Blue skies, deep emotion & a lovely couple at Liberty Mountain Resort…

Brianna and Jake reached out to me looking for creative, high quality engagement and wedding photography that would capture their personalities and interests.  They were looking for someone who would help them to feel comfortable in front of the camera and capture their true colors and emotions.
We met at Liberty Mountain Resort for their winter snowboarding engagement photos *and* for their summer wedding.  Liberty Mountain Resort’s Boulder Ridge was the perfect wedding venue for these winter sports enthusiasts.  While they snowboard, ski & skiboard there in the winter, it also looks amazing in the summer!
I loved to see how the rustic lodge setting of Boulder Ridge combined with the sweet sparkle of the wedding and photographed these rings on stone outside of the lodge as the sun was hitting just right…sparkle 🙂

The men began their preparations in the loft…

Jake invited a great bunch of guy to participate as groomsmen in his wedding, all of them had deep roots and bonds to Jake, from childhood and high school, even a good friend who has since become family 🙂

Brianna has such stunning eyes!

I love to get a classic, dramatic image of my brides on their wedding day and I am so happy with this photo of Brianna.  I think it shows her elegance, grace and thouthful demeanor.  She is also a great listener and I almost think that comes across here as well…

Brianna put a penny in her shoe for good luck.   The year is significant, too as it is the year that she started dating Jake, yes they were highschool sweethearts.  She also used it as her “something old” and glued it in since she was wearing sandals. 😉

Brianna & Jakes’ “first look” has to be one of the most beautiful that I have ever seen.  There were so many lovely photos from it, that I decided to make a little collage of a few of my favorites :).   They laughed, they cried, they hugged– Jake kept telling her how beautiful she was, it was very, very sweet.

I asked them a few weeks after the wedding if they were happy with their decision to have a “first look.”   They said that they loved having that time alone and were able to let out their emotions before the ceremony started and to have plenty of time to just take-in and enjoy the moment.
They also shared that it allowed them to spend so much more time with the guests (rather than missing cocktail hour) and allowed them to get a wider variety of photos and more of them without rush or stress of trying to fit it all into a short amount of time.  They said they would highly recommend a “first look” to every couple.
Here is a more traditional portrait of the two as opposed to the candid photos of the first look.

I asked Brianna & Jake what they love most about each other…
Jake said that he loves the passion that Brianna has and puts into everything she is doing– he sees it when she is cooking, gardening and even teaching.  She teaches Autistic children and is just the person for the job.  She is understanding and able to be there whole-heartedly and love her students, family and friends without expecting it in return.  She is able to light up the room and is encouraging and optimistic.
Brianna shared that she loves Jakes’ determination in life and that he never gives up.  He is passionate about the love he has for his family.  He puts others before himself and is more concerned with their well-being.  He is smart and always has the answer for every question, and if he ever doesn’t know it, he’ll research it and figure it out.  He is calm and patient and yet spontaneous and unpredictable.

Speaking of unpredictable, the groomsmen were getting hot and hung their jackets on a nearby climbing wall (Liberty Mountain has all types of sports available on their grounds, including a ropes course and climbing wall).  The groom and his groomsmen are all adventurous in their own way.   From snowboarding to having a black belt in martial arts, they are all up for anything.  After they hung up their jackets they were all like, “Hey, we should climb this thing!”

Jake stayed on the ground, this was prior to the ceremony so he didn’t want to do anything too crazy, haha, but I love how you can see their personalities come across here and their shoes, so fun!

Brianna’s bridesmaids were all teachers like her– most of them are even special education teachers, too.  Brianna said it was lovely to have them all able to help her with wedding plans over the summer.  The ladies all looked stunning in their cobalt blue gowns and their bright green florals were lovely against the forest…

Vogue 🙂

After the first look, bridal party photos and family photos it was time for the ceremony to start.  All of the chairs were wrapped with burlap and baby’s breath, keeping with the sweet, rustic theme.
I could not get over the swallowtails…  one of them flew right by Brianna’s face at the start of the ceremony, it was so close that she thought it would touch her.  It made her think of her friend, Elise who passed away a year ago and would have been a part of the wedding…

Jake & Brianna’s godson, Elliot, had been practicing for this day for months, carrying a pillow down the hallway in his home.  Here he is, during the processional, as he is met by several camera phones!

I love how proud Brianna’s dad looks here to be standing between these two :).

A bird’s eye view– I walked 6 miles on Brianna & Jakes wedding day (according to my fitbit, haha).  I was all over the place, always trying to get the best angle possible for their photography.   Here I am actually photographing their ceremony from above in their reception space.  😉

The big moment…


Yard games!  Brianna kept the rustic theme going with the entertainment as well.  During the reception, guests were invited to play “Corn Hole” on sets that Brianna & Jake made together for the occasion.  It is a game that they play at family functions so it was fitting for their big day…

Keys were used as seating cards for the guests and were placed alphabetically on twine in the reception entrance.  Brianna found them on Etsy and her mother hand labeled each key.

I love using the loft in Boulder Ridge to offer another unique perspective of the dance floor.  Here Brianna & Jake are having their first dance… they waltzed to “With Me” by Sum 41, Brianna thought it fit them perfectly several years ago when they were dating in high-school.  🙂

Parent dances were emotional, joy-filled and beautiful!

What a beautiful speech and blessing for both of these ladies…  Jake’s sister was Brianna’s maid of honor.  During her speech (I love how it’s handwritten and you can see it in her hand below), she mentioned  how a little girl saw the two of them eating yogurt together at this frozen yogurt place…
The little girl asked them if they were sisters, they both looked at eachother and said “Yes.” She talked about how they had always felt that way, but now it was actually official.  Brianna’s tears streamed down her face and you could see how much love Jake’s sister had for Brianna, it was a beautiful moment…

Party time!  Everyone was feeling good and letting loose hehe….

Sunset– what a beautiful time of day!  I love the color peeking through the trees and the halo surrounding these two!  You can almost feel the deep love they have for each other here:

At the end of the night, it was time for Jake’s dad’s ’64 Mustang to make an appearance.  They rode it to prom and homecoming and I couldn’t thinking of a more fitting exit for these two high school love birds.  It reminds me of the end of the movie “Greese.” 😉

Brianna & Jake, it was such a pleasure to get to know you two!  I thought we’d be a perfect fit from the moment I met you at Liberty Mountain.  I saw how true that was while planning your unique engagement photos through capturing your beautiful wedding day.
I was able to see what kind, thoughtful & overall amazing people you both are.  Thanks for including me on your big day, and thank you again for your very kind gift!  You two are the best :).