Ashley and TC | Wild Basin Lodge Wedding | Allenspark, Colorado
Savannah Chandler Photography | Wild Basin Lodge Wedding Photographer

Where to even begin with this wedding?!? I’ve gotten to know Ashley and TC over the past few years, and they’ve become some of my very favorite people. I met TC back in 2014 when I flew out to Asheville to photograph Brad and Jessica’s wedding (which you can take a peek at HERE). Looking back, I’m fairly certain that I have some images of TC being hoisted into the air by some fellow groomsmen at the end of the evening 🤣. Last year, I got a call from TC saying that he had found “the one”, and he was going to propose. We schemed on where and how he would propose to Ashley, and in May 2017 I sneakily met them up at Lost Gulch Overlook where TC popped the question (you can check out their proposal HERE).

When Ashley and TC told me they had chosen Wild Basin Lodge as their wedding venue, I was pretty stoked to say the least. I’ve been in and around the Allenspark area, and have even stayed on the same road as Wild Basin Lodge, but had yet to photograph a wedding there. As I’m sure you can tell, I’m quite mountain obsessed (really?! That’s quite the shocker 😬). I absolutely love how you can see Mount Meeker booming in the background at 13,911 feet elevation. I do have a tendency to look at mountains that are in the background and get the urge to climb them. One day, Meeker, one day. You’re now on my “MUST CLIMB” list, so I can point and proclaim that I’ve summited the mountain behind Wild Basin Lodge.

On June 28, 2018 I headed out West alongside the St. Vrain Canyon (I’m sure blasting either some Beatles or 90s grunge) to photograph Ashley and TCs wedding. I also knew that I’d get to see Brad and Jessica, who had just moved back to the states from Copenhagen, as Brad would now be TC’s best man. We started getting ready and were able to take some family and bridal portraits prior to the ceremony – including a few emotional first looks with Ashley’s dad and step-dad. I would say that was the beginning to all of the emotion of the day – which there was no shortage of. Everyone was SO genuinely happy, and full of loving tears.

As we made the trek over to the ceremony site, the temperature began to slightly drop and the sun began to sink behind the clouds. Ashley walked down the aisle to greet her groom on the arms of both her dads. As someone who has seen many, many family dynamic situations, it makes my heart so happy to see families that have split love their children so much that they all function as one large, supportive family. Just as Ashley was approaching the “altar”, I turned to notice TC had the perfect one single tear falling down his cheek. This is the unicorn of photographing the groom seeing his bride for the first time – the single teardrop. It just about made me tear up to see the love in both their faces. One of my favorite things Ashley and TC did during their Wild Basin Lodge wedding was to take just a moment to look out at the view – a moment to have to themselves. It can be so hard to find time to have a moment of silent bliss on your wedding day, and this was the perfect time to just “be”. To conclude their ceremony, all the guests had butterflies to release into the sky.

Once we began photographing their couple’s portraits, I looked down at my arm to notice it was incredibly orange. I’m all about light (and I have ZERO poker face when it comes to yelling out “OMG THAT LIGHT IS SO PRETTY”), so noticing the shift in color was somewhat odd for 3:00 in the afternoon. We looked up into the sky and noticed that a huge smoke plume had formed – it turns out that a large wildfire near Grand Lake (just on the other side of the Continental Divide) had started that day. It makes me incredibly sad to know that Colorado is on fire, but man oh man does smoke make for some amazing lighting.

For their reception, Ashley and TC decided to host their entire event outside. Which I am a HUGE fan of, for multiple reasons. The lighting is always fantastic outside, as long as it’s decent weather everyone enjoys being outdoors, and YOU GET TO HANG OUT OUTSIDE. Outside is where it’s at. 😃 As the night progressed, some fantastic dancing began to break out – including TC and Ashley dancing out on the rock near the riverside. Due to the fire bans (which clearly are a good thing seeing that a wildfire broke out already), a sparkler exit was a no go – so a “bell and ribbon” exit it was. I still have my ribbon in my office – I love being able to take home a small piece of each wedding I photograph if it’s possible.

After the night ended, we headed over by St. Malo on the Rocks to capture some sunset portraits. I knew the smoke sky wouldn’t disappoint, and boy oh boy was I right. We caught a fantastic sky, and photographed until the light ran out.

Thank you again, Ashley and TC, for inviting us to celebrate your Wild Basin Lodge wedding with you. It was truly an honor to be alongside with you on your wedding day.

Vendors for Ashley and TC’s Wild Basin Lodge Wedding:
Venue: Wild Basin Lodge
Florist: Lace and Lilies
Hair and Makeup: Estes Park Bridal Company
Cake and Desserts: Whole Foods
Secondary Photographer: Jennie Crate