Crested Butte – Page 2 – KiKi Creates Blog

{Catherine&Ryan | Wedding at Custer State Park | KiKi…

April 17, 2018

I wish I could post photos from this wedding everyday. The ease and beauty in which Catherine and Ryan put on their South Dakota Mountain wedding was gorgeous. Even with rain almost the entire day of the wedding, we managed to adventure and photograph in some amazing spots.
I also love the adorable touches they had the day of. Their grandfather marrying them and their other grandfather, that had passed, recorded a message and blessing that they played before dinner. Catherine wore a two piece lace dress that her mother softly helped her button, while Ryan was dressed in a tux that his Father helped him straighten up. Only their family stood by their side as they were married. Catherine’s Sisters and Ryan’s Brother and Father. Where they were married, Ryan built a buffalo made of steel. And let’s just say he added an extra part to the “male” buffalo that was asked to be removed prior to the wedding day. That is only a testament to what a goofy and fun guy Ryan is. And how beautifully Catherine’s sweetness and wit compliments him.
Beyond that, Catherine and Ryan (and all of their friends and family) know how to party! I can easily say of all the couples I have photographed over 9 years, Catherine and Ryan were on the dance floor more than any other couple. And they looked damn good doing it. Twirling and dipping and at one point playing spin the bottle to who would dance next. At times they were dancing with cowboy hats on, whiskey in hand and a lit cigar in their mouth. And I am not just talking about Ryan, Catherine was doing it too. They’re just a bad ass, good looking couple. And I am pretty stoked to be the one to capture their outdoor, wooded, super fun wedding! Check out the amazingness of Catherine and Ryan below!
Enjoy! KiKi
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Venue: State Game Lodge in Custer State Park

Photographer: Kara Lamm, Kiki Creates

Dress: Gown Boutique of Charleston

Makeup and hair: Melissa Dykman, Love & Beauty Maui

Florist: Roots Wedding Florals

Cake: Bakehouse

Band: Peewee Moore

DJ: JD Productions

Caterer: State Game Lodge

Officiant: Tom Bullock, Groom’s Grandfather

Colorado

{Anna&Joe | Wedding at The Winterbourne Inn | KiKi…

March 27, 2018

I met Anna and Joe Camping. Which is a great start to any story because we all love camping. Anna was actually sitting in a hammock with a colorful shirt, beautiful blonde hair and such an inviting smile. Then I met Joe, who has an even bigger smile and a wonderfully happy personality. They were not engaged at the time, but they were one of those couples where everyone was just waiting for it to happen. And I wish there is something I could say to convey the love Joe and Anna have. I’ve tried to put some words together but I am struggling to really say how I can tell there going to make it. So I’ll say this… Everyone, literally everyone I talked to about Joe and Anna, knew that they were the purest definition of meant to be. I’ve never seen a couple compliment each other so beautifully and so lovingly. And beyond the great relationship, they are just darn right FUN dancing machines. There is never a dull moment around them. I actually stayed an hour longer and didn’t realize it because I too was having fun and maybe dancing while photographing (It’s a total pro move:)). I will let you read what Anna wrote below and hope you enjoy the images! -KiKi

From Anna the Bride:
“Joe and I love being outdoors and do a lot of camping so naturally the ceremony was outside on the St. Johns River. Joe grew up on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, the venue was a perfect fit. Our flower dog was our fluffy husky. He is our fur baby and anyone who knows us also knows Ryder. He totally stole the show!

When I found my dress I loved the vintage feel of the lace. It was a sweet surprise that the lace on my mom’s veil had the same lace…so I surprised her by wearing the veil on my wedding day. It was a sweet surprise.

Joe and I also love music so our DJ was crucial. He was a friend of ours that we have seen on several occasions. He knew exactly our style and knew how to mix fun songs together to get EVERYONE on the dance floor. I think at one point we had three dance parties going on at the same time in various areas of the venue. We love music so much we made a “mix cd” for our wedding favors so our guests could rock out with us for years to come.”

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Venue: The Winterbourne Inn

Photographer: Kiki Creates

Dress: Watters from White Magnolia in Jacksonville, FL

Makeup and hair:

Hair- Sami Skinner Rio Salon

Makeup: Lucia Palenik

Rentals: Lights- St Johns Illuminations

Florist: The Anti Bride j

Cake: Calli Marie Bakes

Caterer: The Winterbourne Inn

Officiant: Pastor Bob Hovey , First coast ceremonies firstcoastceremonies@gmail.com

Coordinator: Kim Pilgrim, The Winterbourne Inn winterbourneinn@hotmail.com

best of 2017

A Look Back on a Wedding & Lifestyle Photographers…

January 11, 2018

Screen Shot 2018-01-11 at 8.54.26 AM 2017, I feel like you were a blip in the radar because you went by so, so fast. But when laying out all I’ve done over the past 12 months, I’m amazed at all that has happened. Every year I think I need to push myself more, do more, create something new. But this year, although emotional and stressful. And at times, overwhelming. This year, I feel accomplished and satisfied and ready for more.
I began the year in Italy and after seeing some amazing places, I made the decision to add a location in my favorite tiny town, Crested Butte. I photographed 49 wedding, 36 engagements/portraits, and 59 photo booths. My busiest year by far brought on a second location, moving to Colorado, my thirtieth birthday, six very exciting awards for my photography and announcements that I am going to be an aunt for the first time x2!
Throughout the year we smiled, laughed, danced, photographed in the mountains, several beaches, under a waterfall and during a hurricane. Under the stars, the moon, at sunrise and sunset. During a snow storm, -1 degree weather and 101 degree weather. Traveled to Italy, Greece, Wyoming, South Dakota, Texas, Colorado, Maine, the Carolinas, and the Keys. Met tons of people and their adorable doggies. I had the opportunity to photograph firsts for a lot of couples. They opened up their homes, hearts and most intimate moments to me and I could not feel more grateful for their trust and love along the way.
It’s hard every year to narrow down a small group of images that are my “favorites”. Most of these are moments I couldn’t get out of my head throughout the year. Moments that made me feel secure in what I’m doing and moments that pushed me to become better at something I’ve been at for almost 8 years now. I can never seem to put together words that describe how amazing I think this life is. A life that I’ve built, but not alone. To everyone that has put their hand in helping me and my company, I am forever thankful. This has been another year where I wonder what would I do without photography. Where would I be? I’m hoping I’ll never have to face that. Because I truly love what I do and couldn’t imagine life without it. I hope your 2017 was prosperous and made you think about what in life makes you happy. And I hope in 2018, you go get that happiness. Cheers!
Love, KiKi

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Fin.

crested butte engagement photography

{Sara&David | Engagement Session | KiKi Creates | Neptune…

December 14, 2017

The latest sunrise of the year brought on this gorgeous engagement shoot. Sara & David dressed in their finest (I mean look at Sara’s dress!) and within minutes were knee deep in the ocean waves. It was a phenomenal sunrise and happy I got to share it with these two on their visit from New York.
Enjoy!
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Colorado

{Mother & Daughter Session | KiKi Creates | Crested…

December 4, 2017

My good friend Courtney had a photo session planned with her mom when she came in town this past summer. When she first approached me she asked, “is it weird for a 30 year old to do a mother daughter session? I always see it with little kids.” It’s true, but just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it can’t be done! And that is the true Courtney Burton way!
In honor of my mother’s birthday week and the fact that I would love to have a mother daughter session with my mom, I’ve posted these lovely photos. Courtney, Debbie, Birdie the dog and I took a hike around the wildflowers, mountains and river bends and documented their adorable and loving personalities.
Enjoy this warm, smiley Colorado session on this cold winter day!
KiKi
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Colorado Wedding Photographer

{Juniper & Travis | Engagement Session | KiKi Creates…

December 4, 2017

To start the beautiful fall season off with these two was a lot of fun. After a rum drink at my favorite bar in town we drove out to the woods and romped around. Travis and Juni are naturally very goofy together (which I really love), so in between some kisses we had a ton of laughs and a ton of fun. Can’t wait for their big day up at their cute cabin in the mountains!
Enjoy!
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crested butte wedding photography

{Wes & Franny's Wedding at Woods Walk | KiKi…

November 17, 2017

It’s suppose to snow all day in Crested Butte (fingers crossed) today. So I thought, why not post this winter wonderland wedding! Easily the most magical, snowy, stunning wedding I have had the chance to be apart of.
I woke up the morning of to -4 degrees. Coldest wedding I’ve ever photographed. While the girls were drinking champagne and getting ready, the guys took a couple hot laps on the mountain. I really couldn’t imagine anything more perfect to start your wedding day with.
We did a first look as it dumped snow on us and Franny and Wes’ adorable pup, Mr.Finn, joined dressed in bow tie and all. As they saw each other for the first time, Wes popped a bottle of champagne and they sipped straight from the bottle as we stood in the secluded woods while it snowed. It really was such a happy and beautiful moment.
They gave their guests the option to not attend the ceremony, since it was snowing outside and in 20 degree weather. Everyone still showed up, wrapped in jackets and sharing blankets they watched the two red nosed lovers say I do and kiss with Mount CB as their backdrop. Again, such a happy and beautiful moment.
We photographed everything outside, family photos, bridal party, everything. And not one person complained about the cold, even the girls that had sleeveless dresses were up for it! Such an amazing group of people to photograph and share memories with. The reception took place in a warm and cozy restaurant in town. With a fire in the background and whiskey and champagne flowing all night, we danced, took Polaroids, laughed at speeches, and ate some amazing elk! It was a super classy and beautiful day. But I’ll stop talking and let you just check it out yourself 🙂
Enjoy!
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Thank you to the awesome vendors below that helped make this day possible!

Day of coordinator: crested butte events

https://www.crestedbutteevents.com/about-us-1/

Floral: from the ground up

http://www.fromthegroundupfloral.com/

Ceremony site: woods walk

https://travelcrestedbutte.com/crested-butte-hikes-woods-walk/

Reception venue: elk avenue prime

http://www.elkaveprime.com/

Dress: Christos

http://christosbridal.com/

Bolero: Maria Artega Studios (Milwaukee)

http://mariaarteagastudio.com/

Hair: Kim Jundt of Kim J Beauty

http://kimjbeauty.com/

Makeup: Leilani Drum

https://www.leilanidrum.com/

DJ: DJ Justin Howard

https://www.facebook.com/HighMountainDJs/

Rentals: Settings (Salida, Colorado)

http://www.settingseventrental.com/

SLO motion booth: sweet tea studios

http://sweet-tea-studios.com/

Invitations: xowyo paper + press

http://www.xowyo.com/

transportation: Alpine Express

http://alpineexpressshuttle.com/aexwp/

Colorado

{Braeden & Ryan Wedding at The Wedding Garden |…

September 22, 2017

An absolutely beautiful place for two incredibly beautiful people. This wedding will always have an important place in my heart because it is the first wedding I photographed after moving to Colorado full time. And I feel so lucky to have spent it with Braeden and Ryan.
You would think a wedding on a Monday would be pretty mellow, not with this crowd! On a sunny summer day in CB Braeden and Ryan got ready on the river with close friends. We had a mini exploration of Almont where we joked around and broke out in small dance moves :). They were married in a painting, with their sweet dogs by their side and an emotional family watching, they said I do with a backdrop of snow capped mountains and bright green summer foliage all around. After their tearful and beautiful vows we frolicked in the valley for a few photos and entered their reception in full dance with the bridal party. The laughter and happy tears made for such an emotionally gorgeous wedding.
It was honestly one of the best Mondays! Check out all the love below! Enjoy!
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Colorado Wedding Photographer

{Ali & Mark Engagement in Crested Butte | KiKi…

August 1, 2017

It’s been a solid 7 months since I have put together a blog post. Whoopsies. It’s been one of the busiest and most exciting times in my career. With a new location added in Crested Butte, Colorado and a dozen more weddings (than I normally shoot) added this year in Maine, South Dakota, The Keys, Crested Butte, and North Carolina. I have had an amazing year so far with an amazing amount of travel and new relationships and I just have not had the time to get them all together for a post! So, what do I do? Kick blogging back off with this kick ass couple, Ali and Mark.
I’ve been lucky enough to know Ali and Mark since they first started dating a few years ago. Ali was one of my first friends out here in Crested Butte. We actually became quick friends one night over red wine, napkins on our heads, and forks as beards. Yes, it sounds as weird as it is. A few years later, when I met Mark for the first time, I could not stop laughing. He is a funny, light hearted guy that has a very distinct laugh that you can’t miss and always makes you smile. The two of them together are just the sweetest. I feel very special to have gotten to know them so well. They have become yet another couple I have photographed, became friends with, and then visited and lived with them for a bit (Thanks for that by the way guys :)). So here they are, during wildflower season in CB, hugging and twirling in the woods. I hope you enjoy it, because I sure did!
KiKi

Colorado

{Styled Bohemian Mountain Wedding Reception | KiKi Creates |…

January 7, 2016

This shoot easily makes my top three favorite shoots from 2015. This Colorful fall wedding reception was put together by some of the best vendors in the west elk mountains. We decided to incorporate vibrant pops of color to enhance the wooded scene we photographed in. We created a natural wood table with accents of vintage silverware and plates from the antique shops in Gunnison Valley. The bouquet and dress were adorned with hand dyed velvet and flowers from Paonia, a gorgeous town 1 hour from Crested Butte. Our cake was hand painted and designed to add a bit of glam to this Bohemian shoot. Wooden pieces were also hand burned and painted to accentuate the natural look of this stunning scene. With just a dash of snow the night before, and a secluded river only footsteps away, we could not have asked for a better fairytale setting than this. Take a look yourself….Enjoy!

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