I’m not going to lie, with a three-hour drive each way to the session (mostly because I drive like a grandma) and then a little over two hours of shooting, Thursday’s Vail, Love Session was EXHAUSTING! The minute I met Diana and Andrew for the first time, however, I was immediately glad I decided to give them this unique opportunity to commemorate their very special one-year anniversary. These two are as happy and in-love after one year of marriage as all of my couples are who just got engaged.

I also just LOVED working with Diana and Andrew. Their personalities fit my candid style to a T, and I had no problem capturing them 100% naturally. I picked up the couple around 4 p.m. at the ski resort where they were staying in Beaver Creek, and then drove them to several beautiful locations I had previously scouted in Vail. Once again, they were great sports about the drive, even when I got pulled over for cutting off a public safety officer in their development. Oops!

Okay, so not the best driver here, but who really cares when you end up having as much fun as we did! Here are some of the first of our photos from the shoot:

The next location I had really wanted to use involved some Aspen tress that still had snow around them. What I didn’t realize when we got there was just how MUCH snow we were talking! It was deceptively deep, but Diana was a real trooper and the couple braved the knee-deep environment to make my vision for these shots really come to life. The way they toughed it out, you would seriously never guess these two were just visiting from sunny Florida!

The fact that Diana and Andrew were up for anything made just about every photo in this set possible, including these next two where I asked them to brave a slippery all-mud trail AND climb a super-steep hillside! Apparently getting up was easier than getting down, and Diana looked intimidated in her treadless boots and ended up having to walk ALL the way around to find a way off that mound!

Our last stop was a small town buried deep in the mountains. We really loved the colors of it, not to mention that old country charm! We only had about 15 minutes left before the couple were scheduled to turn into pumpkins in time to catch their dinner reservation, but I’m glad we were able to get just a handful of photos in the town before heading back.

Diana and Andrew: It was SO fun working with you, my only regret is that you’re already married and I missed out on being part of what I’m sure was an extremely special wedding day. I hope these photos do justice to the beautiful dynamic of your relationship one year later, and successfully commemorate the fond memories we made together on Thursday. Wishing you many more anniversaries of celebrating life, love and all that great married stuff!