Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Joy and Lukes wedding at Arrowhead Golf Course.

Mmmmmmm… Arrowhead Golf Course… what a fantastic little piece of heaven!

It really is something to contemplate the natural splendor of this place. Even though it is a golf course, the simple majesty of it all indues a sense of the spiritual. Even I could enjoy a round of golf there I think, and I am horrible.

We’ve always had fantastic weddings at Arrowhead. I think the backdrop alone plays a big part in that success: we are all very inspired.

Add that natural beauty to the authenitc love of Luke and Joy, then you’ve got something spectacular. I was especially touched by how openly emotional Luke was. He was overwhelmed with joy… for Joy. I always appreciate a man who can show hi emotions: I was a wreck on my wedding day!

This wedding also has a fantastic example of a pre-ceremony “reveal”, which is when the couple elects to see each other before the ceremony. We don’t just have them get ready, walk out, and we’re shooting. We like to “make a moment” of the reveal, and it never dissapoints. This wedding was the epitome of a great reveal.

Thank you Joy and Luke for trusting Charlotte and I to capture your perfect day. It was an honor and a privilege to document such love.

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photographs from Erin and Tom’s wedding at The Ridge at Castle Pines North.

Ummm… The Ridge at Castle Pines North is amazing. I had no idea these magnificent vistas were just a few miles off of I-25. Obviously,  other people do, because there were veritable castles built up around this golf course!

This is a jaw-dropping spot for a wedding.

It also helps when your daddy happens to run the place…

… that’s right, Erin’s father is the head honcho of The Ridge, so maybe Char and I got a little more leeway to play and take advantage than usual… but I don’t think so. ; )

This wedding was also special because it was the 3rd wedding we’ve worked at with CueMotion, the world’s best wedding cinematographers, (IMHO) who travel all the way to Colorado from Omaha, NE, to work these weddings. As soon as they put up the video to this shoot, I will post it here and on our Facebook page, just like I did with Jocelyn and Chase’s wedding (who happened to recommend Erin and Tom to us).

Finally, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to Betsy, Erin’s mom, who has been one of our most ardent and vocal supporters (even before I finished the photos from the wedding!). Thank you so much for all of your support, Betsy. I am YOUR biggest fan.

And thank you Erin and Tom, for choosing Trystan Photography. It was a privilege and a pleasure to capture your wedding!

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Emma and Caleb’s joyous wedding at Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church and The Inverness hotel.

HOT!

I just love when two normally mild-mannered people exude a passion when around each other. This is the case with Emma and Caleb. By themselves, they are cute and attractive people. But together, they attained this new quality… how should I describe it… well, there are no other words to adequately describe the photo above except: HOT!

The rest of the guests and staff at the Inverness Hotel in Denver were blushing, I’m sure…. and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Show off! Shout your love from the rooftops! Emma and Caleb were unabashed about their love for each other, and it makes photography so easy.

But they still had this sweet innocence to them, too. How is that even possible?

We should all be so lucky, right?

Congratulations, Emma and Caleb. Thank you for giving us the honor of capturing your perfect day!

One of my favorite fun photos of the year came at yesterday’s wedding at Arrowhead when little Matthew wanted absolutely nothing to do with photos with Luke, the groom. When Luke finally realized there was no calming the little guy, he made me bust a gut by simply joining him in the fuss!

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photographs from Maya and Jason’s wedding at the Blackstone Country Club.

Elegance.

All I can think of when I look at Maya is “elegance”. It’s just something about her.

And then there was the way Jason looked at her. There was such deep, soulful passion there.

Photographing these two was pure magic.

But then there was the wind. Ahh, the wind. Are my blog posts getting repetive, yet? “Wind blowing” this, “gusts of wind” that…

Trust me, it was getting a little repetitive for Char and I, too. Wind makes people squint. Wind make hair whip about like its alive. Wind makes you tired (does anyone know why wind makes you tired, or is it just me?).

But Maya and Jason made the most of the wind. They knew how to “work it”. She let the wind toss her hair and made it sultry. He let the wind give him an adventurous look. No complaints, just smiles, love, and laughter…

… and elegance.

Thank you Maya and Jason for entrusting us with your perfect day!

Please click the photos or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Rachel and Jordan’s wedding at The Phipps Mansion.

Rachel and Jordan did it right. They had perfect blue-bird day, golden sunshine and a picturesque venue. Everything was perfect.

Oh, and did I mention that these photos will probably be collector’s items?

“Why”, you ask? Because Rachel and Jordan’s wedding was one of the last weddings there will ever be at The Phipps Mansion. It is now under private ownership. Tim and Scott bought it. Just the two of them. 70+ rooms, 6.5 acres… juuuuuuuust the two of them. They said they wanted enough room for, “… a proper garden.” Really? Two people? If Tim Gill wasn’t such a nice guy with the rest of his money (The Gill Foundation has given over $162 million to non-profits and charities), I would be saying “really” a lot more times.

I mean, you could seriously have a fight with your significant other and never see them again, because you’d each have a wing bigger than most luxury homes. But I digress.

Rachel and Jordan’s wedding was the perfect ending to this mansion’s storied career as a wedding venue. I hope our photos drive other brides-to-be mad with jealousy because photos like these, at this venue, will never… happen… again. Missed that ship, sister. Better pick a different, one-of-a-kind mansion/wedding venue. Can’t have this one: it’s Tim and Scott’s now.

… their wedding was featured on “The Best of Colorado Weddings” website today!

Thank you so much for all your hard-work and support, Jocelyn! Congrats on your wedding being featured. You deserve it, and all your hard work clearly paid off: it was stunning !

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

We have had some rowdy weddings this year, but Pearl and Matt’s might take the cake. Most weddings “turn-it-up” a little more when the parent’s get tired and go to bed. What set this wedding apart is that the parents didn’t go anywhere, and they got just as rowdy as everybody else. When that happens, it equals unbridled, pure joy. Everyone is dancing and laughing and the energy is phenomenal.

It’s really hard when I’m trying to narrow down these massive weddings to a nice  and manageable sample gallery of 48 images. There are so many photos that I adore, but they have a little too much “fun” or “high energy” to them and they don’t make the final cut. But that’s what blogs are for: to show the photos that may have more entertainment value!

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Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photographs from Nikole and Patrick’s wedding at Arrowhead!

Whoooooweee, was this a fun wedding to photograph! My wife, Charlotte, was out of town (that is NOT why this wedding was fun), so the amazing and wonderful Kim Harms (my former Padawan learner is now a master) came along a shot this one with me. The reasons this wedding was funare because Arrowhead Golf Course is always stunning and fun to capture photos there, and secondly, Nikole was also stunning and Patrick was a true stud.

These two really dig each other, a lot, and it shows. Nikole would lock him with these looks that made the photos. I love them! Thank you Nikole and Pat for giving us so very much to work with!

Please click the photo or follow the link to view Kasey and Lisa’s wedding at The Blackstone Country Club.

Obviously, by hot, I don’t just mean in a sexy or beautiful kind-of-way (which this wedding was), I literally mean it was HOT. Like well over 100 degrees at times, I bet. I was absolutely baking, but I didn’t utter a word of complaint because I was just in black pants and a short sleeve shirt. The guys were in full black suits. And they were tough sons-a-bitches, let me tell you. They were hardcore, with just a few cocktails and cups of water, we ran all over that golf course without a single protest.

This was a wedding full of hot, hot, heat and hot, hot, love. Lisa and Kasey are completely into each other, and their wedding was a breeze. Now, normally I would go on and on about how great they were and fun, and they were, but I have something much more important to discuss now: the art of the rowdy reception.

Many receptions are more tame, even formal. Lisa and Kasey’s was formal and structured in the beginning, but… holy crap. When all the official events of the reception were over and the older guests started to leave and the drinks began to flow, their crew got rowdy. And there is nothing more entertaining for a wedding photographer to shoot than a rowdy, fun reception.

This generation of brides and grooms has already set a new standard for wedding fun. We hang out ’til the end (no early leaving to the hotel room), and we almost always dance our butts off. But as a professional photographer, I’m sincerely asking all of our future brides and grooms: find your inner rowdy. Trust me. It makes it better.

Kasey did push the envelope a bit: after one successful break-dance/gymnastics/walk-on hands dance-thingy, he then decided he could do it even BETTER and tried again. And as his newly minted wife looked on in horror, Kasey proceeded to practically break his back from a “slight” over-balancing whilst upside down. But he sprang to his feet and kissed his wife, who still looked furious and scared. But, good old Kasey, he had her right out dancing within moments. I’m pretty sure he was sore the next day though… from the fall, I mean. Sheeeeesh, people.

Click the photo above, or follow the link to view our favorite photographs from Mackenzie and Derek’s amazing wedding at Arrowhead Golf Course.

Yet another Spring wedding where Colorado decided to be a little difficult. In fact, the entire start of the 2010 wedding season was terrible, in terms of cold weather. Fortunately, Mackenzie and Derek’s wedding got sunshine, at least. You can’t tell from the photos (one of the many wonderful advantages of still photography), but the entire day was on the verge of being really cold.

In fact, the couple photos after the ceremony were downright freezing. But other than a little rosy color on the cheeks and nose that had to be retouched, it looks like a beautiful summer evening.

And did Mackenzie complain? Nope. I would venture to say, she and Derek were “quite warm”. They are one of those couples (like we should all try to be) who are really, really, REALLY, into each other and have no problem with PDA. I don’t want to get into too much detail here, but I knew from their engagement session that this was going to be HOT.

But their PDA isn’t that uncomfortable “get-a-room” kind, but rather that joyous “I’m-so-happy-I’ve-found-you-and-I’m-scared-if-I-let-you-go-I-might-wake-up-from-this-amazing-dream” kind of PDA. It’s inspiring and it made my heartache for Charlotte (my wife, who I work with, luckily), so I hugged her a lot that night.

Might I also point out, that Mackenzie  happens to have the official title of “Bride Most on Top of Her Game… Ever”. She booked us 2 years ago. Talk about planning ahead! And in the course of how we’ve grown over the last two years, our prices have increased rather tremendously, so she also saved herself quite a chunk of change booking that far ahead (hint, hint, wink, wink potential 2012 and 2013 brides…)

Thank you, Mack and Derek. Your wedding has been a long time coming, and it was pure joy to capture this day for you two. Thank you for giving us that honor and responsibility!

Click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Jocelyn and Chase’s stunning Palazzo Verdi wedding.

*The following video is an update from the amazing videographers at CueMotion Wedding Cinematography, who we worked with for Jocelyn and Chase’s wedding. They are amazing, a while they might be based in Lincoln, NE we’ve managed to work with them on a number of weddings in Colorado! We love working with them and highly recommend them. They are totally worth the travel fee! http://www.cuemotion.com

So here we are in April. Maybe, just maybe, Colorado will start playing nice in terms of weather? Nope. The day before this wedding, which was a HUGE wedding (all day unlimited photography, 300+ guests, at Palazzo Verdi…) I-25 was SHUT DOWN. I-25 is rarely shut down. The snow was coming in “sideways-like”. So, needless to say, we were quite nervous about this one!

The day of we left around 7 am, and things weren’t looking so hot. Monument and Castle Rock heading north were a nightmare. Snow was still coming in sideways. It was bitter cold, with gusts of wind that chilled your very soul. Once we got to Palazzo Verdi, things were better in the sense that Denver had no snow, but it had simply become a frozen, stinging rain with wind. Not good.

The second we got inside for the rehearsal, everything looked a lot brighter, regardless of what the weather was doing because Jocelyn and Chase were on cloud nine!

I don’t mean to beat a dead horse on this topic, but it really it paramount: the attitudes of our clients on the day of their weddings have been nothing short of inspiring. Nothing was gonna keep this wedding from being an absolute joy for Jocelyn and Chase.

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Sarah and Jon’s wedding at The Red Rocks Visitors Center.

Wind. Colorado is widely known for it’s picturesque vistas, perfect wilderness and mountain areas, blue-bird skies, and awe inspiring rock formations. A lesser known trait of Colorado, and one which has been on full display this year is: Colorado can be a very windy place. Most years there are a few notable wind storms, but Spring 2010 was the season of gale force winds. I hate them. They ruin hairstyles and blow hair into eyes. They blow dresses around in the most unflattering manner. They ruin equipment.

I’m not kidding about the equipment thing. This wedding will be forever remembered The Great Photography Equipment Destruction Day. The primary victims were our wireless lighting flashes that we use for our more dramatic shots. Even with sandbags, and wedding guests helping to hold the light stands, the hurricane force wind gusts STILL knocked the stands down. One almost nailed a flower girl (but missed, thank God) and I caught another with my head. Another collateral loss was our Manfrotto tri-pod. In the middle of all of this hustle and bustle we left it behind while shooting in the amphitheater, and 10 minutes later, it was gone (it’s a $400 tri-pod and head, so I’m sure it was a great prize for that piece of #$&* who stole it).

But here’s the amazing part of all of this: Sarah, the Unsinkable Bride. Gale-force freezing winds, blowing flowers, whipping dresses, uncomfortable guests, and hundreds of milling visitors constantly in the shot should have been enough to bum her out a little. I mean, she had every right to feel bad: over a year of planning, and your dream day is just this side of pure chaos because of the weather.

You know what? Not Sarah. She had the best attitude. When the wind howled, she’d laugh. When equipment crashed to the ground, she’d sigh and smile again. When we’d stop and have to ask people to “move along” she just smile and shrug. If you were to gauge what kind of day it was based on her photos, it was clearly the perfect day for a wedding. And that, my friends, is the indomitable power of positive attitude. Sarah and Jon turned what should have been chaotic, frustrating day into a joyous, loving, and perfect day, all with their amazing vibes and attitude.

Oh, and another thing: Sarah and Jon’s ceremony had the coolest little symbolic ceremony in it that I’ve ever seen. Instead of communion, or a unity candle, or a wine ceremony, they each drank and tasted different items as the officiant read about the stages of marriage and it’s symbolism: in the beginning everything is sweet like sugar, then it gets hot like pepper, then things can get a little sour like lemon, then things can get absolutely spoiled like vinegar, but then after you work through it all and learn to really love, share, and compromise, then it’s truly good and wholesome, like honey. And they ate and drank these things, experiencing together a little hint of what was to come. I love it when I see new couples treating marriage like it really is: the best, hardest, most up and down, loving, sad, inspiring and meaningful thing they will ever do in their lives. Couples that seem like they think everything is going to be singing birds and sunshine scare the crap out of me. If that’s what they really think marriage is, not only are they doomed, but they are missing the WHOLE POINT! Couples  like Sarah and Jon keep it real, and I know they will make it because they see marriage for the challenge and reward that is really is! And if they can handle the gale-force winds of their wedding day with such composure and joy, then they are going to be great with the trials of life…

Thank you so much, Sarah and Jon for sharing your incredible day with us. You two are inspiring and we had a blast photographing it!

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Erinn and Kostas’ wedding at The Assumption of the Theotokos Greek Cathedral and Folsom Field Stadium Club.

Loyal blog readers might recognize Erinn and Kostas from their engagement photos a year ago. I declared in that blog post that this wedding was going to be legendary, and I am delighted to announce: it was.

This wedding was so much fun and truly epic (13 hours of photography), that I have struggled to even narrow it down to a reasonable size for our sample galleries. The result is: I feel like I skipped some of the funnest stuff in order to tell the story on the gallery. The solution? I will feature the ones that didn’t make it here.

In my mind, nothing captures the personality of these two than their engagement announcement (left). Out of all the photos I shot, they choose the one with Kostas acting crazy and Erinn quietly enjoying his insanity. But that is not to say that Erinn is boring; she is plenty fun. She just has more of a subtlety to her than, say… Kostas. (BTW, they were really miffed that some papers wouldn’t take their announcement because it “wasn’t an appropriate engagement shot”. Whatever. I think that’s a prime example of why nobody reads newspapers anymore!)

The day began, early in the morning in Boulder as the girls met up with Char and Kim at On Broadway, and I met up with the boys at The Village Coffee Shop. Like most groomsmen, our stud-muffins were showing a little sign of wear and tear from the night before, but they assured me that The Coffee Shop’s food had a magical, regenerative effect. They also demanded I had to order this monster breakfast: the chicken fried steak, or the Number 6. It was massive, and delicious, and an absolute gut bomb. So while everyone else came out of the restaurant with new spring in their step and lots of energy, I was reduced to a slightly green, over-stuffed and near-comatose zombie. I should have known something was up when nobody else ordered the #6. Now, don’t get me wrong: it’s an amazing breakfast. It’s the perfect breakfast if you’re hungover and have nothing to do for the entire day except lie on the couch and watch football. And that’s the problem: no hangover, no couch in sight. Just a whole day and night’s worth of being on my feet ahead…

Thank you, boys. I really appreciated your help that morning.

Thankfully, as I digested that densely calorie packed meal, it began to convert itself into super-fatboy energy, and within an hour I was not only healed, but better off. They weren’t lying: there is something magical about the food at The Village Coffee Shop. But, for about an hour, there is a heavy price to pay.

By the time the limo arrived, we were having so much fun that when we stopped to get liquor (hey, it’s got to be noon somewhere, right?), I was suddenly feeling very magnanimous, and went in with them to buy them a big bottle of Jameson. I tell you what: it’s the best thing you can ever do if your groomsmen like to get rowdy. Gifting that whiskey to them was akin to presenting fire to cavemen. They literally started grunting and slapping backs, giving high-fives, and any of them who were even in the slightest bit uneasy about this strange photographer infiltrating their man-group were instantly ingratiated to me. I’m seriously considering presenting a big bottle of alcohol to every grooms’ party I have from now on. It’s like catnip for grown men!

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 photographs from Heather and Arion’s wedding at Temple Emanuel and the Ritz-Carlton.

Cold. Dark. Cloudy. Rainy.

It was perfect.

That’s what Heather and Arion were facing on their wedding day: cold, dark, and rainy. Do you know what made it perfect? Heather and Arion. I don’t think they even noticed the weather that day, so happy and excited they were with each other and their families and friends.

Heather and Arion are two of my favorite people in the world. Heather is one of the most open and free spirits I’ve come across, and yet she’s very classy and metropolitan, too. Her smile can light up a room like a million-watt bulb. Arion is in finance in New York, and might very well be a Master of the Universe someday, but unlike the other future Master of the Universe I know (my own brother) Arion doesn’t take himself too seriously and I don’t think he stopped smiling and laughing and joking for more than a few seconds (including the ceremony) that day.

And may I take a moment to single out the rabbi, Dr. Steven E. Foster? He was so funny and charming (with some really subtle but classic shtick) during the ketubah and badeken ceremonies. Everyone was laughing and in tears at the same time. It was very emotional and fantastic. But then, there was the ceremony: this very charming, fun Rabbi became very serious (which is great for a wedding), but then he said the two most dreaded words in our profession, “NO PHOTOGRAPHY.”

Ugh. I hate that. We really try hard to be respectful of the officiants at weddings and their shooting rules, but they usually request things like limiting where to stand and don’t use flash, etc. It is so rare to hear a rabbi or minister deny us of any photography what-so-ever. And so, with that utterance, the secret wedding photo war began. We simply can’t do “no photos”. Heather specifically warned us that regardless of the “rules” she was going to have documentation of her ceremony!

We devised a deviously sneaky shooting plan which was nearly flawless: we would rely on long lenses and stay in the shadows of the sides and the back out of his line of sight while he was distracted with the ceremony. It seemed simple enough, but we overlooked two developments we could not have foreseen: 1) Apparently Rabbi Foster has been performing the marriage rites for so long he holds his book for show. His eyes never looked down, and anytime I even moved he would stare straight at me like the Terminator while he was still speaking and without breaking his train of thought his head would shake back and forth very deliberately. At me.  He didn’t look away until I moved back to where I was first standing in the first place! This happened more than once. I was amazed, a little frightened, inspired, and really really frustrated. 2) He had security. Char was sitting a in an aisle seat near center. We figured she would be much less conspicuous sitting down, and I could serve as a sort of distraction. She would raise her camera like she was resting it on the seat and using the live-view mode take shots without raising it to her eye. She got a few shots off, when out of nowhere this lean, pretty, yet “I-mean-business” woman strides up to her in the aisle, taps her on the shoulder and violently whispers, “NO PHOTOGRAPHY!”. That shocked us: the rabbi was so serious about “no photography” he even had anti-photography security, “photo-police” if you will, watching our every move. No fair!

But little did they know, we had a secret weapon of our own: Kim Harms, photography ninja. Unassuming, small, and quiet as a mouse, she sat on the wing in the 3rd row unnoticed by the rabbi or his photo-police. She sat shooting unmolested for the entire ceremony!

Now let me clarify, it is our policy and reputation to be respectful and unobtrusive during wedding ceremonies. We have been complimented on many an occasion how professional we are by venue and church/synagogue staff. But in the end, we have a job to do, and that’s capture the images the bride and groom hire us for, and in this case there were explicit instructions to capture the ceremony, no… matter… what. So Rabbi, if we offended or insulted you and your photo-police helper in any way, we hope you can forgive us because it made Heather and Arion really happy and we really, really, really like you and your temple and we want to come back in the future.

So anyway, it was raining and cold. These are the ingredients of possible wedding disaster, but Heather was unsinkable. She braved a little wet and a lot of cold and we found some great spots to do photography out of the rain at the temple. And there was so much laughter and love inside the temple from the families that I don’t think anyone even noticed the clouds or the rain.

One of my proudest moments came after the ceremony when we needed to get some shots at the park at sunset before we went to the Ritz-Carlton. However, there was no sunset and because the clouds were so thick it was black as night out. Oh, and it was raining. What do you do? I noticed the couple had a large white/gray umbrella to keep dry and I immediately thought of a bounce shot with our remote flashes. So I jerry-rigged an SB-800 up into the spines of the umbrella so the light would bounce off the underside of the umbrella and onto the couple below. The result was this amazing look to the scene, almost like a rainy night in Paris. I loved the effect of having the light source in the umbrella.

Then there was the reception: simply iconic. With their wonderfully rehearsed 1st dance, the huge multi-concentric-circle horah dance, and a chair dance that gave Kim Harms one of the best reception shots I’ve seen (above) , Heather and Arion’s reception was absolutely exemplary. It should be studied in bride-school as part of the required curriculum.

Heather and Arion, thank you so much for choosing us to capture your day. It was an honor, and a blast. We can only hope you had even half as much fun as we did. You have amazing families and friends, and we are really, really looking forward to the prospect of you two moving to Colorado!

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 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!

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Rachel and Ethan’s amazing wedding at The Red Rocks Baptist Church.

I’m going to be honest here: my proposal to Charlotte wasn’t the most… shall we say, thoughtful or… romantic, if you will. We were driving in the car back to our house from the mountains, and I essentially said, “Baby, I love you, and I love spending time with you, and I want to be with you the rest of my life, and we already share a checking account… do you want to just go ahead and get married?” No ring. No plan. Nothing.

Amazingly, she said “yes” without missing a beat, and the rest is history. But it was more like we were planning a camping trip than a proposal. It was very matter of fact. No points for style, but I guess I get (at least) a point or two for the fact that we’re married in the end, right?

Well for any other guys out there with a “less-than-stellar” proposal under their belts, I present to you, for your guilty conscience and viewing pleasure: the Guy Who Makes the Rest of Us Look Like Turds-on-a-Stick Compared to Him… Ethan.

Did he have a well thought out plan? Check. Did he include an element of surprise? Check. Was it romantic? Check. Was there an actual ring and not just a promise of one (*ahem*)? Check. Did he secretly travel across the world to surprise his missionary fiance in Israel? Check… wait, WTF?!? Israel! He flew all the way to Israel to surprise propose to her?! Allright, that’s going too far. No man can possibly live up to that kind of high bar, but at least nobody else is gonna find out, especially any wives, and our loved one will still think our cliched idea of her finding ring in her glass of champagne was a creative and unique idea….

There’s video? Aww, crap.

Fellow men of the world: I apologize, but you’ll never be able to live up to this, ever.

So here it is, in all of it’s adorable glory: Ethan’s surprise proposal in Jerusalem, (overlooking the Temple Mount for !@(*&!@ sake…)

And how do I know about this video? Very simply, it was played for the entire church right after the couple walked down the aisle after their first kiss. It was extremely powerful, and there was not a dry eye to be seen. It really stuck out to me, and I begged them to let me show it here, and they obliged, and even put it in easy to use YouTube format!

Thank you both for being such an amazing couple, and sharing your special day with Charlotte and I. It was truly an honor to capture your wedding for you, and it was a blast!

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite photos from Sarah and Chris’ wedding at an amazing private home near Genesee (Golden), CO.

Okay people! Let’s all be honest here:

Are you a cynical person like me? When you meet really, really good looking people, do you automatically assume they have to be lacking in some other aspect of their lives and/or personalities in order to make up karma for being so ridiculously good-looking? You know like they’re mean, or shallow, or have a crappy job, or are really robots in disguise… or they own iPhones? And it gets worse when your see a couple where both of them are of that caliber.

You are that cynical, too? Yes?! Good to hear. But now there’s a problem my fellow cynics:

Before this wedding I could go through life making the usual the elitist, degrading assumptions that cheeky geeks like me are prone to think about  really, really, ridiculously good-looking people, without feeling an ounce of guilt. But now I know Sarah and Chris exist. And now I know it’s not only possible for two people to be really hot together, and to have amazing jobs (they manage, maintain and pilot private jets… jeez!), but also… and here’s the hard part… they may be… the nicest, smartest, chillest, most genuinely friendly and caring people we’ve ever met. And that’s saying a lot, because we think all of our couples are the kind of cool people we’d love to be friends with.

But these two were sooo nice and friendly it made me want to be better to people, and that’s like a sign of the apocalypse. Seriously, there were times during their own wedding that they were almost… fussing over us, “Do you need a drink? Did you get something to eat? Make sure you get some cake! You two absolutely have to stay for drinks when the photos are done!” It confused us, to be frank. Were we their photographers, or wedding guests… or friends *sniffle*?

I know! Right?!? What the hell? They just had to go and blow my whole “hot people are intuitively flawed” theory right out of the water.

Now I have to go review every assumption I’ve ever made about every “hot” person I’ve ever met. Maybe they were really cool, too? And I just didn’t even give them a chance as I glared judgmentally at them over the tops of my chic plastic computer nerd glasses.

I’m just kidding about being a cynic about really, really, ridiculously good looking people. I’m pretty hot myself, you know… I get compared to Seth Rogen all the time! I can’t tell you how many people tell me that. He’s hot, right?… You know, he’s the UFC commentator guy. Rough, swarthy, hairy, manly…

What? Joe? That guy’s name is Joe Rogan?!?

Then who the hell is Seth Rogen?

Joe? Hmmm, not so much, no.

Oh. That's Seth? Well, I don't think there's really a resemblance...

Oh, crap.