Quaking Aspen Package
This elopement at the end of the summer in Colorado was blessed with a massive snowfall for two days beforehand. Normally the mountains surrounding Sapphire Point in Dillon, Colorado are quite bare of snow at this point in the year, but the fresh snowfall added that beautiful Colorado winter look to all of the photographs. This was an elopement so we had only 5 people there for the wedding and 4 crew (two photographers and two videographers), we almost outnumbered them!
To say I love this couple would be an understatement. I shot their engagement photographs in Golden Colorado the day after a snow storm as well, albeit in February of 2020. Karli is always ready for any fun idea I have and Luke goes along with a smile. We started the day with the bride and groom getting ready at a VRBO rental in Breckenridge with Karli’s Mom, best friend and her husband. Her shoes were my absolute favorites, Betsey Johnson, covered with crystals, teal bottoms and a mesh pink side, what’s not to love!
After getting into her dress she promptly agreed to go into the claw-footed bathtub in the suite and we played around a bit showing off her outfit, especially the shoes, before their First Look. Afterwards we headed to Dillon and Sapphire Point Overlook to get some stunning wedding day photographs. If you look carefully in the photographs of Karli sitting on the rock you will see that a chipmunk visited her while she was posing, adding to the full fairytale princess feel of the day.
Because of COVID, Sapphire Point was closed to elopements this year, so we got the photos where they should have gotten married and then headed to the The Lodge at Breckenridge for the actual ceremony. The ceremony include both of their dogs and Jake, Karli’s basenji dog, was not enjoying the cold of the mountains like the rest of us. After the ceremony we headed up the road to find one last place to capture the couple at sunset before heading back down the mountains.
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.
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
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.
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!

