Sunday, July 29, 2012

the long way home

This is the last post from our Aspen adventures. (Previously, we had the wedding post and the crazy adventures in Colorado.)

After the post-wedding brunch, we hitched a ride down to Denver with some of Carrie's friends. The highway we took on the way out was closed so we took the scenic route through San Isabel National Forest. It was totally worth packing 5 grown adults into a compact car for 5 or so hours. However, that did make it a bit difficult to get good quality shots unless we were stopped.
driving to Denver 1 diptych
driving to Denver 2
driving to Denver 3
driving to Denver 4
driving to Denver 5
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driving to Denver 7
driving to Denver 8


We got a hotel room and spent the night just outside of Denver and flew out the next day. I didn't realize how much I missed the Everglades until we passed overhead and started to recognize landmarks.
Aspen airplane 8
Aspen airplane 9
Aspen airplane 10
But now that we've been home for about a week, I'm ready to travel again.

Matt & Carrie's wedding

To catch up on the events before the wedding, click here.
The events for the wedding spanned the entire weekend and ranged from a wet and windy drum circle to a sunny, sedate brunch with a dreamy wedding as the focal point. Words really don't do these events justice; I can only hope my photos will.


The weekend kicked off with a barbeque on Friday night at Roaring Forks Country Club. It was nearly impossible to capture how beautiful the river was so I cheated a little and made an HDR composite image (a blend of 3 shots at different exposure levels so I could capture all the highlight and shadow detail).
wedding BBQ 1 HDR
wedding BBQ 2
wedding BBQ 3
wedding BBQ 4
After dinner and a slideshow of photographs of Matt & Carrie's travels, it was time to clear space for the drum circle. We were originally supposed to drum around a fire pit but the weather kept us in the tent. Truthfully, I could not imagine it any other way. There are a bunch of photos on Facebook (which you can only see if we're Facebook friends) from the drum circle but there was only one that made me me stop in my tracks.
wedding drum circle


Saturday after our trip to the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, it was time to get ready for the wedding. Doug, Cassie, and I went up early so I could get some photos of the venue before the guests arrived. I am so glad I went because the view was amazing!
wedding 1
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On and off throughout the wedding, a curious deer kept sneaking down to watch the proceedings. Our guess is that it liked the string quartet.
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The groom was insistent he was not nervous but I know he was waiting impatiently to see his beautiful bride.
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The wedding was in a meadow with a stunning view of the mountains around it.
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The bride was just stunning.
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The kiss!
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As they walked down the aisle, everyone shook aspen branches. It was beautiful.
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The reception was so much fun. It started with a rather calm cocktail hour but all the guests certainly knew how to party.
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The fun also extended to the garden, where all the lovely ladies piled on to an old cart for a group shot to end all group shots.
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I don't think there was a moment where the dance floor wasn't filled.
wedding 21 diptych
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Sunday morning, the bride's parents threw a lovely brunch at their house. The view was just incredible, not to mention the fact that I got to have breakfast with some hummingbirds.
wedding brunch 2
wedding brunch 1
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The bride and groom arrived fashionably late in a gorgeous vintage car that the father-of-the-bride rented for them.
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After the brunch, we hitched a ride down to Denver with some of the bride's friends.
wedding brunch 10