This was one of my favorite weddings of 2019. To start, I absolutely love Della Terra Weddings. Not only is the venue absolutely beautiful but the staff is amazing and all of the weddings there go off without a hitch. It’s also in Estes Park, which is also one of my favorite Colorado mountain towns, and home to the always amazing Rocky Mountain National Park.

This Estes Park wedding was wonderful because there was just so much emotion, everything ranging from tears to laughter, playfulness to drunken hilarity. One of my favorite parts of the day was when the man of honor (Elise’s brother) pulled out what he thought were Elise’s vows, but they actually weren’t, so a couple of Elise’s friends ran back to Della Terra and to grab the actual vows. The pause during that moment was filled with lighthearted bantering, and it made for some really lovely candid shots.

Another favorite part was the fact that everyone was super into the lawn games they had set up outside for guests. We watched an amazing game of Jenga between family members and friends, and then finished the night up with some epic dancing. Weddings like these fly by for me and sometimes it doesn’t even feel like work, because they’re so fun!

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Amazing Team:

Photographer: Teresa Woodhull Photography, assisted by Tayler Carlisle

Venue: Della Terra

Wedding Planner: Della Terra

HMUA: Bella Capelli

DJ: Pure Sound Productions

Catering & Cake: Jubilations

Dress: Justin Alexander from Amanda’s Bridal

When I met Maria and Chris for the first time during their RMNP engagement session, I knew this was going to be a fun wedding. I think we laughed the whole time, and even Maria admits they’re not your typical mushy PDA-y kind of couple. They’re constantly poking fun at each other (in the sweetest of ways, of course), laughing with each other and genuinely having fun together. And let me tell you, thank god for that kind of attitude, because their wedding day was CRAZY.

Let’s start off with the morning of, which was actually kind of perfect - it was freakin beautiful, the sun was shining, and it wasn’t ungodly hot, which is pretty common in the middle of summer. We knew there was going to be a storm later, but being Colorado we all just assumed it would rain for a bit and pass. Once we got up to the Overlook Chapel at the YMCA it started coming down, but nothing crazy. Then the wind picked up and all hell broke loose - I’m talking lightening, hail, torrential downpour, all of it. And yet we still managed to get some fun photos (despite everyone, even Maria & Chris, getting soaked to the bone - somehow my gear survived). Finally we had to call it, and Maria and Chris decided to have a quick faux ceremony at the top before heading back down to their reception area to have the full ceremony. Both were fun and intimate in their own way. On the one hand we had rainy ceremony, where everyone was just kind of laughing over the ridiculousness that is Mother Nature. On the other we had this super intimate ceremony by the fire place, where everyone was cozy and got to enjoy a cocktail as they watched. Both were great, and overall I’m glad that despite things not going according to plan, Maria and Chris enjoyed their day and embraced all the madness!