Trystan Photography: An Intimate Portrait.

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photo from Jamie and Joe’s wedding at the Rockledge Inn.

One of the delights of weddings for me personally is hangin’ with the boys. The vibe is completely different for the guys than it is for the girls before the ceremony. Girls tend to be a little more, ummm, serious when they’re nervous ; ). When guys get nervous (in general), we get rowdy and impish. I prefer rowdy and impish.

But it has been a while since I have seen a group of groomsmen quite as rowdy as these. From butt slaps to jumping on each other’s backs, we were off the the testosterone races right from the beginning. Joe’s Best Man was an absolute riot. He proposed to Joe right in the middle of the boy’s formals. And the best part was Joe played along. And yet, this was but a hint of what was in store.

Things reached a peak when Joe got a very “dedicated-to-his-role” lap-dance from his Best Man during the reception. You have to understand that Joe is really fun and all, but he’s also a real Man’s Man (big truck, had to really give him some grief and joke around to get him to smile during their engagement photos…). Frankly, he’s the last guy I would have thought I’d see getting a lap-dance from another dude. But you know what? They are both Army, and they’ve seen and done stuff that probably makes their bond closer than I can ever imagine. So if he wants to give Joe a friggin’ lap-dance, he can! (Not to mention it was pee-your-pants funny.) Lord knows I’ve given a few lap-dances to my buddies… whether they wanted them or not.

Oh yes, there was also a lovely wedding this day, too! Jamie chose a simple yet elegant dress and she and Joe had just as much open love and affection as they did for their engagement photos, which were pretty legendary, I think. I think Jamie knew what she was in for this day: the boy’s kind of took over and gave the day an incredible energy of celebration and fun. Everyone had a blast, and I don’t think she would have had it any other way.

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Erin and Joey’s wedding at Hudson Gardens in Denver.

Erin and Joey are another one of those “in-the-family” referral weddings. Through word of mouth, a friend of hers knew Brittany and Rhead, who also had their wedding at Hudson Gardens and the Brown Palace last year, who heard great things about us from Kim and Andy! That’s right: the word of mouth “circle” is 3 levels deep by Erin and Joey’s wedding!

Somehow from LA, and brief trips out here to visit his family, they managed to pull together a terrific wedding. Hudson Gardens is a terrific place for a wedding. They were married in the Monet Gardens, which are simply stunning.

Here’s what I think was the most amazing part: the reception was in Joey’s parents’ backyard. And it was the swankiest, cutest, most fun reception I’ve seen in a long time. Joey’s house had a terraced and impeccably landscaped backyard with tons of room. And Erin decked it out with lots of Asian paper lanterns, stylishly decorated cocktail tables, with linens and candles… the whole nine! The most impressive element of this massive transformation was the custom dance floor complete with huge white curtains (built in side flash bounce, anyone?) that Joey’s parents built by hand. (They actually have nothing to do with it now, so if anyone wants a custom dance floor let me know…)

But let’s be honest here, Coloradans: Erin and Joey have HUGE huevos (no offense, Erin, it’s not literal). Only Californians would plan an entirely outdoor reception in Colorado with no tent or backup plan! It was sooooo lucky that Colorado decided to play nice that day. And rare. Erin, we have clients galore who would have killed for the kind of weather you CA types brought with you that day. Weather changes here in Colorado. All the time. It’s not 80 and sunny everyday, all day : ).

And like most of our clients this year, Joey and Erin had the rowdiest group of friends. I must be getting old (watch out you two, kids do that to you fast), because I can’t hang like those people anymore. The night was legendary, let’s leave it at that…

Oh, and how nice is this: Erin and Joey had a couple of friends attending the wedding, Marisa and Dan, who are getting married in 2010 at the GardenW of the Gods Club. Well, wouldn’t you know it? By the start of the reception, Erin was talking their ears off about how much she thought of us, I showed them a couple of photos straight off the back of the camera and… the “circle” continues 4 LEVELS deep!! Ain’t word-of-mouth from ahppy clients grand?

Watch for Marisa and Dan’s engagement pics coming soon…

Please click the photo or follow the link to view the gallery of our favorite photography from Shannon and Josh’s wedding at The Inn at Palmer Divide.

Never a sweeter groom has been seen than Josh. Not only was he wonderful with his now wife, Shannon, and his adorable daughter, but he could not stop himself from crying. And he’s a big dude! First impression: he’s not the crying type. And normally, I’m assuming that’s true, but on the day of his wedding? An emotional mound of grateful, tearful man. (And from one “cryer” to another: it’s a wonderful thing!)

Shannon and Josh had a perfect wedding. And it takes a special kind of bride to let us haul her out into the fields (over barbed wire) behind the Inn at Palmer Divide to get really cute shots of her in her cowgirl boots!  She was so cute, dress hauled up around her hips and struttin’ in her boots out into the field. She was fearless. It was wonderful.

Thank you Shannon and Josh for including us in your special day!

So I’ve finally finished my last senior session for 2009 (I suppose there could be some last minuters) and have been going through the sessions to pick out my favs.  I’m going to blog a bigger post with more images here in a day or so, but thought I’d show you all, just how awesome my 2009 seniors were.  At some random point during their sessions this year, I would have them do a crazy jump for me.  Sometimes it really helps everyone to just loosen up and have some fun!  I was so honored this year to get some of the coolest high school seniors ever.  Stay tuned for more pics from these sessions, some of my favorite shots of all time. Enjoy this fun little slide show in the meantime!

Please click the photo or follow the link to view the sample gallery of our favorite photos from Jill and Matt’s wedding at The Willow Ridge Manor.

Hot, hot, heat! Not only were Jill and Matt stunningly hot together, but it literally was a hot, hot day. Maybe the hottest day of the year. By the time we got the couple and wedding party down to the area we like to shoot in at Red Rocks, it was probably near or over 100º!!! And that’s with the clouds casting a fair amount of shade at times.

So the challenges facing a photographer in this situation are: how do you keep the energy up, everyone happy, keep everyone from sweating too much, and get great photos all the while?!?

We did it by keeping everything light and fun, the girls were better off in dresses that the boys all in black, so we made sure that the boys had coats off and were hiding in shade as much as possible. We also used some “discount store” psychology and kept apologizing for how cold it was (dumb, I know, but sometimes, even the most blatant reverse psychology has a small measure of effectiveness). We kept our energy up and made sure we kept the laughs going and the smiles flowing… oh, and we shot really fast!… and lo and behold, we got amazing photos from everyone! My favorite photo is of the boys mimicking the girls walking with the bouquets. It’s sensationally funny.

But you know, Charlotte and I can’t take any credit for how well that potentially disastrous shoot went, it was all due to how great of an attitude our clients had, which was reflected in their family and friends. We just can’t say enough about the great attitudes of all of our clients. I know this blog reads like a broken record, but I don’t care: we’re proud of the caliber of clients that decide to work with us.

Jill was absolutely radiant, and Matt had that handsome swarthiness that just looks great in a tux. I knew from their engagement photos that they were going to take amazing couple photos, I just had no idea how good.

*Funny note: Jill and Matt are very open with their love and affection, and they gave us great loving and sexy shots from both the engagement and wedding photos. For their signing board photo, they chose that great sexy dip in the alley from the engagement session. But Jill’s mom is a little more, shall we say, “conservative” in her taste in photos and when she saw which photo Jill and Matt had picked she blurted out in horror, “Oh, my! Why did they choose that one!?!” Her hand unconsciously clutched her blouse closed tighter as she said it. Jill got a pretty big kick out of that. There’s a part in all of us that like horrifying our parents just a little…

Thank you both for letting Char and I be a part of your amazing wedding! You gave us some incredible images, and we had a blast at your reception. I can’t wait to get your photo choices for the album! We hope you keep in touch as your love and family grows!