YA YA Farm & Orchard Wedding // Mr. + Mrs. Darrow

I was lucky enough to check an item off my bucket list when I booked this Colorado wedding in 2019, you know, pre-pandemic. It’s been a dream of mine to shoot a wedding out west and I finally had the chance. My husband and I decided to take a week off and make it our vacation for the year with our last day reserved for shooting this YA YA Farm & Orchard wedding. As we’re all very well aware of the happenings since 2019 I’ll make this long story short, my husband was unable to travel due to work and I was left with a big decision. Do I still fly across the US during a pandemic to shoot this wedding? While I weighed the pros and cons the answer was clear. I NEEDED THIS. Not only had all of my weddings up until this point been cancelled or postponed, this wedding was a dream of mine AND it was actually happening so I was going to be there. I packed my bags, boarded a plane, and flew to Denver with my camera, N95 mask, and every type of disinfectant known to mankind.

I started the day at the gorgeous St. Julien Hotel & Spa in Downtown Boulder where Alyssa, her girls, and the pups all got ready before we headed north for this YA YA Farm & Orchard wedding. YA YA’s orchard sits on 8 acres overlooking snowcapped mountains in the distance and is home to 1,000 fruit trees – mostly apple, but some cherry, plum and pear. The orchard also doubles as a farm complete with draft horses, donkeys, chicken and peacocks! During this time Colorado was implementing a limited amount of people per gathering and that number mostly comprised of the wedding party and immediate family of both Alyssa and Chris. During the ceremony a family member was able to stream the wedding on Facebook Live so everyone who wasn’t able to attend in person could still virtually join in. Although this wedding had to be downsized to “intimate”, it still had all the elements that make any wedding day perfect plus a little extra. Friends, family, good music, amazing views, hand sanitizer favors, animals, lawn games, a s’mores station, and apple cider doughnuts! My heart was so full after shooting this wedding and it rejuvenated that little spark of hope I was so desperately hanging onto. Congrats Mr. & Mrs. Darrow, in the midst of a pandemic this wedding was one for the books!

Vendors:

Hotel: St. Julien Hotel & Spa

Dress Designer: Lis Simon (custom made by the bride)

Florals: Midwest Blooms Floral Co.

Wedding Planner: Cherry Bomb Events

Venue: YA YA Farm & Orchard

Catering: Savory Cuisines

Videography: Living Out Loud

Photography: Me, duh!