Since today is my birthday, I let myself postpone finishing up my taxes for one more day, and I edited Christine & Dave's lovely Durango wedding instead :) This one was incredible! I definitely am super biased towards destination weddings. If you're even slightly thinking about planning (or switching to) a destination wedding, I can't recommend it enough! They are so mellow and laid-back and I just love the vibe of small, intimate events like this one. There's so much less pressure and you will definitely get an opportunity to talk to all your guests! If I were to get married again, we would definitely have a small destination wedding somewhere cool :) Dave and Christine were originally planning a larger wedding next winter, but decided to move the date up, switch the location, and get married on a mountaintop in Durango last weekend with 20 or so of their closest friends and family. It was absolutely magical (as you will see)! Adding to the total specialness of this wedding was the fact that I got to make the drive with my friend and favorite wonderful officiant Heather from Higher Elevation Celebration.The thing that keeps coming to mind as I watch Dave and Christine together is how genuine they both are, both towards others and with each other. They are so clearly in love, and this shone so evidently through their super fun engagement session in Reno and Lake Tahoe, the details of their wedding day, and through the ceremony and reception. There were so many special moments during this day and I was constantly reminded of how lucky I am to be able to capture moments like these. Also, I have to give a huge shout-out to Jackie, Shannon, and the rest of the wedding coordination team at Durango Mountain Resort (aka Purgatory) - wonderful people who are totally on top of it, helped the day go so smoothly, and helped everyone relax and enjoy the wedding! I highly recommend working with them, and if you're looking for an epic place for a mountain wedding, please please check them out!

Loved that I got to catch moments like these all day. Christine & her mom...

... and her sister helping with the dress.

One of my personal favorites from the day, just because it's so random. The entire group rode up to the site in sleighs, which loaded right at the base of one of the lifts. In case you don't know me very well, me calling something "random" is one of the highest compliments I can think of :)

Watching the bride come up the "aisle" in a sleigh was so breathtaking & dramatic!

This is how great Heather is:

Throughout the ceremony, you could hear little silver sleigh bells jingling:

Love this shot of Christine & her dad:

Dave & Christine - congratulations on your marriage! It was a privilege to be a part of your day!

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Just got back from this gorgeous Lake Tahoe engagement session... Christine and I have been emailing for so long, I felt like I knew her before we had even spoken. It was so much fun to finally meet her and Dave on their home turf in Reno! Their wedding is coming up in less than a month in Durango, and it's going to be amazing. I know a few secret details about it so I'm super excited! It was a pretty chilly day and Reno had just gotten dumped on, but I got to walk around and explore a little bit before our shoot started. The vibe of this place is so unique - it's like a less glitzy, smaller Vegas, except they still have all the old neon signs, which I loved. It turns out that some of my favorite vintage-looking casino signs during the day were the one that were abandoned and didn't light up at night.

Christine and Dave clearly love each other so much, and it was an honor to be there with them. Thank you guys so much for driving me through two states for such a fun engagement session! I can't wait for the wedding!

One of my favorite things to do when I'm in a new place is wander around with my camera and try to figure out how the town feels to me, if that makes any sense... so, a few fun shots of downtown Reno: