Have you ever been to a morning wedding? It is officially my new favorite thing. Ally and Robert had their ceremony at 10:00am. Granted this meant everyone needed to wake up really early, but not just because the ceremony was in the morning, it was also Iron Horse weekend. The Iron Horse is a big bike race here in Durango, racers (although most people I know are just riding it not necessarily racing) ride their bikes from Durango to Silverton through the mountain passes trying to beat the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Train. This is such a large event that the roads are entirely closed from Purgatory Mountain to Silverton to give the riders room and security in their riding. Although Ally and Robert's venue, River Bend Ranch isn't between Purg and Silverton the right side of the road was closed between 7-9:30, making it impossible to turn into River Bend. So our solution was just get all the vendors to River Bend before the road closed at 7am. I am not really a morning person, but I can be, and all the pros of this morning wedding make waking up early SO worth it!!!
First of all the light was absolutely amazing! The ceremony locations at River Bend face these beautiful red cliffs to the east, but this means that during afternoon ceremonies the sun is shining right at them, so a lot of times I try and get behind the couple and officiant to get some of my more dynamic back lit images. For this morning wedding however the sun was behind the couple the whole ceremony, and not only that but the sun came through the trees and lit ONLY Ally and Robert near the end of their ceremony and it was thoroughly breathtaking!
My other favorite part of this morning wedding, BRUNCH! I love breakfast foods, and brunch is always a favorite of mine. They had Yellow Carrot cater and not only did they have amazing cocktail time snacks and beverages as always, they made made to order breakfast burritos, chicken and waffles, and the most adorable little Crème Brûlées and french toast sticks ------------------->
It was all so beautiful, personalized, and entirely fit this wonderful couple's personalities. The dress Ally wore has been worn by many women before her, passed down through generations, and they had a great display of photos from all the past women who have worn the dress. It was of course tailored and modernized a little bit to fit Ally, and it looked SO GOOD. It was so fun to play with in the wind!
Another upside to the morning wedding, which people technically can take advantage of in afternoon weddings as well, was the first dances having some natural light coming in. I had a wedding almost a month ago where they danced outside, and this was just as beautiful as that light-wise. So fun to capture!!!
Overall the whole day was just magical, it has been raining here all the time lately which is quite out of character with our normal weather, but on Ally and Robert's wedding day the sun was out and it was an absolutely beautiful day! Congratulations Ally and Robert on making that jump into married life so smoothly, I wish you all the joys and happiness each other can bring!
Venue River Bend Ranch
Hair and makeup by BeautyMARK
Cake by Yellow Carrot
Catoring by Yellow Carrot
Flowers by Yellow Carrot
DJ Durango DJ