True Colorado Wedding Vibes On A Ranch With Horses

Maya & Austin’s Wildly Romantic Ranch Wedding

WHAT. A. WEDDING. DAY.

This is a story about trusting that everything always works out… even when the day takes you on one hell of an emotional roller coaster first.

When Maya and Austin originally reached out about having me photograph their wedding, they weren’t completely sure where it would happen. Their first idea was the courthouse, but a few months later, they officially booked me and told me they had decided to get married at a family friend’s ranch instead.

And it wasn’t just some random pretty ranch. This was a place where they had one of their first dates and rode horses together. Now, they were coming back to that same place to get married. I mean, COME ON. Talk about a full-circle moment.

Then Life…The Unexpected…

The day before her wedding, Maya was riding a horse when it spooked. Her foot got caught in a gate and she broke it.

Yes. You read that correctly. SHE BROKE HER FOOT THE DAY BEFORE HER WEDDING.

But Maya rocked that walking boot, added a tassel to it, and carried on like the badass she is. I didn’t hear her complain once. She never said she couldn’t do something because of her foot. She just rolled with it and kept living her wedding day.

Definitely my kind of girl.

I am so freaking pumped that our paths crossed.

Wait…She’s Riding a Horse to the Ceremony?!

We had scheduled our final call to go over the timeline and all the last-minute details, but life happened and Maya wasn’t able to make either call. I had the timeline I created from the questionnaires I sent out though, so we went with it and figured we would roll with whatever happened.

Then, on the wedding day, she casually told me she was planning to ride a horse down to the ceremony. I’m sorry…WHAT?! HELL YES.

It had been five years since I photographed a bride riding into her wedding on horseback, and I had been craving another moment like this and definitely have been manifesting to recently and BAM here we are! My little photographer heart was LOSING IT.

Then the rain came.

Colorado had barely gotten any rain that summer, and we hadn’t had much of a winter either. The ranch desperately needed the moisture, so the rain truly felt like a blessing. Usually, rain in the mountains rolls through for 10 or 15 minutes and moves along. Not this time. We waited 30 minutes to begin the ceremony, and it was still coming down.

Everyone was tucked away waiting. Maya was inside the house, while Austin was right across the way in the barn.

After a while, we decided: HELL, this day is about her and her fiancé. Why was she hiding inside the house when the person she wanted to spend the day with was right across the ranch?

So Maya wanted to see her fiance and I said “Alright, Let’s do a first look.” She wanted to ride over on horseback. She gave it her best effort but she couldn’t get on the horse.

So…we walked!

Was it the original plan? Nope. Was it still beautiful? Absolutely. That is a constant life lesson right there.

And the SECOND Maya and Austin saw each other, the rain stopped. I’m not even kidding.

After all the waiting, all the rain, and all the uncertainty, the sky gave them this little pocket of time to finally see each other. It felt like the entire world paused for them. We started loading everyone back up and getting ready for the ceremony. Then, as Maya and Austin walked down to the ceremony site together, the rain started again.

At that point, there was nothing left to do but embrace it. And honestly? It was beyond romantic.

A Ceremony Straight Out of a Movie

The rain fell around them as they stood together and exchanged their vows. It picked up, softened for a moment, and then came down even harder. By the time Maya and Austin shared their first kiss, it was POURING and thunder was rolling through the sky.

Straight. Out. Of. A. Movie.

The rain wasn’t ruining their ceremony—it was becoming part of it. Their guests were complete badasses, too. Everyone stood in the rain, and not one person complained. They were soaked, fully committed, and there to watch these two get married no matter what the sky threw at them.

I gave my umbrella to Maya and Austin. Unfortunately, I hadn’t gotten my other umbrellas back after previous weddings, so I only had one with me—and there were just three umbrellas at the entire ceremony site.

Luckily, the groom’s mother handed me hers to help protect my cameras. After a while, one of the guests held it over me so I could have both of my hands back, move around, and keep photographing.

It took a village, and that village showed the hell up.

Was I soaked? Yes.We all were. At one point was I concerned for my camera gear? Absolutely.

Were my cameras protected? Mostly, not really 😛 Was I about to stop photographing this magic? Absolutely not.

And Then Came the Horses

After the ceremony, it was time for newlywed portraits—and once again, Maya and Austin were about to make one of my photography dreams come true by including the horses.

This part was another emotional roller coaster for me.

First, I found out there would be horses. Then I found out we couldn’t safely have Maya riding one because of her foot.

My photographer heart went from, “AHHHH, HORSES!” to “Oh no…” real fast. But this is exactly why you roll with the day.

The ranch hands were AMAZING. They helped us create something even better than I could have planned: Maya and Austin together while the horses ran freely behind them. THE HORSES RAN BEHIND THE NEWLYWEDS. Are you freaking kidding me?!

The ranch. The rain. The newlyweds. The horses running wild behind them. AHHHHH. AMAZING. It was romantic, untamed, slightly chaotic, and completely alive—exactly what this entire wedding day had been from beginning to end.

Everything Always Works Out

This day didn’t go according to the original plan. Maya broke her foot. She couldn’t ride into the ceremony. The rain didn’t politely pass after 10 minutes. The timeline shifted, plans changed, and all of us had to keep adjusting as the day unfolded.

But none of that took away from their wedding. It made their wedding what it was.

Because real life is messy. Weather happens. Horses spook. Timelines change. Boots get tassels. People get soaked. You laugh, pivot, grab an umbrella, and keep freaking going.

And sometimes, in the middle of all that chaos, the rain stops at the exact moment two people finally see each other. Sometimes it starts pouring again while they promise forever. And sometimes the horses run behind them, and suddenly the moment is even more magical than the one you originally planned.

Maya and Austin’s wedding was wild, rain-soaked, romantic, imperfect, and completely unforgettable. And I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.