William and Colleen had a great day for an outdoor wedding in the Colorado mountains. They took their wedding location a step further than using one of the many great venues that supply a outdoor wedding in an amazing place. They wanted a mountain wedding in a public place that they could return to on anniversaries and spend as much time in this special place as they liked. This place had to have a view of the mountains and be relatively close to their home in Golden. After much research and driving around, they discovered Genessee Mountain Park. There was a large meadow with two giant pines which provided the perfect setting for their nuptials, and it was a place they could revisit as often as they liked. I have often thought about all the amazing places in Colorado and how with a little creativity you could do a wedding in many of these gorgeous locations. It would take an adventurous couple to plan a wedding in one of our favorite remote locations, but we seem to have no shortage of those at Holcombe Photography.
Colleen and William’s day went off without a hitch. They brought in chairs, flowers, a string quartet, and a PA system so all the guests could hear the ceremony. We had great weather, sunny with puffy clouds dancing overhead. The center aisle was positioned to point west so as the guests looked to Colleen walking down the aisle they saw her with the mountains looming behind. I was so happy with how this all worked out as it was really striking and the guests loved it.
We went to the nearby Mount Vernon Country Club for the reception with 5 star service and amazing food. During the course of the reception I noticed all the guests looking out the large windows looking over the mountains above Denver. The view is amazing but out of the dozens of weddings I had shot here I’d never seen the guests so excited over the view. I go up to see what everyone is looking at and I saw a black bear sitting at the edge of the trees below the deck. He seemed very content almost like he was coming as a guest to wish William and Colleen the best on their wedding day. He hung around for 20-30 minutes before lumbering off into the woods. I have seen quite a few bears in Colorado but never at a wedding reception. We joked that this is one on the many things only Mount Vernon could provide. Someone asked William how he arranged the bear to make an appearance and he replayed “I do have a degree in wildlife management and work for The Nature Conservancy.”
Thanks Colleen and William for allowing us to photograph your fabulous Colorado mountain wedding!










These are some of the best wedding pictures I’ve seen. You guys look great. Congratulations!