Lisa and Joe | Stanley Hotel Wedding in Estes Park
Savannah Chandler Photography | The Stanley Hotel Wedding Photographer
In 2024, one of the premier wedding venues in Estes Park shut it’s doors rather unexpectedly – leaving quite a few couples to look for new venues. I had heard from the venue (I was on the preferred vendor list) as well as my couples that had booked the next year for their weddings. Lisa and Joe were one of the couples who were displaced during that timeframe. The company that bought out their older wedding venue had given couples the option to see if there was a date available at the Stanley Hotel – a historic and absolutely stunning wedding venue in the heart of Estes Park. Lisa and Joe were fortunate that there was a date in the range they were hoping to host their wedding, and booked the Pavilion at the Stanley Hotel for their multi-cultural wedding day.
This was my first wedding at The Stanley, and WOW OH WOW. I had no idea how stunning the Pavilion was – from the exterior to the large auditorium, and the upstairs ballroom was the perfect place to host a reception.
My second photographer, Bonnie, and myself met Lisa and Joe at their getting ready rooms inside the Pavilion to start the day. It was a crisp October morning, with the aspens starting to turn all around us. When I had asked Lisa and Joe what their priority for their wedding photos was, spending time in Rocky Mountain National Park for their couple’s portraits, as well as their family photographs, were top on their list. Luckily, it’s a short drive to some of the best views in the park and the timed entry permits to get into the park had just ended (meaning a much easier entrance for everyone).
Photos in Rocky Mountain National Park | Sprague Lake, Aspen Viewpoint, and Storm Pass
We all headed up into Rocky Mountain National Park where we’d kick off our mountain time with Lisa and Joe’s first look. I knew that Sprague Lake would provide the perfect backdrop while also giving us the logistics and space needed to pull off a first look with multiple cars. There is cell service still at Sprague, and plenty of places to park while simultaneously making sure that we could position Joe while we got Lisa to the lake deck.
Colorado was certainly putting on a show. There were some low laying clouds that were hanging out about Hallett peak in the background as we made our way around the lake taking portraits.
On our way to meet their families we made a stop at one of my very favorite “local’s secret” spots in the park. Believe it or not, there are still some wonderful spots that aren’t crowded even in Rocky Mountain National Park. Each year in early October, this particular aspen patch produces some of the best fall foliage in the entire area, and this year was no exception.
When I was suggesting places for family portraits, one of the things I consider is what places can I use multiple lenses at – particularly is there enough space for me to back WAY up and use my telephoto lens to get that bombastic mountain look. Storm Pass is such a great location for photos with larger groups of people with lots of sustainable surfaces and outstanding views. This was our last stop in the park before heading back to The Stanley for their Ceremony.
Ceremony | Baraat and Chuppah
Lisa and Joe wanted to be sure and include both of their families cultures and heritage into their wedding day.
After their private Ketubah signing with only their immediate family and signing witnesses in attendance, they invited all their guests to start their ceremony with a Baraat procession. Since a live Elephant in Colorado (and in general) was not readily available, they dressed Joe’s car up as his “Elephant” to ride into their ceremony. Everyone was invited to celebrate, dance, and join the procession with the dhol leading the way. The energy was absolutely electric – there was a mix of guests in Sari’s and more traditional American wedding attire all dancing together welcoming Lisa and Joe to their wedding day. For this portion, both the bride and groom wore their Indian wedding attire to then change into their American wedding attire just before heading to the formal ceremony.
The plan was to host their Chuppah ceremony out on the Lawn that overlooks Longs Peak, however, nature decided that it was going to have some sideways rain pile in right at their ceremony time. A hard call had to be made – Lisa and Joe decided to move everything inside to the glass door auditorium. As far as indoor spaces go – what a wonderful and beautiful Plan B. The ceremony went off without a hitch, partly due to the amazing work put on by their planning team and Kaitlyn at Studio Joy.
Dancing the Night Away | The Hora and a Choreographed Bollywood Flash Mob
The rest of the night was a PAR-TAY. So much fun and celebration was to be had. I’ve always LOVED cultural weddings, as not only do they carry so much history, but they tend to have the most fun and joyful celebrations. To kick off the dancing, Lisa and Joe along with their bridal party and friends broke out into a Flash Bollywood Mob dance they had choreographed before the wedding night. A little while later, that familiar music for the Hora came on as chairs made their way out to the dance floor so that Lisa and Joe could be hoisted up. To say that it’s a little bit of a photographer’s dream reception would be correct – there was so much fun and dancing to be had.
To cap off our time together, we all braved the terrible winds (such is October in the mountains) and headed back into RMNP to attempt a Night Shot. Lisa and Joe were TROOPERS out there in that freezing cold wind having to take 30 second long images just to snag a few shots.
Congratulations again, Lisa and Joe! I had such a wonderful time celebrating with you and your loved ones.
Cheers-
VENDOR TEAM-
Planning: Kaitlyn at Studio Joy
Venue: The Stanley Hotel, Estes Park
Florals: Madelyn Claire Floral
Hair and Makeup: Bridal Goddess
Second Photographer: Bonnie
Savannah Chandler Photography | The Stanley Hotel Wedding Photographer
Based in Denver, Colorado | Available for Travel Worldwide