Estes Park LGBTQ Wedding at Trout Haven Resorts

I feel like I start a lot of these posts of similarly—some kind of “sigh, this wedding was so great” statement about how looking back on it makes me all nostalgic and love my couples even more. Well, if you wanted something different—TOO BAD!! These two humans are genuine, loving, some of the kindest people ever, and like, very trendy and good-looking, to boot. In case you were thinking that they sounded too good to be true. News Flash! They are. I can’t even believe such good and wonderful people exist. Nevermind that on top of that, they wanted me to photograph their wedding day!

Being there with them was a true honor, and I was so amazed and touched all day by the kindness of the people they chose to surround themselves with. But, I guess in this case, they drew people around them with similar priorities as themselves. Being with such wonderful people made this whole day even more special.

I often find with same-sex weddings that everything from the friends who are around the couple on the day, to the events happening, to the clothes and shoes they wear, have a so much more intention behind them than other weddings. I’m sure you can guess why—if your ability to marry the person you love had only just recently become legal, I’m sure you would think a hell of a lot more about the details too. When you can’t take any of it for granted, the whole process becomes a lot more meaningful.

I had only driven past the Trout Haven Resorts before, and wasn’t sure what to expect from the inside of the cute little cabins arranged on the banks of the St. Vrain. I arrived nice and early to get the lay of the land, and I was super impressed by this is a little gem of Estes Park—similar to the YMCA. It had a lot of character without being too rustic, which Colorado venues lean towards more often than I’d like. The ceremony site by the riverside was a dream, and you can’t beat the access to Rocky Mountain National Park either. It was super easy for Ash + Trish to have separate getting ready spaces, and it was nice for me that they were just a quick walk away from each other. I had a second photographer for this wedding, but I don’t like it when I can’t switch back and forth and make sure I’m there for the important moments on each side. Getting to know the people there with the couple is super important to me, and if I don’t meet one side of the wedding party until after the ceremony, it bums me out! The reception space was simple and easy to decorate. I loved that they already had twinkle lights all up in the ceiling rafters for some good atmosphere during the dancing. I know a huge reason why Ash and Trish chose this spot was for the easy food truck pull up area in front of the venue. They not only had food trucks coming for dinner catering, but dessert too!

Ash and Trish each got ready with a few friends and family with them—NOT a wedding party, haha. They didn’t want to rank their friends and just wanted everyone to prioritize experiencing day, not adding drama. I love that more couples getting married are moving that direction over having a big wedding party, and remembering that you can still have friends with you getting ready is an important part of that decision. Just because you don’t have them all wear matching outfits doesn’t mean that they aren’t still your people.

While they were getting ready, Trish secretly took Ash’s shoes and wrote “Always” and “Forever” on the sole of each one. Something blue, anyone? This was such a cute way to incorporate a more traditional to the big day, I thought it was worth mentioning. I think these two had some of my favorite wedding looks this season, maybe taking a close second to Alex + True’s incredible wardrobe choices. Trish had this immaculately tailored maroon suit that was just to die for, and Ash’s white and pale blue two piece dress from BHLDN complemented it perfectly. I loved that they both chose looks that were true to them, and what made them feel like a bamf while they walked down the aisle. Pikolinos and Converse were the perfect match on the shoe front! Just before the ceremony, we took a secret trip out into Rocky Mountain National Park for some portraits. The wind was whipping across the Moraine Park area, but I thought it just made Ash’s dress more gorgeous!!

Once we got back, they had a teary rendezvous with the parents on both side, and got ready for their ceremony by the river. There were tons of tears and laughs during their ceremony, performed by a close family member, and I will remember it forever!! They fought so hard for their relationship in the beginning, and hearing their dedication to each other was so humbling. They’re in it for the long haul. Trout Haven Resorts was amazing and brought out a ladder so I could grab a shot of everyone together right at the end of the ceremony. It was super important to the brides to document that, and it always makes my life easier when the venue is willing to hop in and help with the logistics.

After the ceremony, their pup Frankie needed his own little photoshoot with Ash + Trish. He’s a rescue and is really shy of new people, but as an owner of several rescues myself, I was happy to work around his needs and make sure they had photos with him at their wedding.

The reception was a little bit of a roller coaster, unfortunately. There was some drama with one of the food trucks (sadly one of my favorites too) and the amazing crew that Ash + Trish had supporting them all day rallied to bring pizza and barbecue from the next door restaurants to make sure everyone was fed. Fortunately, the ice cream food truck was a smashing success, though I was concerned for all the formalwear when people took their ice cream cones onto the dance floor 😉

This wedding hit me in the feels real hard, made me realize how wonderful and good people are, and made me thank mother nature for some sun in October in Estes Park. It dumped like 10 inches of snow in Estes the day after this, hahaha. Enjoy the photos!!

ash + trish’s lgbtq estes park wedding at trout haven resorts

If you’re having a same-sex wedding in Colorado and liked this post, check out my dedicated LGBTQ+ wedding page. I’d love to be part of the celebration, too. If you want to chat, hit the button below!