Makenna and Jason shared a wedding day that felt like an amazing mix of traditional wedding activities and elopement activities. I met the pair at their wedding venue, Kiser Creek Cabins, on the side of the Grand Mesa. The two would consider themselves river rats, and as such we went up to the top of the Mesa for their first look and then a grand adventure – rafting across the lake to a meadow of wildflowers. There they exchanged private vows and we explored the area a bit for some portraits.
Once we made our way back across the lake, we found that a couple who were fishing dropped off some glasses of wine for the newlyweds and offered a quick cheers! It’s always so fun to see the public’s reactions to couples doing badass things on their wedding day. We wrapped up our lake time and headed back to the cabins for their official ceremony in front of friends and family. There Makenna and Jason partook in a unity ceremony that I’ve never seen but officially freaking love. They brought water from her hometown river and the Colorado River, and each poured their waters into an empty jar to signify the two of them uniting in marriage. They stood on a wood deck that Jason made and painted like a trout, and shared their first kiss.
After the formalities, it was on to the party! The couple had a personalized lego cake topper made, perfectly imitating the scenes I’d photographed earlier that afternoon, the two of them atop a lego raft on top of their cake. Their loved ones offered words of encouragement, love, and celebration as toasts to the newlyweds before everyone split up for the festivities. Some people played the many yard games available as the sun sat along the Mesa, and others danced the evening away.
Makenna and Jason really understood that there are no rules to how you can celebrate your wedding day! If you want to hop on the water and exchange private vows before your formal ceremony with loved ones, you absolutely can! And escaping the summer heat by heading up to the Grand Mesa is always a great idea in my opinion. Take a peek at their Kiser Creek Cabins wedding day:
