Trystan Photography: An Intimate Portrait.

Please click the photo or follow the link to view Jaime and Curtis’ wedding in Evergreen, CO.

How is 2010 almost over?? My mom always warned me that time would seem to move more quickly as I got older, so I will take this year as a sure sign I’m getting older (the thinning and graying hair might be an indicator, too). But I’m only turning 31 for God’s sake!

Well, enough laments over aging, let’s talk about something brand-spankin’ new: my new-found love for Evergreen, CO.

Evergreen. I am almost embarrassed by my complete lack of knowledge of what Evergreen was, is, and has to offer. I have lived in Colorado since I was 10 years old, and especially in high school up in Fairplay, CO, I would drive through Evergreen almost every on my way to do things in Denver. I was under the impression that Evergreen was simply some little mountain town of the highway. That’s it. Little did I know that Evergreen was this really gorgeous and almost secretly hidden mountain paradise (the fall colors didn’t hurt, but honestly it doesn’t look like much from Hwy 285, and that might be on purpose).

However, Jaime and Curtis knew how amazing it was, and planned their perfect Autumn wedding at the Evergreen Lake House on the edge of the picturesque town lake. Not only are the views to die-for, but apparently there is no hunting near Evergreen because an entire herd of elk was just hanging out, bathing in the lake during most of the reception. I say this with such disbelief because I have dedicated years of my life (well, a season each year) to hunting these amazing, elusive and really cunning animals, and to see them chillin’ without a care in the world filled me with blood-lust and a sense of inadequacy. There they were, right there! And I’ve almost died of exposure trying to find them where I hunt just an hour away.

AS usual, I digress. Jaime and Curtis planned an effortless wedding, where the energy was joyful, the spirits were high and free flowing. The boys had a bottle of whiskey polished off before the first official photo of them! But these are seasoned Chicago-ans(?) and they obviously know how to drink professionally, because not a green tinge was spotted on the faces of anyone involved at any point in the day. Everyone simply laughed and played, all day. It was perfect.

Actually, now that I stop to think about it, there was one “suck-in-your-breath-in-horror” moment of the day: as Curtis was handed the ring by the minister, it slipped out of his fingers and bounced around on the planks of the wooden deck, dancing precariously over the slits in the planks, where it would have been lost either under the decking or in the lake! Thankfully, the ring did not fall through the decking, and with relived chuckles from all involved, the wedding continued. Afterwards, when I asked Curtis what he would have done if the ring had fallen through he said, “I would have had to have paid them for a new deck, because I would be getting that ring back, one way or another!”

And as we say goodbye to the wonderful wedding season of 2010, we want to thank all of our amazing clients for making this our best year ever. We love our job, and we loved your weddings! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year from Trystan Photography.

Please click the photos or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Rachel and Jordan’s wedding at The Phipps Mansion.

Rachel and Jordan did it right. They had perfect blue-bird day, golden sunshine and a picturesque venue. Everything was perfect.

Oh, and did I mention that these photos will probably be collector’s items?

“Why”, you ask? Because Rachel and Jordan’s wedding was one of the last weddings there will ever be at The Phipps Mansion. It is now under private ownership. Tim and Scott bought it. Just the two of them. 70+ rooms, 6.5 acres… juuuuuuuust the two of them. They said they wanted enough room for, “… a proper garden.” Really? Two people? If Tim Gill wasn’t such a nice guy with the rest of his money (The Gill Foundation has given over $162 million to non-profits and charities), I would be saying “really” a lot more times.

I mean, you could seriously have a fight with your significant other and never see them again, because you’d each have a wing bigger than most luxury homes. But I digress.

Rachel and Jordan’s wedding was the perfect ending to this mansion’s storied career as a wedding venue. I hope our photos drive other brides-to-be mad with jealousy because photos like these, at this venue, will never… happen… again. Missed that ship, sister. Better pick a different, one-of-a-kind mansion/wedding venue. Can’t have this one: it’s Tim and Scott’s now.