Rocky Mountain National Park Elopement Photographer
There’s something special about reaching high altitudes after traversing treacherous terrain that rewards tired legs and beating hearts. It could be as simple as endorphins being released from the exercise or something more complex like measuring our mortality against the backdrop of conquering massive mountains. Either way, climbing mountains and taking in epic views defines the meaning of awesome.
Callie & Josh's Intimate Mountain Wedding | Rocky Mountain National Park | Estes Park, Colorado | Adventure Wedding Photography | Apollo Photojournalism
Heather and I’s first hike together was near Lake George in upstate New York. It was short, but I remember scrambling up the last couple hundred feet, thinking that the summit was just over the next ridge quickly exhausting myself in the process. When we finally reached the top, I scanned the seemingly endless rolling green hills, panning across the horizon like my eyes were breathing in the refreshing mountain air.
There’s something special about reaching high altitudes after traversing treacherous terrain that rewards tired legs and beating hearts. It could be as simple as endorphins being released from the exercise or something more complex like measuring our mortality against the backdrop of conquering massive mountains. Either way, climbing mountains and taking in epic views defines the meaning of awesome.
We love documenting mountain weddings because they’re so organic and personal. When we immerse ourselves in towering pines and humbling rock faces, we stand in nature to celebrate love as members of our natural environment rather than separate from it. We say scrap the white tablecloths, vinyl tents, and stuffy reception halls and step into the woods and feel the rain. There’s a time to be clean and then there’s a time to feel something, celebrate, and cut loose – we believe your wedding day should be the latter.
Living in Arvada, Colorado, is like living in front of the armoire of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, because at a moments notice we can open up the doors and wander through a world of meandering roads, trickling creeks, and splashing waterfalls. Adventures are never in short supply when the beautiful unknown is less than an hour drive away. This proximity to the Rockies makes mountain weddings accessible realities rather than fleeting dreams.
Let us document your dream mountain wedding, but first... why do you want to get married on a mountain?
Some of our favorite mountain spots in Colorado:
Rocky Mountain National Park for it's famous landscapes and epic elopement locations
Pikes Peak for that "on top of the world" feeling
Guanella Pass for the best views of Mount Beirstadt without all of the hiking
Alderfer / Three Sisters Park for a close-to-Denver adventure and awesome 360 views
Some of our favorite mountain spots outside of Colorado:
Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia for those epic rolling mountains and blue hues that never disappoint
Buck Mountain in Lake George for some of the best Adirondack views
Breakneck Ridge in Cold Spring NY for a close to New York City adventure and cute town to explore
Mount Killington in Vermont for the best New England autumn colors
Sharp Top Mountain in Virginia for light-tight 360 degree views
We have gone on countless adventures and can help you plan your epic mountain elopement or intimate wedding! We've done everything from taking a tiny Cessna plane up to the summit of Mt. Denali in Alaska, to exploring the waterfalls in Telluride, Colorado. Contact us for a true adventure of a lifetime!
Alex & Rae's International Wedding in New York State
Alex & Ragnhild's New York State Wedding | International Weddings | NYC Wedding Photography | Norwegian Dancers | Apollo Photojournlism
I met Alex on the Upper West Side in NYC at a restaurant. We got to chatting at the bar and I told him that I was a photographer, and as it turned out, he was engaged to his fiancé Ragnhild and looking for a wedding photographer. After talking a while longer, we realized that we had quite a few mutual friends from the neighborhood, and it all fell into place right after that.
Alex is a personal trainer and a former professional basketball player. He met Rae on the court, when her professional dancing career took her to one of his games. Rae and her daughter, Denise, were from Norway and literally packed up their lives to live in New York City with Alex. They have such a loving and playful relationship that made my job so easy!
Their wedding day kicked off with the guys hitting the basketball court, which was a fun alternative to traditional wedding mornings. Terrence was out there playing with the groomsmen, and it really reminded me of how much fun we have on our wedding days! The ceremony was officiated by a friend, who spoke of them so eloquently that it made me cry behind the camera. Yes, I still get emotional when I shoot!
The reception was one of my favorites to date. Rae's bridesmaids were all on her dancing squad and had planned a secret dance special for the couple. A room full of professional Norwegian dancers is just as much fun as it sounds. Oh my god they were talented! It was such a great party.
The importance of memories:
When you’re in a particular industry long enough, it’s easy to forget the importance of your job. You wake up on Monday, meet deadlines, schedule future goals, work through the drudgery, finish the week, and if you’re lucky, do it all over again on the following Monday. Wedding photojournalism is no exception.
Then, once in a while something happens, something that jars you out of your automatic work setting and you take a step back. Sometimes it’s good news like a family member is having a baby and other times it’s something tragic like someone has passed away. Whatever the case may be your life is drastically different than what it was just a few days before.
One of the defining things about wedding photojournalism is that we capture particular moments in our client’s lives where happiness and celebration are center stage. We have the luxury to see people at their best, laughing among their family and friends, assuming the roles they’ve carved out their who lives by sharing the stories that have made them into the persons they’ve become. When things inevitably change in their lives in the months or years that follow, we watch their stories unfold through the photos we’ve taken and we’re drawn right back to the happiness of that day.
Each story we relive is a jarring reminder of the unpredictability of life and the importance that weddings hold in bringing people together, rekindling relationships, and the celebration of love and happiness. From budding romances to lost love ones, our photos travel across time, telling our present selves the story of our past, hugging our hearts with tangible memories and familiar feelings. It’s borderline wizardry how our inanimate pens and lenses can animate our past so vividly.
As wedding photojournalists we professionally tell love stories, but it’s as friends that we remember our client’s personally. Connecting with you all is what makes us remember that our jobs are important and our happiness immemorial. Thank you for your love.
New York State Wedding Photographer: Apollo Photojournalism | Erny Photo CO
