Sara McLaughlin and Michael Kramer had to move their June 9 wedding to another location due to the fire, according to their wedding website. The bride wrote on her Instagram that the last-minute change made the day hectic but that she was thankful for everyone who helped pull it off.
"Thank you to the firefighters working hard to keep the Durango community safe, we are so grateful. What an unbelievable weekend," she wrote.
One of the people who made the day possible was the photographer, Alexi Hubbell, who managed to capture the smoke in the background of some of the couple's photos. The photos are even more striking because they were taken at sunset, causing the light to illuminate the clouds of smoke.
Though it made for a stunning backdrop, Hubbell emphasized on social media that she wants the photos to bring attention to the fire without glorifying it.
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"This photo is not meant to glorify the situation here in Durango or minimize the impact it is having on our town and the economy or what the families that have been evacuated are going through," she wrote. "We fully understand everyone's pain. We are in this together!"
No homes have yet been lost in the fire, the Associated Press reports, but thousands have been forced to evacuate.
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The bride requested that people reading her story consider donating to the emergency fund set up by the Community Foundation serving Southwest Colorado.