Anna & Collin // Nathrop, CO. Destination Wedding

Sometimes words just make a mess of what powerful and authentic photography says with such clarity.  This is definitely the case with Anna & Collin’s wedding in beautiful Nathrop, Colorado. My wife and I used to work at an outdoor center in the same valley that Nathrop lays in, in a sweet little valley town called Buena Vista.  That entire bed of earth in the Coloroado Rockies is a treat to humanity, and I’m grateful that Anna and Collin flew me out there to capture their wedding story. Anna and Collin have a beautiful and playful love for one another, and you can see the support ooze from their families’ facial expressions and hugs. They had sun, clouds, rain and wind.  The Colorado weather crawls over the west mountain peaks and leaves a massive mess of rain and hail and snow throughout the year at unpredictable moments.  Anna and Collin nearly had it all.  The only thing that stopped us late in the day, after their brunch wedding and reception, was a torrential rain pour up near Leadville.  I was sad we couldn’t keep photographing, but already so happy to have had the chance to photograph in both Nathrop and Buena Vista with them. It’s easy to connect to powerful portraits made in the moody Rockies.  But what drove me to tears that day was listening to Collin’s older brother Micah recite a poem that their other brother Jesse wrote to them about their brotherhood.  Jesse has since passed-on.  But the reciting was so sweet, and funny, and warm.  A full spectrum of emotion echoed through the valley.  Everyone felt something amazing at that wedding. From the poem – some of Micah’s favorite lines:

“My Brothers and me, we are three/ All different but get together and enjoy harmony… “It’s funny how the ways of the world make us change/ Yet when we get together it’s all the same/ My brothers 2 plus me makes 3/ Different sections of the U.S is where we be”

Thanks for including me in the celebrations. – Ben