Trystan Photography: An Intimate Portrait.

The love of family and friends can equal an amazing energy and spirit of fun. Please click the photo or follow the link to view Emily and Neil’s rowdy and fun wedding in Grand Lake, CO.

16 hours of photography, lots of laughter, and a lifetime of memories later, I give you: The Rowdiest Wedding We’ve ever Captured.

Emily and Neil (whom you might remember from their cute and fun engagement portraits) did their wedding right!

First of all, they chose to have in the most meaningful place to them in their relationship: Grand Lake, CO. It’s where Neil proposed and where they love to escape from their hectic city lives as often as possible. Charlotte and I loved Grand Lake: it has that small town feel like my hometown of Fairplay, but it has so much more stuff to do (boating and skiing in the same town?!?)!

Second of all, they booked Charlotte and I for unlimited photography, which meant instead of being on a time-line, the vast majority of their day could be a lot more relaxed and chill. Without unlimited photography, we would never have captured Neil being thrown in the freezing lake after breakfast, we would not have had time for the couple and their wedding party to stop for cocktails between the formals and couple photography, and we definitely wouldn’t have been able to go to the after-reception-party at the bar at midnight.

But there was a certain apstect to this wedding that can’t be planned or purchased: the indomitable fun-loving spirits of their family and friends. Absolutely, positively, no question about it: Emily and Neil’s friends and family were the most fun loving, high energy group of people we’ve ever seen at a wedding. And it was everyone! No aunt or uncle, grandparent, parent, college pal, or work buddy stayed sitting in their chairs. Everybody danced and sang and drank and laughed and partied hard all night. It was amazing.

And I often brag about the caliber of people we get as clients, and I think this wedding is a testimony to that as great people attract great friends and usually come from great families. The success of a wedding really does  come down to attitude and personality. There were so many things that could have dampened everybody’s jubilant moods: rain sprinkled and threatened all day long, gusty cold winds tore through Grand Lake in the evening, the outdoor reception got so cold (in June) it had to be moved inside, the indoor reception was so cramped and impromptu that it must have been 90 degrees in that room. But did any of that affect anybody? Not in the slightest!

I couldn’t fit all the photos I loved from the day in our little sample gallery, but I’ve included some more of my favorites in the slideshow below:

Sweet sweet Gabi… what an adorable little girl!

I must say she is one of my all time favorite babys to shoot. I was in an out of her house in 40minutes… and I got the cutest shots. She was super happy, laughing, cooing, smiling, eye contact! It doesn’t get much better than that… and to top it off, she’s a gorgeous little girl!!

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite wedding photos from Lyndsie and Wes’ wedding at the Pines at Genesee.

Rain.

Why has there been so much rain this year?

Every wedding through Lyndsie and Wes’ has had rain at some point. For this wedding, rain clouds were boiling and threatening all day long, to the point that Wes had to make the call whether or not to even have it outside (why the Pines couldn’t set up both indoor and outdoor options, I don’t know…).

But luck and good fortune were on our side that day in that we only had sprinkles during the pre-photos, nothing during the ceremony, and it didn’t start pouring until we got inside for the reception.

But what a location! Wonderful meadows and views, and a perfectly shaded area full of lush old trees for the ceremony: The Pines at Genesee was a great place for a wedding.

We’re pretty enthusiastic photographers, and we like to roam a lot. We like to tread off of the beaten path and grab shots you don’t normally see. However, sometimes this means that the perfect wedding dress is a little less perfect when we’re done. But hey: you only wear it once. Better get your money’s worth!

Lyndsie is the perfect example of the “trooper bride”. While she was a little hesitant to go roaming about the meadows,  she wrote afterward when we posted her finished images online:

All I can say is…..AMAZING!! We are so happy with how the photos turned out (especially the “dipping” photos…which you must force every couple to do since they look awesome)!! All the grass/dirt stains and dress tearing was WAY worth it

See? Sometimes you’ve got to suffer a little for your art. It’s always worth it.

Thanks for giving us the honor of capturing your day, Lyndsie and Wes. It was awesome.

I’ve been photographing little Riley since she was 3 months old and now she’s already two, I can’t believe it! Sometimes the kids I photograph grow up faster than my own kids!  Some of you may recognize these beautiful big brown eyes from a few of my samples, or that smile.  Riley is always such a joy to shoot. I still get my exercise in, don’t get me wrong, but she certainly is one of my favorite little subjects.

I may be functioning off of a stereotype here, but Heather and Arion are the chillest New Yorkers I’ve ever seen. I thought East Coast types were generally running at 100 miles per hour just to survive. But these two not only chose a gorgeous outdoor location like The Garden of the Gods, but they seemed completely at home and relaxed there too.

It’s probably because Heather is a fake New Yorker. She’d really a Coloradan pretending to be from New York. ; ) And she knows deep down that Colorado is really home. I personally know (from my time misspent in Los Angeles) that once you’ve got the Rockies in your blood, Colorado is always where you end up wanting to be!

Now, don’t get me wrong, Arion is awesome, too. In fact he’s clearly Colorado material, so all Heather needs to do is get Arion out here enough that he gets a little bit ‘o the Rockies in his blood and then they’ll be set.

Heather and Arion, I had a blast taking your engagement portraits. You were an amazing couple to photograph. You have an easy love that is both inspiring and fun. I can’t wait for your wedding!

Duane was all smiles! Such a fun and spunky little guy… and adorable!
He just turned 18 months old and what a fun age! Its a workout… but fun!

Ariana, Eli and Jackson were so much fun to photograph… first we went to the flower gardens at MVP to take some nice pictures and then the kiddos changed into their favorite play clothes and we headed to the playground to get some pictures of them playing! Such a fun family! And get this… these three are the youngest of the 8 kids! Fun AND busy family!

I had the pleasure of photographing Ethan for his high school senior portraits… and what a handsome guy he is!

Seniors are always fun to shoot… and a big change from 2 year olds.
They listen (for the most part) and cooperate much better than a baby.  At least, thats usually the case but could be a different story depending on the senior.

I had a great time with Ethan and hope he has an amazing senior year!

I did a favor for my good friend last week near Dallas, TX and while I was there I got to photograph this wonderful family! They live in a dinky little town (compared to Colorado Springs!) but my friend recommended this little church to do portraits at… and I am so glad she did! It was perfect! I wish we had something like that around here! Gorgeous family, gorgeous setting… what more could a photographer ask for!

This being Colorado, most of our engagement portraits feature couples in a more causal style, boots and jeans and all. Usually, we’re hiking throughout some mountain park, getting a little dirty and a little sweaty but always having a lot of fun.

This session was different, but in a great way.

I knew we were in for something special when I met Jill and Matt at Wynkoop Brewing Co., and saw not only were they enjoying a cocktail (something I highly recommend for photo shoots… not for me: I recommend the clients drink!), but Jill was simply a knockout in her stunning little dress and heels… Oh, and I guess Matt looked pretty good, too. (Sheesh)

Now, we were already planning more of a metropolitan, urban look for the session, but once I saw how truly fantastic they looked together, I knew this session had just jumped up to a whole new level.

But cool clothes does not a good portrait session make.

If Jill and Matt had just been bumps on a log, they would have been well-dressed and yet boring bumps on a log. But because they obviously ADORED each other, they had that fun kinetic kind of energy which we celebrate in all of our clients.

Real love is like a contagious drug. When I photograph couples who exude real love for each other, their euphoria almost permeates the air until I’m giddy, too. It’s a very welcome and rewarding contact high. : )