They decorated the place themselves, on a gorgeous afternoon. It can get a little breezy near dusk, so if you do this, be sure to keep the table decorations fairly low and secure everything to the tables. I helped them scrounge for rocks. There’s a number of covered or enclosed facilities up there you can reserve as a hedge against the weather, so long as your full guest count is under fifty.

It’s lonely at the top. But not for long.

Shalaya and her dad before the ceremony. My first hint of mountain casual: Father of the bride in cowboy boots, jeans, a Rolex and a bolo tie. Pretty standard fare, you know?

The platform at the amphitheater is pretty amazing. You’re at the top of a fairly steep hill. It seems like you can see all the way to Kansas, and if you fell, you’d land in the middle of downtown Boulder. Neither are remotely true, but if you want your wedding to be a mountaintop experience it fulfills the metaphor very well.

You have to be fast with the birdseed. They came whipping around a corner on their tandem bike. Reflexes and timing being what they are, Shalaya got the brunt of it.

Like memories, birdseed stays with you awhile.

It’s hard to say exactly what Mountain Casual means, but brides in Birkenstocks gets you in the zone.

If you’ve got a table, you’ve got a stage.

As it began to cool, Shalaya slipped into a mountain casual bride’s shawl, otherwise known as a white jean jacket. She looked great. As a Boulder wedding photojournalist, I have a lot of couples who love the mountains and try to keep it real.

We are practical people here in Colorado.