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Cameron & Ben
Intimate pizza party wedding

Weddings

Cameron and Ben’s wedding day at Mountain Crust was truly such a sentimental and special day. The couple prioritized family and relaxed moments, which made the day feel so well paced and full of love.

I first connected with the couple last September and immediately knew I wanted to photograph their wedding day. We are all from Austin, so we had so much to talk about. And then I found out they started dating in Chemistry class (my husband and I started dating in Physics!), we had so much in common.

Cameron and Ben have been together for years and it was so clear to see. They have built such an incredible relationship and support system, it was an honor to photograph.

To Cameron and Ben

My fellow Austinites, it was an honor and privilege to photograph your day. I was so in awe of your love and mutual respect for each other. You both are such lovely people individually but truly incredible together. Wishing you both so much love and happiness in the future. Hope you’re having a blast on your honeymoon! <3

-Leah

How the couple met

“We met in high school in Austin, Texas, which is where we both grew up. Our first class together was technically English sophomore year, but we didn’t talk at all until Chemistry junior year. This Chemistry class is where Cameron first became interested in Ben, but he was rather oblivious. Senior year, Ben decided to take a Principles of Engineering course that Cameron was doing an “independent study” in. We started to talk more as the year went on, but neither of us made any moves. It wasn’t until Cameron was asked to prom by a mutual friend that Ben decided to message her on Facebook (this alone proves it was >10 years ago). It didn’t take long for us to exchange numbers and our first outing together was to Barnes and Noble to “work on homework”. A few days later, on 4/21/2015, Ben asked Cameron to get ice cream and that was the day we made it official.”

All about the proposal

“We had talked about getting married for a couple of years before actually getting engaged, but had agreed that we wanted to both be employed and become established in our house before having a wedding. We had talked about what ring styles Cameron would like, but she wasn’t sure of when Ben was going to purchase the ring. In the summer of 2024, Cameron saw some rings online that she really liked and carefully made sure Ben hadn’t already purchased a ring. We decided to go to a custom jewelry shop in Fort Collins to design the ring together. This is all to say that we had the venue, photographer (yay!), and dress picked out before the actual proposal. On the day after Thanksgiving, we went up into the Poudre canyon to cut down a Christmas tree, which has become a yearly tradition. Right as Cameron was about to cut down the tree, Ben asked her to marry him. While she had suspected that he would ask her on this day, somehow it was still a surprise in the moment because she was so focused on cutting down the tree. Cameron brought the ring we had designed together for Ben so that she could give it to him once they made it back to the car.”

Best wedding planning advice

“If you have an idea of precisely what you want, you should start planning 2 years out. You don’t have to do something just because it’s “tradition”. Sometimes there’s luck involved and you should trust that it’ll work out.”

Wedding Day

Getting Ready

We started the day early on a rainy morning in Evergreen. The couple booked a large Airbnb that allowed everyone to get ready together and even some family and friends to stay with them. Cameron was helped into her wedding attire by her mom and sister. Ben had his mom Diane help him with his tie and a special pin to honor his late father.

After a few individual couples portraits, the couple had their first look on the balcony overlooking the mountains. Ben’s reaction to seeing Cameron was so special, his entire face lit up.

Wedding Party, Family Photos and Couples Photos

The couple wanted to complete the majority of formal photos before moving to the venue, both for a natural backdrop and to ensure they got to spend time with guests and loved ones.

Their wedding party was such a fun group of people– and most who had known each other for years, it felt more like family.

Pre-Ceremony Candids

One of my favorite parts of this wedding day and something quite unique, was the amount of downtime we had. There were so many moments of quiet, where the couple could just relax and family and friends could visit. Nothing felt rushed or overly rehearsed, moments just unfolded naturally and it allowed us to take some of my favorite candids ever. Something that was really important to Cameron and Ben was focusing on getting great photos of their loved ones, especially their grandparents– that’s a request we take very seriously, so we made sure to capture both candids and formal portraits of everyone in their immediate family.

Ceremony

Cameron and Ben’s ceremony was so emotional. Their good friend and groomsmen Hunter was the officiant and he absolutely smashed it. Literally everyone was in tears. Hunter spoke for the couple by recounting their favorite things about each other and places that remind them of each other. It was such a perfect way to make the ceremony special and intimate while still letting Cameron and Ben be present. The couple did also share their own written vows and those were just incredible (both had a local ice shop mentioned, big fan!)

After their ceremony the couple signed their marriage license with everyone witnessing and took a big photo in front of the colorful mural.

Cocktail Hour

The couple got to enjoy the entirety of cocktail hour since we had completed nearly all formal photos beforehand. The venue had so many different locations and backdrops for people to mingle, it was such a great space.

Reception Details

Cameron and Ben do woodworking, so several of their details were handmade by them– including their incredible pizza seating chart. It was absolutely perfect and such a hit. The table had simple bud vases and candles that made the long outdoor tables feel whimsical and intimate.

Reception

Reception began with a welcome speech from the couple followed by dinner– pizza! The couple got to make their own pizza which was so much fun to document. After dinner we had two speeches which were perfect and then special dances. The one that really got me was Cameron’s dance with her mom to Landslide (a good reminder for me to call my mom). The couple then had some dances and socialized with their guests before ending the night with a (completely) private last dance.

This day was such a great reminder that you can honor your loved ones at your wedding while still making the day your own. Cameron and Ben did their day right and it was so much fun to photograph!