appreciate it and I know Jessica does too 🙂 You the real MVP! And lastly, Justin, you basically deserve the #1 best man award for flying all that way to Colorado to stand on top of a mountain freezing for hours while you watch your best friend take his engagement pictures. That’s like, unheard of! You’ve got an amazing friend Josh!

I can’t wait for your guys’ wedding at The Hutton House this summer! It’s going to be magical and I’m already so pumped!