Winding River Ranch Wedding

I am beyond stoked to show off this Winding River Ranch wedding!  Jessie + Danny were married this past summer up in Grand Lake, Colorado, and I was so fortunate to be their wedding photographer.

Way back in the day, circa 2010, Jessie was one of my very first clients ever.  She and her sister, Jenny, came to me via referral from my BFF (Lindsey), for senior portraits.  At the time, I was still teaching high school French and just barely coming into my own with a camera in my hands.  It was just a hobby then, something I did for fun to escape grading papers and lesson planning.

For their senior shoot, we did the first half up in the mountains in Bailey (where I also used to live), followed by the second half around downtown Denver for something a bit more edgy and grungy.  I remember the girls were so fun to work with on this shoot, and I loved getting to know their mom, Mary, along the way as well.

Fast forward to 2018, where I was afforded the divine opportunity to photograph Jessie’s wedding to Danny.  I couldn’t believe that Jessie wanted me to be her photographer, especially since I was so green as her senior portrait photographer.  It felt so redeeming to have someone stick with me through all the years.

I am so very thankful to Jessie + Danny for having me document this day for them.  Thank you again + congrats once more to the happy couple.  Enjoy my favorites from their day below!

Winding River Ranch Wedding | Ashley Kidder Photo

Venue: Winding River Ranch | Dress: Little White Dress | Menswear: Men’s Warehouse | Floral: Lace and Lilies | Makeup: Lather and Sage | Hair: Kanani Tsunami | Catering: Smokin’ Moes | Desserts: Suga Me Sweet | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: David’s Bridal | DJ: Ultimate Sounds | Video: Glasser Images |  Rings: Mesa Jewelers | Paper: Anastasia Makarova for Minted | Bar: Peak Beverage

Mini-interview with the bride, Jessie 

What was your favorite part of the wedding day? “We enjoyed so many things about our wedding day but our absolute favorite part was meeting each other at the end of the aisle; we will both remember that moment for the rest of our lives. We also loved dancing and partying the night away with all of our friends and family. We had a pool party on the ranch after the reception and partied until 4 a.m. We just didn’t want it to end!”

What was your favorite thing to plan or design and why? What would you outsource if you had to do this all over again? “I enjoyed planning and designing the decor of the ceremony and reception. I wanted copper accents and had a specific vision for the flower colors, table design and bridesmaid/groomsmen attire.  I am pretty controlling, but if I had it to do all over again I would absolutely hire a wedding coordinator for the month leading up to the wedding and obviously day-of!” 

-Read more here about why you should definitely hire a wedding planner for your big day-

If you could give one piece of advice to other couples planning their weddings, what would it be? “My main piece of advice would be: try to enjoy every part of your wedding, including the irritating seating chart, the thousands of opinions, and the stressful days, because you only get to do this once! That being said, if you’re on the fence about hiring a wedding coordinator I highly recommend getting one for month-of, week-of, and if nothing else day-of! It is an expense you will not regret.”

What did you do that was non-traditional or outside of the box for weddings? “1. I had both my parents walk me down the aisle. I wanted both of them to “give me away.” 

2. My mother-in-law handmade my cathedral veil. Not only was it absolutely stunning, but I felt so special wearing it. Knowing that she made it with love as her way of officially welcoming me into the family still brings tears to my eyes. 

3. We can’t take credit for originating this idea as our friends did it last summer, but we had our bridesmaids and groomsmen play a cornhole tournament after the rehearsal dinner to determine their placement in the ceremony. We couldn’t choose and it ended up being a blast!”

Where did you go/are going for your honeymoon?  “After the wedding we spent a week in Beaver Creek, Colorado, and stayed at the Park Hyatt Resort and Spa. We are planning to take an international honeymoon for our 1 year anniversary, with the destination TBD.”

More gorgeous Colorado weddings like Jessie + Danny’s: Lyons Farmette + Riverbend wedding | Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch winter wedding | Park Hyatt Beaver Creek wedding