Surya & Meena’s Wedding | Chief Hosa Lodge Wedding Venue | Genesee, Colorado Weddings | Indian Weddings| Apollo Fields Wedding Photography

One of my favorite things about being a wedding photographer is getting to immerse myself in in different cultures, traditions, languages, and religions. I loved being able to capture Surya and Meena’s Indian Wedding at Chief Hosa Lodge because they did such a beautiful job of incorporating their values with their personalities.

It was a hot summer day on the top of the mountains in Colorado. This is pretty typical, especially for a brunch wedding, to have the sun just blaring down. Yes, it’s a ‘dry heat’ and having lived in both climates, I can attest that a dry heat is much, much more bearable. But at a certain point, hot is hot. This day was hot. The metal rings on my camera lenses felt like they were on fire! But I barely even noticed once the ceremony began, even when we had the fire going in the middle of the mandap. The energy was so strong that everyone became very focused on the rituals of the Indian ceremony.

Chief Hosa Lodge is a great location for weddings, too. It’s tucked away off of I-70 so you feel remote even though there is easy access to the city and easy-to-navigate roads. It’s also easy to get to from DIA without having to go too far into the mountains to still have an authentic, Colorado mountain wedding! The space is rustic and has an open cabin concept, but one of the big plusses is the access to their working kitchen. The food was DIY at Surya and Meena’s wedding so it was really easy for them to load in-and-out, prep, and serve! I was also enthusiastic to eat all of the authentic cuisine, especially because I knew that there would be tons of great vegetarian options!

I love all of the symbolism and meaning behind Hindu ceremonies. I think there is such a strength and beauty in the way that the union is officiated and how the families are honored. I’ve had the privilege of photographing a few Indian weddings and I love that every time I do, I learn something new. I was recently talking to a friend about this element of shooting weddings. She has a more conventional office job and hasn’t had the same exposure to different cultures through her work which made me really grateful to have the career that I do!