Sarah and Alex basically got two completely different Colorado backdrops without having to choose between them, and I am very into that decision. Before heading to their Idaho Springs wedding venue, Blackstone Rivers Ranch, we headed to Juniper Pass Picnic Area near Evergreen for private vows with wide-open mountain views. Then it was back down into the trees for a colorful riverside celebration with their favorite people.
Private Vows at Juniper Pass
Before the ceremony, Sarah and Alex carved out a little pocket of the day that belonged completely to them. We headed to Juniper Pass Picnic Area, where the landscape feels like it just keeps going forever. Mountains in every direction, blue skies overhead, and the two of them standing together on the rocks reading their vows.
I love private vows. You can still have the traditional ceremony and share that moment with everyone you love, while keeping the really personal words between the two of you. There’s something so sweet about having both. And after all that openness at Juniper Pass, heading back to Blackstone Rivers Ranch felt like entering a completely different little world. Instead of distant mountain peaks, we were surrounded by evergreens, a rushing river, and strings of lights tucked between the trees.
Creating a Colorful Idaho Springs Wedding Venue in the Trees
Blackstone Rivers Ranch was such a good fit for the rest of Sarah and Alex’s day. Their ceremony took place right beside the river, surrounded by trees and overflowing florals in pastels and little pops of orange. The bridesmaids wore soft blue dresses in different styles, and the guys kept things classic in navy.
But one of my favorite details came straight from Sarah herself. Sarah makes pottery, so she handmade the vases used for the florals on their reception tables. I mean!!! I will always love a beautiful wedding detail, but give me something handmade by the actual couple and suddenly I’m emotionally attached to a vase.
The pottery made the reception feel so personal. Paired with loose, garden-inspired flowers, soft blue napkins, warm wood tables, candles, and greenery draped throughout the tent, everything came together in a way that felt playful and thoughtful. There were even disco balls hanging overhead, because obviously, we need a little sparkle in the middle of the forest.
More than anything, though, the day felt happy. There was so much laughter, so many people genuinely excited to be there, and plenty of those little in-between moments that end up being some of my favorites to photograph. And getting this message from Sarah afterward made me want to cry approximately immediately:
“Sam…every single photo you have shared is AMAZING. We are so blown away 💗🥰 so much better than we could have ever imagined. You are truly an artist.”
Knowing someone can look through their photos and feel all of that joy again is pretty much the whole reason I do this.
Their Wedding Day on Super 8 Film
And then there was the Super 8!
Photography will always have my heart, but Super 8 brings something completely different to a wedding day. It catches the movement and the tiny pieces between the photos—the way someone laughs, a dress moving as you walk, a glance across the room, hugs, dancing, and all those seconds that disappear before you even realize they happened.
There’s also something about the texture of Super 8 that already feels nostalgic. You don’t have to wait 30 years for it to feel like a home movie you found tucked away somewhere. It has that magic immediately.
Sarah and Alex watched their film right after getting home from their honeymoon in Thailand, and their message afterward said everything I could hope a wedding film would do:
“Sam!!! Such perfect timing. We just got back from Thailand and watched the highlight film this morning – so, so amazing. It made us both tear up and took us right back to the wedding day. You are so talented 😍 absolutely amazingly done”
It took us right back to the wedding day. Yep. That’s the part.
Because eventually the flowers come down, everyone flies home, and the wedding clothes get packed away. But you get to keep these pieces of it. The photographs let you stop and study the moments you might have missed, while Super 8 lets you watch them move all over again. And for a day filled with mountain vows, handmade pieces, a riverside ceremony, colorful flowers, and a whole lot of people who clearly adore these two, I’m really glad Sarah and Alex get to have both.
Vendors
Photography & Super 8 | Samantha Ruscher Photo
Venue | Blackstone Rivers Ranch
Entertainment | TH Entertainment
Planner | Dotting the i
HMUA | Candelaria Beauty
Catering | Catering by Design
Florist | Aflorae
Rentals | Colorado Party Rental
be the first to comment