2022 Year in Review

Colorado Elopement and Wedding Photographer

2022.
The year has somehow come and gone in what seems like a flash.

This past year, I continued my trend of being busier than ever and spending most of my time in Colorado’s stunning mountains. I spent my birthday week (for the second year in a row) in stunning Crested Butte during prime wildflower season. I ate pizza in some of the most remote places as of yet. I saw so many sunrises and a few sunsets thrown in. The odometer on my Jeep keeps spinning at a rate my wallet isn’t ready to face.

My 2022:

Hiking Highlights

• Returning to Grizzly Peak, Blue Lakes, Island Lake, and seeing more wildflowers than I ever imagined existing.
• Sitting underneath the stars at Upper Blue Lakes with at least 3 blankets on and waiting for the sunrise.
• Heading back to Handies Peak for sunset this time around.
•Hiking SkyPond 2x this year, once for our annual winter extravangaza.
• Hiking in Crested Butte for 3 of the 4 seasons
• Trail Running through groves of yellow aspens in Vail
• Finding new favorite places in the San Juans
• Talking my Husband into a few hikes in both Hawaii and Ireland

I hiked nearly 400 miles again this year. I’d love to hit that 500 mark one of these years 😉

Full Day Wedding Highlights

• Hearing my favorite Grandma Nickname: Grandma Cookie
• Watching a dude wearing naught but a fanny pack get arrested for chasing Elk
• Seeing a friend from middle school get married and play her violin for her now husband
• So many weddings where all the clothing items starting flying off during the reception. I saw a lot shirtless and pantless people in 2022.
• A groom with a bloody nose from the dry Colorado air
• Grooms getting tossed into the air – but so much more gracefully than I ever could look.
• My first Tortoise was in attendance this year
• Modern Jukebox was SO FUN to see preform during a wedding
• A first beer toast during the ceremony that was super fun and unique

2022 was certainly the year of the Party for me.
All of my receptions were off the chain.
I danced until my knees buckled, and I’m pretty sure it was on a dance floor that I pinched a nerve in my foot this year.
But freaking hell was it a fun year.

Elopement Highlights

• Being back in the San Juans so much this year
• Having more 4×4 elopements and locations – what a blast heading up a 4×4 road is
• All the sunrises. I’m a sucker for a good sunrise.
• Fixing a flat tire in the dark after a 14er elopement
•Heading down the hill to see the Father of the Groom mountain biking up the trail in his suit
• Having kiddos attend a hiking elopement – and they blew me away with how well they all did
• Seeing lots of Elk, a few Moose, and one hungry Fox that stole some food
• Boozing it up everywhere – whisky shots in Aspen and Estes, Champagne all across Colorado, Martinis in Aspen
• Running through so many beautiful alpine fields
• Fishing along the Blue River
• Rock, Paper, Scissors – the best way to determine who says their vows first

To best describe all my 2022 Elopements and Weddings –
I would say that it was the year of Love and Acceptance.
Everyone was so happy to be celebrating together in beautiful places, even if that meant that we needed to accept things out of our control i.e. Colorado’s insane weather patterns (or lack thereof).

Some Personal Stuff in 2022:

• Our kiddo has his 3 year post treatment MRI in March with results showing no signs of any tumor
• Our dog underwent chemo – and is currently doing fantastic
• We went to the Big Island in April with some friends and got to see the Lava flowing
• In June, we went to Knebworth in London and it was one of the best experiences ever.
• I got peed on in Dublin. We’ll just say it wasn’t my favorite place on our trip.
• Went to our cabin quite a bit this year – my husband also made it down a few times while I was at weddings
• Hiked Mt. Yale (2 days after getting home from London – which was probably a terrible idea)
• Camped in some amazing locations with friends
• Fell in a river hiking in CB
• Brought the kiddo along to a few mountain towns for elopements
• Hiked a personal bucket list location: Mirror Lake beneath Lone Eagle Peak as a day hike
• Got lots of Solo Miles hiking and trail running in this year
• Rang in the New Year in Las Vegas at a Bush concert

I also read 56 books this year.
For someone who didn’t read anything for a really long time, that feels like a lot!
Some favorites:

Stormlight Archives, Brandon Sanderson
(really all Brandon Sanderson – I read all his adult work this year)
Green Bone Saga, Fonda Lee
Daisy Jones and the Six, Taylor Jenkins Reed
The Bloodsworn Saga, John Gywnne
Empire of the Vampire, Jay Kristoff

I’m SO EXCITED to see what 2023 brings.

Cheers –