Estes Park Wedding at Black Canyon Inn

Midway through the reception at Sarah and Austin’s Estes Park wedding at Black Canyon Inn, I was standing at the venue’s large plate glass windows overlooking the Rocky Mountains trying to determine if the sunset would be interested enough to take the bride and groom outside for sunset photos. I was slightly bummed out because the sky didn’t seem to be cooperating. There were no super saturated colors or dramatic cloud formations. “We’ll shoot blue hour and/or nighttime portraits instead,” I thought to myself.

But then Austin walked up and stood next to me, following my gaze out the window. After a few moments of silence, he smiled broadly and said “Man, what a great day.” These five simple words completely changed my outlook. I thought to myself, “F*ck yeah, it’s a great day! Let’s go out and take some kick-ass sunset photos!”

And we did. AND blue hour photos. AND nighttime photos under the stars. Because why wouldn’t we make the most of every opportunity afforded us on a day as great as this one.

The irony here is that it’s usually Moira and me reminding our couples that it’s not what happens on a wedding day that matters. It’s how you react to it. But this time, the rolls were revered. So what if it wasn’t the most incredible sunset I’d ever seen? We were still at a beautiful mountain wedding venue overlooking one of the most majestic mountain ranges in the U.S., surrounded by happy people, doing what we love to do for a living.

And for Sarah and Austin, spending this day marrying one another with their 20 closest friends and family in attendance was all they needed.

What a great day, indeed.