Mandi + Drew | Brainard Lake Engagement Photos | Colorado Engagement Photographer | Roosevelt National Forest
It’s no surprise that fall is my favorite season. I love warm sweaters, pumpkin spice, chilly mornings and letting my dogs sleep on my feet while I work at my desk. I also don’t have A/C, so the heat just doesn’t do it for me and nothing makes me happier than clicking on my furnace in September. It makes me nothing more than excited when I get the opportunity to photograph amazing couples like Mandi + Drew in the fall. Chillier weather means all of the extra opportunities for snuggling in close. This fall, however, was off to the warmest and most bizarre start ever. Down in the foothills it was still 90º the day of their September engagement session. Thankfully, the higher up you go in elevation the more the temperature drops. When we arrived at Brainard Lake (up at 10,000′ elevation) it was a nice crisp 55º and it quickly dropped below 50 once the sun dipped below the mountains. Did that stop these two amazing people from splashing and playing around in the water? It sure didn’t. My clients are the absolute best, I tell you!
After we spent some time exploring around Brainard Lake, seeing our breath and seeing a gigantic moose we decided to head to a bit lower elevation to hunt out some aspen trees. The aspen tree groves all the way down the road were still super green and the ones all the way up at 10-11k were already dead. It’s a good thing we’re a set up determined people because we spotted a perfect hidden little patch of perfectly yellow aspen trees while heading back down the mountain! We pulled our cars off of the shoulder and walked towards this little patch of trees and it ended up being a magical wonderland of at least 15-20 bright yellow aspens in their peak! Talk about a magical feeling!
I am so excited to photograph these two get married in the early summer next year at a new venue called Rist Canyon Inn, which has been on my venue bucket list since before it even opened – yay!
[…] my expectations in every single way! Mandi and Drew were so much fun to work with and photograph at their Brainard Lake engagement session and they brought that same magical and fun energy to their wedding day. Holy hail (pun intended, […]