Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Kristine and Robert’s wedding at Shove Chapel in Colorado Springs.

We first met Robert forever-long ago (5 years??) when he was a groomsman at Bryan and Becky’s wedding (long enough ago that I don’t have a gallery of the wedding up anymore!).

Robert made quite an impression on me with his “Ray Charles impersonation” I caught while the boys were getting ready and he sat down at the piano in the parlor room at First United Methodist. It is still one of my favorite fun-photos of all-time. Therefore, it was deja-vu for both of us, 5 years later, when he and Kristine showed up for the initial consultation, and I knew… I had seen him before.

This is the best part: he had never put 2-and-2 together before the meeting, either. You see, we were meeting at our Denver studio, and as far as he remembered, Trystan Photography was a Colorado Springs photography studio (as Bryan and Becky’s wedding was in the Springs).

It only took a few questions for us to figure out why we were sure we’d met before.  I was very excited because I knew their wedding would rock.

And it did not disappoint: great wedding party (Bryan was a groomsman this time), great fun family, and great venue.

Ahh, Shove Chapel… how I love thee! Let me count the ways:

• Awe inspiring Gothic architecture
• deep moody shadows
• dramatic soaring altar and stage lighting
• huge classical pipe-organ

I love photographing weddings there. They always have such drama and grandeur.

The weather could have been a little better, though…

Just a little cold.

Really, bitterly, cutting cold.

But Kristine and Robert toughed it out (I did too in my Spyder ski jacket…). I really appreciate tough brides and grooms. Weather is always… ummm, “interesting” in Colorado, and if you can only handle a perfect blue-bird day on your wedding day, then you might be in for a rough haul in Colorado! Kristine knew better. She just laughed and smiled her way through. Awesome.

And when we needed to warm up, we would duck inside the chapel again, and it was during this time that I captured them “Tebow-ing” (if you’re not a Broncos fan… well, I’m sorry for you).

It was a perfect (cold) day, and Char and I are so honored to have been chosen to capture it for you two.

Thank you (and thank you Bryan and Becky for recommending us to Kristine!).

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Lee and Jason’s wedding at Glen Eyrie Castle.

This was a fairytale dream wedding, and not only due to the fact it was at Glen Eyrie Castle, one of Colorado’s most inspiring locales. No, in fact, it was due to the fact that Lee and Jason are very chill people with very chill and cool families, and they held their reception before the wedding.

You read it right: they held their “reception” before Charlotte and I even arrived. Then everyone who was at the reception simply arrived at Glen Eyrie for the “getting-ready” and the ceremony. The bonus of this unique timeline is that it left more time for Charlotte and I to “play”.

I might be biased, but more time for your photographers to play and explore the gorgeous grounds with the couple can’t be a bad thing, right? I loved it.

Instead of rushing the couple off to a reception, we patiently played with the evening light and got some really great stuff.

Thank you Lee and Jason for trusting Char and I to capture your amazing wedding. It was a privilege and a pleasure.

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Logan and David’s wedding at The Cliff House at Pikes Peak.

First of all, let me please point out the obvious: THAT DRESS! Holy cow, what a classy number Logan’s dress was! Amazing.

And to make her vintage dress even more amazing is the fact that it was her grandmother’s dress, and two other women in her family have been married in that dress! So counting Logan, that makes 4 women who were married in that stunningly elegant dress.

Which bring to mind two questions:

1. Could we make a dress that durable and resilient today? I tend to doubt whether we could or not. Just seems like they made things better back then…
2. Could we make a dress that is a conservative style, but still elegant and sexy? Again, I think not: we’ve lost touch with the art of classy beauty like they had back then…

But I digress…

There are two other points I must mention about this amazing wedding.

1. Rowdy, rowdy, ROWDY! I love rowdy weddings, and this wedding was filled with so much joy that when the dancing started, the ballroom exploded. All generations, out there shaking their booties and living it up. I was awesome to behold.
2. Tough as nails. I know it may seem hard to believe, but Logan was really, really sick. It was either food poisoning from the couple days before, or a flu bug from Hell. In either case, she should have been in bed, if not at Urgent Care getting fluids. But like many heroic women before her, somehow, when the day got rolling and she said, “I do”, she found this inner reserve of stregth that floors me to this day. I cannot believe, looking at these photos, that Logan was sick as a dog. She really rose to the occasion, and I think she is simply stunning in these photos!

Thank you, Logan and David, for choosing us to capture your amazing day. You two are blessed to have such joyful and fun family and friends as we met on your wedding day. It was a privilege to be a part of it.

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photographs from Kristen and Garrett’s wedding at The Clubhouse at Flying Horse.

I loved this wedding. There is nothing better than taking photos of beautiful people.

That’s a lie. There is something better: taking photos of two beautiful people who are madly in love with each other.

No wait… that’s still not it at all…

Let’s try again. There’s nothing better that taking photos of two beautiful people who are madly in love with each other and who have a fantastic love of life and humor?

That’s it!

Kristen and Garrett embodied this notion perfectly. He’s handsome, cool and laid back, and she’s elegantly beautiful… no, effortlessly stunning… you get the point. But together… whoa, baby. Watch out world!

But the best part? The laughter and the joy that these two exuded all day long. They were clearly so happy to be in love, to have finally found each other, and for this day to have come at last. What a blessing it was to photography this wedding.

However, I think the finest example of their humor is the video below, which they played at their reception. Yup. Right in the middle of the reception. In the middle of dinner, right after a lovely montage of childhood photos and the awkward teenaged-years, this surprising gem came on.

Then laughter, and more laughter.

I love this video. It is so unassuming, so zany, and so funny that the entire room was roaring. And the reason all the family and friends loved it so much? Because this video is Kristen and Garrett in a nutshell: confident, fun and not a bit self-conscious.

Sure, they can dress up real nice-like, but when it all comes down to it, they’re just as likely to chill on the couch together playing with their Apple iPad as gettin’ all “dolled up” and lookin’ fabulous!

So here’s to the warping video effect used so charmingly in the following video, and kudos to Kristen and Garret for being brave and funny enough to use it this well:

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Michalle and Ben’s elegant wedding at The Cliff House at Pikes Peak.

Heartbreaking elegance. Honest love. Authentic beauty.

These are the thoughts I have as I look through the photos of this amazing day.

It was a banquet for a photographer visually: they are beautiful together. It was a feast for the heart: the day was wrought with joy and emotion.

There were laughs of joy, and bittersweet tears. There were moments of quiet love and exuberant celebration.

It was a perfect wedding.

And we were honored to photograph it.

Thank you Machelle and Ben!

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Jaime and Ryan’s wedding at The Air Force Academy (USAFA) Cadet Chapel and Cheyenne Mountain Resort.

Wow!

A gorgeous couple, a rowdy and fun loving-family, a perfect Colorado day, and all the time in the world to play and capture incredible photographs.

“All the time in the world?” you ask?

Yup. Jaime and Ryan booked us for our “Unlimted Day-of-Wedding Coverage” Package, which allowed them to have coverage as early and and late as they wanted. Char and I love “Unlimited Weddings”, because it gives us time to play and really get to know people.

“Play?” you ask?

Yes, “play”.

For example: I offer for your consideration a photo taken while the boys were hanging out and playing golf in the morning. Eating lunch and drinking a little… (just a little).

Oh, and did I mention that two of ‘em suddenly stripped down to their shorts and jumped into the rather cold lake at Cheyenne Mountain Resort?

And we were just 2 hours in… : )

That little bit of rowdiness set the tone for the whole day, which was a perfect example of abundant joy, exuberance, laughter and fun.

This wedding was so epic that Jaime was at the point of collapsing, nearly exhausted at the end of the party, which means it was a “job well done” by all!

Thank you Jaime and Ryan for choosing Charlotte and I to shoulder the incredible honor of capturing your epic wedding. We had a wonderful time!

Plus, you two look so great together it makes our jobs… almost easy.

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Jaclyn and Sam’s wedding at the USAFA Chapel and The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

June 2011 will be forever remembered as the month that the wind never stopped blowing, and blowing hard… or at least it did when we had a wedding.

Wind is such a pain. Hard wind is uncomfortable to stand in, and it can wreak havoc on hair and wedding dresses. We would really prefer to not have any wind, but as we have been photographers in Colorado for 8 years now,  we’ve grown quite used to wind.

There are two things that make it easy to cope with high winds in wedding photos, 1) the patience to wait for a break in the wind to capture the least wind-buffeted shot, and 2) a bride with the world’s best attitude.

And we got that in Jaclyn and more! Her smile never stopped beaming and her energy never waned, which was simply contagious amongst the wedding party.

And as you can see, a well-timed shot with the wind playfully adds a little drama!

Thank you Jaclyn and Sam for trusting us to capture your perfect day. It was so much fun!

Please click the image or follow the link to view our favorite photographs from Sarah and Steve’s wedding at The Garden of the Gods.

Simplicity.

Simplicity is a rare gem in a world of seemingly more complex social networks, gaudy fashions, and too-busy-for-life-lifestyles.

Sarah and Steve are two of those rare souls who are not seduced by the “bigger is better” mentality of our age, and managed to put together the perfect wedding day, based on one unshakable truth: they are in love.

Not even the most opulent ballroom can match the natural majesty of The Garden of the Gods.

All the wedding guests in the world can’t amount to the priceless value of your mother being in attendance after being diagnosed with brain cancer. Sarah thought for a while her mother might not even still be alive by her wedding date.

Anytime you ever put the simple things of life up against the gaudy or complex, simple wins out… every… time.

Stunning love and stunning photos. We are so grateful to have been able to capture this amazing day for you two. Thank you Sarah and Steve!

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite moments from Kris and Jay’s wedding at The Holy Rosary Chapel and The Flying Horse Club.

Those of you who have known about Trystan Photography for a while know that I am a pretty dedicated blogger about our weddings and sessions, and about being active on Facebook.

You might have noticed some cobwebs growing around here this year.

That’s because my wife, business partner, creative genius, and general spirit behind Trystan Photography almost died in January, and life has been pretty interesting since!

Charlotte, my lovely wife of 6 years, had a stroke.

Yup, a stroke. While she was driving. With my 4 year-old son, Trystan, in the back seat.

Luckily, she did not crash the car and managed to get it (kind of) out of traffic by stopping across the entrance of our local Barnes & Noble. At least Trystan was safe.

By the time I got the phone call, the EMT were already on scene. They were pretty sure whe had suffered some kind of stroke and advised me to take her to the ER. That’s right, I drove her to the ER. No big deal, right? Can’t be too serious if I can drive her myself, right?

Wrong. Within an hour of arriving at the ER she was on a Flight for Life helicopter on its way to Swedish Memorial in Denver. I guess it was serious after all.

Turns out, my extremely active wife, had suffered a vertebral artery dissection (VAD) while doing yoga the weekend before.

She’d known she was hurt. We didn’t know it was a torn artery, but we definitely knew she had hurt her neck. It was excruciating. She described it as “someone stabbing” her neck. We immediately went to the Urgent Care, but it was misdiagnosed as a neck strain or torn muscle. The only way to detect a VAD is by CT-scan. The only reason they would order a CT is if she had stroke symptoms.

Consequently, Char lived for about 5 days with this ripped artery clotting inside one of four main arteries feeding her brain, and then finally the clot got so big and unstable she threw a clot and stroked. Then the ER docs knew to order a CT.

So basically having a stroke saved her life. Huh, ironic, isn’t it?

I was shocked. As I watched them load my wife, doped out of her mind because of the pain and fear, into the helicopter, I couldn’t process that I had just kissed her goodbye as she ran to the store 3 hours earlier. How could she possibly be dying? How could she possibly be paralyzed? How could she possibly have trouble communicating? She was just fine a few hours ago…

From that moment on, life has been… interesting.

We spent 4 days in the Neurological Unit of Swedish as they treated the clot and she stabilized. It was really scary. At any moment she could have thrown more clots and caused even more damage to her brain. We didn’t know how much damage had been done, if she would have any lasting effects… (please continue to page 2…)

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photographs from Lisa and Chris’ wedding at The Pinery in Black Forest, CO.

Ahhh, Chris and Lisa’s wedding. It was picture-perfect. Char and I had such a fun time photographing this wedding. However, for all it’s implicit beauty and ease, I still have one beef:

When the guys were getting ready, I suddenly remembered to ask about flowers (a very rare occurrence, but Char had written down for me to ask on my shot checklist), “Chris are there boutonnieres to pin on?”

Chris’ eyes got wide for a second and he glanced uncertainly at his best friends,”Uh… no? No. No, flowers.”

So we get a-shootin’, and it’s not until Lisa appears (radiant, fit and stunning) that we find out that in fact there were, in fact,  flowers for the boys. I remember Chris and I looking defeated as both Char and Lisa exclaimed in frustration, “REALLY?!?”

I mumbled some kind of pathetic defense,”Well, I asked Chris if there were…”

And he stammered an interjection, “Hey, I don’t pay attention to that kind of stuff…”

And he stopped. All the men stood frozen in shock, disbelief coursing through our very being over what we’d just heard: Chris had revealed one of the Great Dark Secrets of Being a Dude. A secret so damning that Guy-dom has a couple years of recovery ahead of it now. Chris had inadvertently revealed the truth about something no guy wants to admit and all the women suspect:

Guys don’t ever, EVER care about the details. We are big picture types: wedding date, tux, whipped cream for the honeymoon suite. You know, the essentials.

What makes this secret so damning is the fact that not only do we know this, and we also know that it means we need detailed oriented women in our lives to handle all of this for us. That’s why single men have moms and married men have wives. For the day-to-day management of details. And this whole system only works if women think we’re at least trying to pay attention. Once they get wind that we’re not even listening to the details and that we’re totally dependent on them, we’re screwed, boys, screwed. And thanks to Chris, women are now a whole lot closer to that revelation. Dark days, dark days…

Just kidding, Chris. You and your wife are incredible, photogenic and fun. Thank you both for choosing us be part of your day. It was perfect.

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photographs from Marisa and Dan’s wedding at The Garden of the Gods Club.

Marisa and Dan had one of those oh-so-enviable perfect weddings. And they deserve it. What a terrific couple, and what a terrific family.

The best part (if it’s even possible to choose) was the horah at the reception. I’m a big sucker of any horah dance. There’s just something thrilling about watching the bride and groom hoisted high overhead (with no safety restraints or cushions) by only the hands of their loving and usually buzzed or drunk family and friends. And you can see that awareness on the faces of the bride and groom. It’s delightfully dangerous.

This is wedding #4 in a referral chain that goes Andy and Kimberly (2007),  Brittany and Rhead (2008), Erin and Joey (2009), and now Marisa and Dan. I’m just floored by that. It is such an honor that so many of our past clients are recommending us to their friends with such enthusiasm. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Please click the photo or follow this link to view our favorite photos from Kelley and Tim’s wedding at The Inn at Palmer Divide.

Ahhh, Tim and Kelley. You are two clients right after my own heart. Rowdy (maybe an understatement…), loving, and cool as ****.

This was an incredible wedding, and for once I’m going to try not to write a mini-novella about it and simply let my work tell the tale (you know, the whole “…a photo is worth a thousand words” thing?):

The following photos perfectly capture what I loved about their day:

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Hein and Noel’s wedding at The Lodge at Elk Valley and The Cliff House.

This is one of those epic, star-crossed love stories that inspires you to shake your head and say, “How in the world did that work out?!?”

It’s so convoluted in moves and time-line, I’ve probably got it all wrong. But it’s impressive nonetheless…

Some people struggle to meet someone in their local bar. Hein (a strapping Dutch economist) and Noel (a stunning American art historian) met in The Hague. Then Hein left. Then it gets crazy. These two ended up, one in Michigan, one in Washington, then Florida… then someone went back to Europe… I can’t remember. Needless to say, these two kept love, romance, and a sense of connection going with hundreds, if not thousands of miles between them at times.

I love seeing love stories like that. I reminds me of the days of sea-explorers, or soldiers, who would keep their love alive over long distances only through letters. I’m sure Hein and Noel used phones, too, but I still think it’s romantic.

On another note, I do have to admit this was a very rewarding wedding for us. It was rather nerve-wracking to create photographic art for an art historian. Her job is to evaluate, critique, and deconstruct the artwork and the artist. Holy crap. So we finished the photos, crossed our fingers… and she loves them! It’s not an incredibly complicated formula: Get a relaxed couple who are in love, add fun, and make the light look really pretty and you get stunning photos. Yet, it is still nice to get that affirmation once in a while that we do this really well…

And an additional side-note: apparently (judging from the content of the toasts) the main connective expreience if you are close friends with Hein and Noel is thier incredible passion for cooking, eating, and sharing fine wine with friends. This might sound a little bitchy, but I don’t care. It gets to me: how in the world can two people be so into food and wine and be so friggin’ skinny?!?! Why doesn’t their joie de vivre make them fat like my joie de vivre does? Not fair. Not fair at all.

All kidding aside, thank you both for sharing your wonderful day with us. It was a pleasure and a privilege to document your love.

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photographs from Amber and Pete’s wedding at The Cheyenne Lodge at The Broadmoor.

Joy. Love. Passion. Sorrow. Laughter. Exuberance. Fun. Romance. Intimacy.

These are just some of the words that spring to my mind when I think of what emotions are experienced at the weddings we photograph. Amber and Pete’s wedding was even more-so.

Amber and Pete, already one of the most joyous and in-your-face-affectionate couples from 2010′s engagement sessions, proved to be exactly that on the wedding day. They are so in love, and so into each other, that this infectious sense of celebration was palpable throughout the day.

However, the emotions covered the gamut, from joy to heartbreak because Amber and her sisters (2 of 3 bridesmaids) recently lost their mother. And that loss made the day the most meaningful kind of bittersweet. For as one story ends, another begins.

So there were smiles of joy, tears of sorrow, and every emotion seemed to blend effortlessly into the other, so instead of battling each other like polar opposites, the emotional swings of the day seemed to add to the sense of gratitude, hope and love for the entire day.

This wedding was an honor to to merely be there to behold, much less capture for them. Thank you Amber and Pete, for entrusting this amazing day to Char and I.

Please click the photo above or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Erika and Taylor’s wedding at Hillside Gardens and The Warehouse Restaurant.

Talk about some photo All-Stars!

We knew very early on, pretty much right after I met with Erika and Taylor, that they were going to be pretty darn fun to photograph.

…and then Char did their engagement session. Holy cow.

…and then Erika did her boudoir session with Char (which a surprising number of brides are adding to their packages for their loving and deserving future husbands!). ¡Ay Dios mio!

Finally, after all the great photos they’d given us, we came to their wedding day. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy and really unseasonably cold. However, like all of our clients this year who have faced “less than ideal” weather on their big day, Erika and Taylor were shining examples of how to put on a good attitude and rock the photos!

When we photograph couples, we try and get them to just be themselves. Laugh, flirt, make-out, have fun: if I have to ask them to stop “or else I’m getting a hose” then we’re having a great day.

Thank you Erika and Taylor for being so enthusiastic about everything you did with Trystan Photography. We had so much fun with you two. We hope you did, too!

Click the photo or follow the link to view Crystal and Lucas’ perfect wedding at The USAFA Cadet Chapel and Officer’s Club.

What a stunning place to photograph a wedding! The Cadet Chapel at the Air Force Academy is simply amazing. With it’s kaleidoscope of colors shimmering in from the modern architecture, it’s awe inspiring grand scale, and it’s quiet and claming atmosphere, it is one of the most unique cermony venues in all of Colorado (if not the US)! And that’s the sad part about it: not everyone can use it. Chapel weddings are reserved for the hard-working men and women of our military, and if you haven’t made that commitment, that sacrafice to serve… tough nuts. You can’t use it.

Which is fine, becuase the military deserves little perks like that. So it’s not that often we find ourselves at the Chapel, but what a treat it is when we do!

Crytal and Lucas’ wedding was stellar. Crystal and Lucas were stunning together. They are the proto-typical All-American couple. Perfectly cute together, and really into each other. Crystal and Lucas’ smiles seemed to add even more light and color to the Chapel. In fact, I’ve never seen it so bright and colorful.

Their day went off perfectly with just the right amount of joy, love, tears and laughter. Except for their limo. It didn’t show for their “grand exit” at the end. I have no idea if it ever came. But they just pulled up dad’s car, turned up the wattage on their smiles, and everyone gave them a really great send-off, limo or not.

Thank you, Crystal and Lucas for choosing Trystan Photography to document your special day.  It was a real pleasure and an honor!

Please click the photo or follow the link to view Jessica and Lee’s stunning wedding samples at Shove Chapel and Cheyenne Mountain Resort.

It’s dark. It’s very Gothic in it’s architecture. It’s one of the most feared places to shoot in Colorado Springs. Why? I have no idea.

All I know, is whenever I have a meeting about a wedding at Shove Chapel, the number one thing I hear is, “Other photographers say it’s really hard to shoot in there… and they’re photos look really dark. Why do yours look so bright?” Well, the short answer is we know how to push our cameras and capture the shot. The longer answer is: 1) we always make sure the altar lights are at full (they normally keep them at 1/2 power), 2) we have very steady hands so we’re not afraid to push the shutter way past the normal “lower threshold” (why hand-held? Because that place is HUGE and we are running all over to get the shot), and 3) we always shoot with our array of wireless remote Nikon speed-lights.

The most important factor of all  is the remote speed-lights. We’ve been shooting with remote lighting for 6 years now, and I would say they are the most important equipment I use. Having flexible, fast remote lighting allows us to shoot in otherwise impossible scenarios. Obviously, when it’s dark it allows us to create shots where there are none, but even when it’s light enough, they allow us to form the light, and add a sense of drama to an already attractive scene. I use remote lighting on 80% of my shots, and I personally think that I’ve gotten to the point where the extra lighting is very subtle on most of them. The lighting either mimics what’s already there, or at most seems like a complimentary element of the scene.

We love Shove Chapel, I can’t think of a cooler place to capture a ceremony. It has a sense of drama, and gives every wedding an epic scale, which I think lend themselves perfectly for the purposes of wedding photography. We use a 3 flash system, 2 on each side, either above in the side-balconies when we have assistants, or on the ground floor on 15′ light stands when I have to adjust them myself, and one master flash on the camera. I like to shoot across the aisle from the right side (facing the altar) during the processional. As soon as the bride walks up the altar stairs I flip the lights around towards the altar and use very subtle lighting to add detail to the subjects which are lit mostly from the stage lights. Those little Nikon Speed-lights are incredibly powerful for their size, and the fact I can whip them around ultra-fast and tuck them back into little hiding places to add stunning splashes of light is the winning aspect over more powerful strobes.

And then there was Lee and Jessica’s wedding. Not only are they a stunning couple, but Jess (and Lee) did an amazing job planning every detail of this wedding. Her dress was stunning, her flowers were elegant, the reception decor was impeccable, and the food? They didn’t choose. They simply had Cheyenne Mountain set up multiple stations with an amazing array of everything. Want pasta cooked with custom ingredients as you wait? Check. Oh, but you also need some prime rib? Why not? And a seafood & salad station? Sure. And they best part? They let us eat! THEY LET US EAT ANY OF IT! And boy, did I…

I know, you’re confused. But it’s a little known, and very dark fact that not every couple let’s us eat or offers us food. But it’s okay, we’ve only been running around on our feet for 8 hours… we’re fine. Don’t worry about us. My face is always this ashen and drawn…

But I digress (as usual). In closing, if you’re thinking about a wedding at Shove, but you’re worried about the different horror stories you’re hearing around town about how dark it is, book it with confidence. It is an amazing place for a wedding, and it really is worth the extra hard work to pull of the photography. But I’ll shut up about it now: the photos speak for themselves.

This time of year, every year, we comb through our weddings and collect all of our favorite shots from over the years in to our “Wedding Collections”. We’re exceptionally proud of these photographs, and we’d love it if you would take the time to review our favorite wedding photography to date!

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Mark and Amy’s wedding at Fox Run Park and Summit Ministries.

Poor Amy. Poor resilient, amazingly tough to kill Amy (more on that later).

Amy and Mark had a rough go at this one. All the forces were lined up against them. I think lesser human beings would have thrown in the towel, but Mark and Amy persevered and their love truly did conquer all.

I don’t know if I can even recount this story, some of it is so heartbreaking…

First off, earlier this year Amy lost her mom. I don’t know the how, when or why’s of it all (and I don’t know if I could handle it), but it was a emotional thread to every conversation we had with them about the wedding. Amy was clearly heartbroken, but she put on a brave face and pushed forward with her wedding plans. Mark was her stalwart companion, his quiet strength resonating through it all.

Soon, wedding plans came to fruition, and we found ourselves in the week before the wedding. Mark and Amy broke up some of their photography, opting for some pre-wedding couple photos a few days earlier at Glen Eyrie Castle. This is where the near-disaster scenarios begin: just as Amy and Mark were finishing getting ready and were leaving to meet me there, this weather front whipped in. And I mean whipped in! Driving rain, wind, freezing cold: it was a doozy. And to make matters worse, when I arrived at the castle gatehouse  and asked the guard, “Have a bride and groom come through yet?”
“No , sir,” he answered confidently.

So I pulled over by the gate and waited, and waited, and waited… all the while the storm is in a frenzy outside. Finally, the storm passed and I was still waiting. So I waited more. And more. And more…

Finally, the guard leaned out of the guardhouse and asked, “Say, that bride and groom… what were they wearing?”

“I dunno,” I answered, “some kind of formal attire. A tux and gown maybe?”

He looked concerned, “Uhhh, well, you know? I think now I might have actually seen them come through earlier.”

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?! For real?! What part of “bride and groom” wasn’t clear enough for him?

So I raced of through Glen Eyrie (“raced off” is relative when the speed limit is 10 MPH…), and lo and behold, who is standing there, waiting? Mark and Amy! Yayyyy! Thank you Mr. Guard! You made me 45 minutes late.

Fortunately, Mark and Amy were very chill about the whole being late thing, and more importantly while we were waiting, the horrendous storm passed and the sun began to set and we suddenly beheld amazing sunlit clouds and the beginnings of a sunset that was simply to-die-for. I took full advantage of it all and Amy and Mark gave me some really sexy, romantic stuff. So a storm, a slightly dim guard, and being late did nothing to hinder all of us from getting terrific photography. >>>more…

Please click the photo or follow the link to view Tonya and Ryan’s wedding at the Rockledge Inn.

ar·tis·tic (är-’tis-tik) adj. Sensitive to or appreciative of art or beauty: an artistic temperament.

dis·cern·ing (di-ˈsər-niŋ) adj. Having or showing good taste or judgment; discriminating

pres·sure (pre-shər) n the burden of physical or mental distress

I am a very artistic person. I am quirky, a little funky, a lot of passion, and a little diva. But I have a dark little secret: ironically, the same qualities that I value in myself make me nervous if displayed in others. I think it’s the little diva hidden in me that fears being judged or told what to do…

Tonya and Ryan are very artistic and funky people. They are both involved in stage production, design and management and they both have a keen eye and wonderful aesthetic sensibilities. They know what they like, and they clearly had vision (her handmade pumpkin centerpieces were delightful and added a tremendous atmosphere to this Fall wedding). Did I mention that Tonya specializes in theatrical lighting? Lighting. My forte?!? Can you say: A little pressure? My “inner diva” can…

However, this wedding was yet another example as to why my “inner diva” needs to shut up. Yes, Tonya and Ryan are clearly artistic, and yes they clearly knew what they liked, but apparently I’m the only one whose artistic sensibilities come with a side of diva (or they’re really good at hiding it). Tonya and Ryan were perhaps the chillest and yet emotional couples we’ve seen in a while. There was laughing and crying, hugging and playing, kissing and teasing and all the while they were putty in our hands.

Having such a talented couple put such absolute trust in us and our abilities was a true honor and compliment.

Tonya and Ryan, thank you so much for the opportunity to capture your amazing day! Your trust for us and honest open love for each other made this day easy, special, and very very rewarding.