Mount Washington Wedding

[david_h]

I was thrilled to get the chance to photograph a wedding at the summit of Mount Washington - the highest point in the Northeastern US.

Not much value to this shot, other than the fact we are leaving home at 1.18 AM - the wedding is to be at sunrise

http://djh.smugmug.com/photos/381949187_yoc6z-L.jpg

We were driven to the summit in shuttle buses via the famous Mount Washington Auto Road

http://djh.smugmug.com/photos/381949260_bthYy-L.jpg

Some idiot (me) at the summit

http://djh.smugmug.com/photos/381949222_a29F3-L.jpg

The Groom

http://djh.smugmug.com/photos/381949164_DztSe-L.jpg

The original plan had been for an outdoor ceremony but the wind and fog ruled it out. Incidentally, the highest surface wind speed ever recorded was at Mount Washington - 231 mph.

http://djh.smugmug.com/photos/381949294_v3LXc-L.jpg

At the summit. Even the wind was nowhere near the record, it was still difficult to hold still while standing on a rock.

http://djh.smugmug.com/photos/381949322_g4W6C-L.jpg

http://djh.smugmug.com/photos/381949351_7VmHf-L.jpg

http://djh.smugmug.com/photos/381949374_4LnWK-L.jpg

The bride and groom had intended to hike down from the mountain. This was in doubt for a while due to the weather, but they decided to go ahead. Amelia and I went as well.

http://djh.smugmug.com/photos/381949547_Bm5M4-L.jpg

Once we got lower and out of the clouds, the sky started to get much more interesting

http://djh.smugmug.com/photos/381949577_6mRBi-L.jpg

And the views are spectacular

http://djh.smugmug.com/photos/381949611_JGese-L.jpg

Amelia at the top of Tuckerman Ravine which we have to climb down.

http://djh.smugmug.com/photos/381949648_4aQV4-L.jpg

Below the tree line now

http://djh.smugmug.com/photos/381949711_PE2hc-L.jpg

Nearly down

http://djh.smugmug.com/photos/381949757_ZSgnK-L.jpg

My legs are sooo sore today, but it was a great day.

[jayegirl]

Wonderful!

[cj99si]

That second to last shot is killer! Aswesome, sounds like a fun wedding to shoot!

[gregneil]

Oh wow, what an awesome wedding to shoot! And I agree about that second to last shot being great. That's the first bride with a backpack I've ever seen.

[Halite]

Very cool. I really like the shot of the bride traversing the rock field. The light is very nice.

I hope you don't mind that I posted a link to this thread over at Views From the Top.

[aj986s]

The wedding & pics are terrific! What an amazing idea, especially the idea to hike down after the ceremony.

Mt. Washington is awesome!

[david_h]

Thank you for the comments, guys.

For us, this was a very challenging wedding to shoot, but very rewarding as well. I'd certainly do a similar thing again if I ever get the chance.

I learned a lot, not least about needing to be better prepared and also to be more careful about what gear I take. At one point on the hike I slipped and really thought I'm smashed one of my D3's. As it turned out, all was well but next time I'll use one of our beater cameras for the hiking shots.

Halite, no problem with the link to Views From the Top - that is a cool site, I've been reading a lot of the threads.

This week we are working at Mount Monadnock - at least it's at an Inn near the base :D:D