I have one of the most interesting engagement sessions I’ve ever had the pleasure of photographing featured on the journal today. Today’s balloon engagement session is featuring one of the neatest activities I’ve ever had the chance to do and I have to thank Theresa & Paul for being willing to let me photograph it for them. Not too long ago they asked if I might be willing to go up in a hot air balloon with them for their engagement photos. It took me about two seconds to decide that I would absolutely be down for such a unique experience:) I actually met Theresa at Rocky Mountain Rollergirls’ roller derby so it wasn’t surprising to me that she would be adventurous enough to want to capture this for her engagement photos. I grew up near the launch site and I remember seeing a lot of hot air balloons when I was at school but I never thought I would be up there in the sky myself. It was definitely an unforgettable experience! There are a few things about hot air ballooning that I had no idea about.
1.) You have to get up at an un-godly hour (for me that is!) to go.
2.) When you are up in the air, it is so still. I didn’t feel any wind even though we were definitely moving. It’s such a surreal experience to just be floating in mid-air. It is actually more calm and peaceful than I was expecting.
3.) You can’t really steer hot air balloons. They sort of just go where the wind wants to take them. Which means you basically just have to land wherever you can manage it. And since the basket doesn’t have wheels you bounce when you land.
4.) It is tradition to have a champagne toast upon landing. I’m not sure if this is the exact one our pilot used, but it is very similar:
“The winds have welcomed us with softness.
The sun has blessed us with its warm hands.
We have flown so high and so well
that God has set us gently back into
the loving hands of mother earth.”
Huge thanks to Life Cycle Hot Air Balloons for keeping us safe and for the interesting landing on a sidewalk somewhere in Lafayette. I felt like some sort of old-fashioned celebrity as dogs barked at our strange aircraft and residents came out from their houses to stare and take photos of us as we landed right in their neighborhood. A few of them even came over to help pack up the balloon upon landing.
Theresa & Paul,
Thank you SO MUCH for letting me tag along on that unforgettable and beautiful ride! I hope that you can always relive that morning when you look at your adventurous hot air balloon engagement photos!
I will be in touch very soon so that you can see the rest!
April
Very first photo of the morning:)
All the magic gets packed away in this van!
I wanted to take advantage of that pretty sunrise light!
Had to get a shot of the happy couple in front of that tree!
This was the hot air balloon next to us that was also being prepared for a flight.
Cute:)
Haha, Theresa you are so cute!
Watching the balloon inflate
I LOVE this one!
In the basket before take-off
The balloon is almost ready for take off.
Getting ready to go!
This was taken before we got very high up
There’s Niwot, where I went to High School.
Those flatirons sure are amazing!
View of Highway 287 over Lafayette, CO
What a spectacular view of Boulder from way up high!
The pilot let Paul and Theresa fire up the balloon
Longs Peak and a hot air balloon
So sweet!
That dial on the right is showing how fast we were going
Our fearless pilot:)
That’s Denver in the middle way off in the distance
Wide shot of the balloon from the basket from the air:)
And a more zoomed in version…
I like that you can see our shadow in the reservoir!
We landed on the sidewalk, but moved the basket and balloon over to the street upon landing to have more room for deflation
Paul & Theresa looking good after the flight:) Here they are stabilizing the basket.
It was quite a project to get it all packed away!
Theresa releases the balloon which helps the pilot determine the wind conditions
After the flight, we munched on some food which was on this cute quilt:)
End of flight champagne toast!
I persuaded Paul & Theresa to follow me out to a trail for a few more traditional photos after the flight.
Theresa, you are one gorgeous gal!
One cute couple!
Interested in getting your own hot air balloon engagement photos done? Check out the WEDDINGS area of my site!
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LOVE THEM!!! WOW!!!!!1! Now I want a hot air balloon!!!!! So amazing, you captured it beautifully!
Amazing!!!! Looks like a ton of fun! What a great idea!!! Now I want to go on a hot air balloon ride 😉
Oh man, these are just amazing!!! You guys are so cute, congrats! April, stunning job as usual.
How cool are these?!?! So much fun and you captured them perfectly!!
What an amazing idea! I love it!!! And they look so happy and in love:)
Awesome! This is one of the coolest engagement sessions I’ve ever seen!
What an amazing session! That looks like so much fun! They look like such a fun couple very much in love. Beautiful pictures!
OH BOY – these are fabulous. You’re a braver woman than I am 😉 Beautiful captures and what a gorgeous fun loving couple. Great work.
These are so unique, colorful and fun. What a great idea for a session, how fun you got to experience it with the couple.
LOVE IT! How romantic. So awesome for them to have you take photos so they’ll always remember.
These are awesome. Looks like an amazing session!
Wow, these are just amazing! How fun that must have been! Gorgeous couple!!! They must be so thrilled with the pictures!
Wow, that looks like so much fun! Congrats Theresa!!
I still can’t get over these colors–they’re so rich! and these comments sure make a girl blush. very sweet words! I had to read them to Paul…I was like, “Paul, people say that we look like we’re in love!” –haha…
I had a perfect time up there with you, Paul, and our pilot! Can’t thank you enough for braving this adventure with us!