A Mountain Wedding

I still remember clearly when it all started. I was still in school and my brother was living in Denver but commuting to Boulder daily for work. He would make the rounds calling family members back in the Midwest to catch up during his commute. I’d get a call from him every few weeks and we’d chat about how my schooling was going (I was still at Indiana University back then), his skiing adventures, his new friends in Colorado, and updates on family gossip. One evening, when we were getting ready to say our goodbyes after a short phone chat, he paused and then goes ‘so…there’s this girl and I’m thinking about taking her on a picnic in the mountains. I want to ask her to go to this ski prom thing we have and I couldn’t think of anything else…’ he trailed off, obviously treading lightly with the conversation and not sure where to take it next. I was speechless and in shock; after 20 years of being his sister, he had never confided in me about any girl in his life. Us Germens tend to keep to ourselves with the majority of our emotions and chat in two word sentences; opening up about emotional topics usually takes weeks of passive aggressive prying. After regaining myself and realizing that he was asking for confirmation that this was a good idea, I quickly jumped in and told him how perfect that would be to take her on a mountain picnic to their favorite skiing spot. He said ‘okay, cool’ and that was that. The next time we chatted, I asked how it went and he said ‘really well’ (see? Two word answers are what I usually get out of him) and I responded with ‘You really like this girl, don’t you?’ and he goes ‘Yeah, I think I really do’. And that is when I knew this one was going to be different.

Fast forward five years and we are on my way back from their gorgeous mountain wedding. Yup, that’s right – I am still in shock that my only sibling is finally married and that he is at that point in his life. In the past month, he has bought a house in Denver, bought a mountain condo, and got married to the love of his life (while I’m still over here trying to figure out how to live paycheck to paycheck). Needless to say, I’m beyond excited for him and can’t wait to see everything continue to unfold with his new life.

Anyhow, we headed to Colorado a week early so we could do some exploring with my family. We went camping in Rocky Mountain National Park, ate our weight in donuts in Denver, and wondered the state for five days leading up to the wedding. I was a bridesmaid in the actual wedding so I didn’t get a chance to take photos on the day but here are a few snapshots of the rest of the trip: