Adventure Engagement included with Aspen + Video:
Janice and Ben are getting married at Estes Park Resort in the fall of 2023. How I met them is a story of kismet! I volunteered to photograph the Marshall Fire Benefit at Boulder Theater on February 4, 2022. While I was photographing a man asked me for my business card and when I brought it back to him, we had a great conversation about the fire and his losses in it. I had a really difficult night besides that, some crazy guy honed in on me and was accusing me of making money off of people’s tragedy (I was volunteering just for the record), “photographers are leeches”, etc. He was crazy, and I had to call Security to get him off of me. I came home and just focused on the nice conversation I’d had with Ben instead.
Fast forward two days and I was at the Estes Park Wedding Association’s annual Wedding Show. It was so much fun talking with people at that show, and near the end of the day the same guy, Ben, from the Boulder Theater show walks up to me… I said, “Ben! You’re Ben from the show at Boulder Theater Friday night!” he was. He got his fiancé Janice over and we had a laugh at the probability of him asking me for a card two days previous. I was so thankful when they hired me. Not only because I felt like it was fate, but because I love them, and their wedding at Estes Park Resort is going to be an INSANE party. I can’t wait.
In the meanwhile for their engagement photos, we headed up to Lake Isabelle on the last day of the year that the parking lots were open at the trailheads in the Brainard Lake area. Unfortunately the client’s dog puked all over the car and they were quite late. Then they had to fight for parking spots, even though I’d paid for them. Once we got the car in place we headed up the mountain to Lake Isabelle with their two dogs. The hike is an easy one and by the time we got to the top we had the place mostly to ourselves. We hiked down at night hearing some large game near us, but we were all Coloradans ready for the adventure!
Her friendly and approachable demeanor makes working with her an absolute joy. She has a remarkable talent for capturing the small details, the emotions of the audience, and the magic of music through her lens. Each photo perfectly reflects the energy and essence of our performances, helping us tell our story and connect with our fans.
The amount of high-quality content we receive for our investment is exceptional, making her work an incredible value and a key part of our marketing efforts. We highly recommend Gretchen to anyone looking for a skilled and dependable photographer. We’ll definitely continue working with her for our future productions. Thank you, Gretchen, for your talent and dedication—you help us shine!
I highly recommend her for anything - especially family photos. She was prompt and very easy to communicate with as well.
She gave our family a treasure we will always have and will continue to share with generations to come of our family in our favorite place.
She delivered the photos for us on time, and we are ecstatic with how almost all of them came out.
We'd recommend Gretchen to anyone!
There's a little button that says that I can add photos and so I went through our album again looking to select a few that could capture our experience but A. THERE ARE SO MANY. She is not kidding when she tells you this, even for an elopement style wedding! B. They are so personal. I cry every time I look at them, with joy. She gave me everything I wanted and more - moments, emotions, scenery, candids of my guests, stills of a time that I can never recreate or get back.
So I'll leave you with my rainbow picture. It was my one bridal ask, that my guests wear solid colors, since we weren't going to have decoration at our venue. They could be the decoration. I got the idea online and maybe someone else can use it too!
There are many talented photographers out there. There are few where talent, professionalism, kindness, decades of experience and success can all be packaged with that feel that they still love what they do. Gretchen has not gotten stale over time in her work, where instead her work and the experience she brings have become priceless.
From the beginning, Gretchen made us feel comfortable, supported, and genuinely excited about our wedding photos. On the day of the wedding, she was professional, organized, patient, and incredibly kind. She knew exactly how to guide us while still allowing every moment to feel natural and personal. We never felt rushed or overly posed, and she made it easy for us to relax, enjoy ourselves, and stay fully present.
Gretchen captured every meaningful detail—from the beautiful mountain setting and ceremony to the orchids, décor, reception, first dance, and all the candid moments with our closest friends and family. She didn’t just photograph how our wedding looked; she captured how it felt. Every image reflects the love, joy, elegance, and emotion of the day.
Looking through our photos allows us to relive those memories all over again. We are so grateful to Gretchen for giving us something we will cherish for the rest of our lives. Her talent, attention to detail, warmth, and ability to capture genuine emotion are truly exceptional.
We could not recommend Gretchen Troop more highly to any couple looking for an amazing wedding photographer. Thank you, Gretchen, for preserving the perfect beginning to our married life so beautifully!
—Brandi & Mike Crawford

