BLOG

Elle and Sheldon love Colorado. They traveled from Texas for their wedding and I met them at Lookout Mountain to celebrate their engagement. Their laughs were infectious and their love was palpable.

I had so much fun with you guys!

Elle shares, “We met on a dating app! It was that good ole TINDER, love and care! Our first date was actually at one of the most amazing places ever….Chick-fil-A! Who would have thought we were a chicken sandwich away from falling in love?”

She continues, “Sheldon planned the most AMAZING proposal EVER! He planned a trip to Cali for us in the spring of 2018. We had anticipated our trip for months! He told me he planned a romantic date night and picked out a red dress for me to wear (I never wear red). It was around 7 or 8pm and we headed to downtown LA for our dinner date. We finally make it downtown, and I said, “WOW, the Intercontinental building, can you imagine if we went there?” Sheldon smiled and said, “I can imagine it.” Seconds later we pulled into the Intercontinental parking garage! Talk about MAJOR butterflies; I couldn’t believe it! 

Of course, I had the BIGGEST smile on my face. We headed up to the 71st floor to a restaurant called La Boucherie! My jaw dropped; this place is FANCY! The host took us back to a private section where we wined and dined on lobster and other fancy stuff! I was shaking and just anticipating something crazy to happen (like being proposed to)…but NOTHING! Dinner ended and we left. I just knew he was going to propose after bringing me to a place like that but NOOOO! I was slightly bummed, but still on cloud 9. We drove off and he said we have one more stop!

We drove to the brightest place in downtown LA, “Urban Light.” I was walking around like a big kid amazed at all the lights and feeling grateful to be experiencing something new with my best friend. Sheldon asked if I wanted to take pictures and, of course, I did! I’m a woman! He suggested so many poses, and I was like oooookaaaaay yaaassss I love all of these ideas. Then he said, “take one from the back.” Of course, my response was, “oh yeah, you’d like that huh.” LOL 

I took my shots, turned around to check out my masterpiece, and there he was on one knee. People were applauding, and I noticed a photographer taking photos of everything; even my ugly cry! It was absolutely magical!”

Congratulations Elle and Sheldon!

Lauren and Cyrus love Aspen and particularly the Grottos Trail. I was so excited to meet them there because it was my first time visiting Aspen, and it certainly won’t be my last!

Grottos Trail is in White River National Forest near Independence Pass (one of the craziest roads I’ve ever driven on!). As you drive through the mountains you see forests full of Aspen trees. When my husband and I pulled to the side of the road to take in the view before the photo session, we could hear the rushing river. In the forest, trails take you through the woods, over a bridge and to the large rock formations with cascading waterfalls. It is so beautiful.

The Grottos were formed by rushing water from the Roaring Fork River that slows down to a gentle stream where Cyrus actually carried Lauren into the water! 

Lauren shares, “I have always told Cyrus that our life together is a big book with colorful and beautiful pages. We frequently use our book analogy for chapters of our life together, here is a peek inside:

Chapter 1, You can fall in love in the club          

In September 2013, I traveled to Dallas, Texas, from Norman, Oklahoma, to celebrate a good friend’s birthday. We decided that we wanted to go dancing, and I had never experienced a dance club, so we went to Avenu—a local dance club. Cyrus, living in Dallas and working for his family company, was in for just another fun night out with some of his closest friends. Within just a few minutes after walking through the doors I saw a tall, dark and handsome man walking toward me. We danced the night away and exchanged numbers, but both thought that we may never have the chance to meet again as we lived in different states. Cyrus always recalls the story of the following day after we met. He says that he remembers taking a long drive and reflecting that he now had a crush, a feeling that he had not felt since high school. Really, the rest is history and I still joke to this day that “all Avenu’s led me to Cyrus.”

Chapter 5, Dallas

On our very first date, Cyrus naturally wanted me to really like visiting Dallas. I would always wonder why we would take one specific beautiful road that seemed to lead us everywhere. Little did I know Cyrus would strategically take us on that road (even in the wrong direction at times) to see the prettiest pocket of Dallas each time. Speaking of Dallas, we cannot go without mentioning State Thomas neighborhood, it has always been a gem to us in the hustle of Uptown. It’s brick-lined streets and neighborhood feel gave it just the right amount of charm to stake claim on a townhome. Our love of walking to our favorite coffee shop, park and, last but not least, sushi restaurant is what connects us together frequently throughout our week. State Thomas is where we have truly made our house a home, filled with themed parties, family and many sweet memories.

Chapter 10, Travels

We both feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel the world together. In just 7 years we have traveled together to 14 states, 9 countries and counting! Of course, we have gathered a few favorite places over the years that have become special to us. I don’t think we get through many conversations of talking about our travels without mentioning our love for watching the sunrise over the ocean in Tulum, our time of lengthening our trip last minute to soak in and experience Mallorca, sleepless nights roaming the streets of NYC or canyoneering in Zion National Park. Both of us feel a distinct energy while traveling that has us hooked on always planning the next adventure together.

Chapter 20, Aspen

Aspen has quickly become one of our favorite destinations. After our first trip there together, Cyrus thought “this is the spot” to propose. One morning in September we both hopped in the car to drive to hike our favorite spot, the Grottos Trail. We packed up a little bag and headed up to the Grottos. As soon as we arrived, we set up our spot with a blanket to enjoy the sunny summer day. Cyrus quickly told me that he needed to show me something… We both walked over to a tree-filled area where he then handed me his iPad, making me thoroughly confused. Then, he proceeded to press play on a video he had put together of pictures throughout our 6-year relationship while reading me commentary alongside of it. At the end, I got to look over and see Cyrus down on one knee saying, “will you marry me?” He got the immediate answer of “yes!!!” We celebrated this special moment by “taking the plunge” into the freezing cold water of the river that runs through the Grottos. Now Aspen is forever special to the two of us!

Chapter 21, Let’s Get Married!”

Lauren and Cyrus, thank you for sharing one of your favorite places with me. 

Congratulations, you two!

Alix and Alex celebrated their anniversary in a part of Denver that means so much to them, in their neighborhood, the RiNo Art District.

Alix shares, “Alex and I have been together for 10 years and this is our 3rd wedding anniversary! We were supposed to go to Europe for this anniversary but COVID happened so we made some lemonade out of lemons. We just got back from a week and a half long national parks trip! We hit up Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Canyonlands and Arches National Park. We hardly had any cell service the entire time and it was so nice to unplug, just the two of us!

Even though we’ve only really seen each other during this quarantine time, it was awesome to spend time with each other with no other distractions and block out the worries of the year. Alex and I loved the trip so much, we are already planning another road trip for next year! We would like to explore some more national parks in Utah.”

Alex continues, “Alex and I moved to Denver a little over 3 years ago and RiNo has been our home ever since! Alex and I were both born and raised in Cincinnati, OH. We didn’t know anything about Denver when we were moving here. We stumbled upon RiNo and it just felt like “us.” We’ve loved seeing the artwork change over the years and watch the neighborhood grow! We decided during COVID that we needed more space than our apartment and moved into a home. We will miss being walking distance from all the coffee shops, breweries, artwork and epic food! But thankfully we’re just a short drive away.

Stem Cider has been a favorite of ours. It was one of our favorites when we moved here, but we’ve developed a love for it even more as I’ve had to go gluten free about a year ago. “

Happy anniversary, you two!

Amanda and Kevin began their relationship by taking walks around City Park. We enjoyed a beautiful summer evening there, celebrating their engagement. 

City park is home to a new art installation called Color Fields. It was a great stop for some photos!

Amanda shares, “When we first starting dating, Kevin lived by City Park. We used to walk around the park on the weekends, sometimes for one or two hours in the morning just drinking our coffee and getting to know each other on a deeper level. City Park became our little getaway, and we both have fun memories of the conversations we had while walking. It was always great to hit the food trucks for a slice of pizza or ice cream while checking out what was going on in the park, whether it was Sunday night jazz or the Colfax Marathon. City Park is significant to us because it is truly where our relationship started, and I’m glad we will forever have these memories of our time there.

Congratulations Amanda and Kevin! Cheers!

Courtney and Erik just recently moved to Colorado. We had a wonderful time walking around Mt Falcon and celebrating their engagement.

Courtney shares, “Erik and I first met while we were attending college at West Virginia University. Erik and my older brother Ryan were fast friends, and luckily that led to Erik and I having a great friendship as well. The three of us all shared a love for online computer games and spent countless hours together online during our college years. Even after college when we all went our separate directions to start our post-college lives, we stayed connected.

Erik and I both admit to having short lived crushes on each other during our college years together, but timing was never in our favor. It wasn’t until nearly 10 years after we first met that Erik made a move, and our time had finally come. One of Erik’s favorite bands, Brand New, was having a concert in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and I happened to be living in Milwaukee at the time, so he took the opportunity for us to meet up. That concert ended up being our first date of many more to come, and when my career led me to Charlotte, North Carolina, Erik moved with me so that we could end our long-distance dating and be together again.

Erik proposed to me over Memorial Day weekend in 2019. He planned an amazing trip to Sausalito, California just outside of San Francisco. The morning after we arrived, Erik was up bright and early at 6am ready to start the day. This should have been my first clue something was going on because neither of us would ever choose to wake up that early on a weekend. Turns out his phone didn’t update from EST to PST, so he thought it was already 9am and he had big plans for the day. Erik and I got breakfast at a local diner overlooking the bay and then headed up to the Redwood Forest for a mid-morning hike. On our hike, Erik found a quiet area overlooking the park and after getting down on one knee, he asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes. We spent the rest of the weekend celebrating. I still can’t help but smile thinking back on that day one year ago.”

Courtney continues, “We were all set to be married at a neighborhood yacht club on Lake Norman in North Carolina on March 21, 2020 when covid-19 changed the world around us in a matter of 24 hours. It was the Friday before our wedding weekend when the U.S. officially closed the borders to tourists, and governors leapt into action implementing various restrictions on public gatherings. That weekend, with the health and safety of our family and friends in mind, we made the decision to post-pone our wedding to September of this year. We truly hope our friends and family will be able to gather and celebrate our marriage in September, but even if it ends up being a bit smaller than we had planned, it will be perfect.  

My career brought us to Colorado at the very beginning of March 2020, and even though we couldn’t get married at the end of March as originally planned, I wanted to do something special to celebrate us and our new life in Colorado. I am so glad I found Jessica to shoot our engagement session re-take! Being new to the area, trying to pick a location for a photo shoot was a bit overwhelming, but Jessica suggested so many beautiful locations to choose from. I was drawn towards Mt. Falcon Park because it reminded me of our proposal weekend and the hike where it all began. With our one-year engagement anniversary right around the corner, it was the perfect setting to bring back all those memories of a truly joyous time in our lives.

Courtney and Erik were so natural in front of the camera and you could tell they were so happy together.

Courtney adds, “My favorite moments from our photo session were when our poses left us laughing until we cried. Jessica assured us our laughing fits would make for the best pictures, and from our sneak peak I’d say she was right. Erik and I left the session feeling so light hearted and excited for wedding day to finally come.”

Happy engagement Courtney and Erik!