Trystan Photography: An Intimate Portrait.

Please follow the link or click the photo (above) to view the sample gallery of SeHee and John’s wedding photography at Washington Park and The Korean Christian Church in Denver.

I love emotional weddings. Underneath my somewhat intimidating 6’4″ bearded viking exterior: I’m a big softy. Very often I’m tearing up right along with the people I’m photographing.

… and that’s the problem.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to focus a camera if you’re crying?!?… or much less even see what’s going on?

SeHee and John’s wedding represented the deepest union to them. John (who is normally a very cool customer) was immediately overwhelmed with gratitude and love from the moment SeHee stepped into view down the aisle. By the way, for those of you who think that seeing each other before the ceremony “ruins” something in the ceremony: SeHee and John had been around each other for about 2 hours before the ceremony even started and it obviously had no effect on the emotional potency of their ceremony.

It was the same with Charlotte and I: We got ready at the hotel together, walked across the street to the church together and separated at the chapel doors. I walked forward and took my position at the altar, and even though it had only been moments since I’d last seen her, the second she appeared at the top of the aisle it was as if I was seeing her for the first time. She was bathed in the light of love, God and hope. When you see your soon-to-be-wife walking down that aisle, there is no preparing for the flood of memories of your past and dreams of your future (together) that will wash over you.

It’s an honor to have to job that we have. It’s not gloating, but an acknowledgment of how awesome it is to have the responsibility of capturing these moments for our clients.

Please click the photo or follow the link to view Hannah’s almost heartbreaking wedding at Glen Eyrie Castle.

Okay, loyal blog readers. Even I’ll admit, I’m getting tired of blogging about it raining at our weddings. I mean, this is Colorado, right? I read photo blogs from all over the world, and not even Seattle photographers say it rained as much as I have this year!

Sadly, this time the rain claimed a victim. It’s the first time in my entire career as a photographer that a well planned, gorgeous outdoor ceremony was completely rained out. We’ve had ceremonies in the rain, but it was a drizzle, or sporadic drops, but Hannah and Matt’s wedding was hit by a real, true downpour that lasted all afternoon. We knew it was coming and we got all of our couple shots done before the rain hit, but we were literally snapping our last frames as everyone ran inside to escape the huge, fat droplets that were falling and spotting her gown.

Hannah tried to be a trooper and put her best face forward, but as the downpour continued on, it became more and more apparent that the outdoor ceremony of her dreams would never happen. Glen Eyrie is a beutiful place, but it’s indoor area, the Great Hall, is more “butch” than “fairytale”", complete with dark rich wood, dark cavernous atmosphere, and mounted hunting tophies filling the walls. Hannah dreaded the idea of being rained out, and seeing her worst fear become reality was too much, and her joyous, giddy exterior began to give way to the sorrow of her dissappointment. She went away to her room to be alone and wait out her last glimmer of hope. Maybe, just maybe, the rain would stop.

But an hour passed, and the staff at Glen Eyrie began to press for a call to be made (chairs had to be set up, sound equiptment moved, lighting arranged), and neither Char and I, nor her family wanted to be the one’s to make the final call and seal the deal.

Finally, once the official call was made, the family sprang into action, and swarmed all over the castle, re-setting every last detail from the outdoor site into the Great Hall. They wanted everything to be just as Hannah would’ve had it, just inside now. Charlotte and I sprang into action as well, metering, testing, and devising a lighting plan than would force as much light, warmth and openness into that dark cavern of a hall as possible.

I always brag that Charlotte and I have enough experience and expertise that we can photograph anything, anywhere, and this was our chance to prove it. I felt everything was riding on these photos. Hannah would be crushed if her sunny outdoor dream wedding metamorphosed into something more dark and Gothic. But if Charlotte and I could capitalize on the available lighting and access it just right with our strobes, then we could present it more as a true fairytale castle wedding and emphasize the grandeur of the hall, and not it’s coldness.

Well, long story short, it really didn’t matter where the wedding was held because has soon as Hannah appeared, every last bit the glowing and happy bride, Matthew was crying, and then Hannah was crying, and then everybody was crying. I had only taken a few frames when I began to realize that it looked so amazing and warm at the altar, almost as if Hannah had brought a little bit of sun into the hall with her!

The ceremony was so moving it verged on the ridiculous. First of all, Hannah comes from a family of ministers, and her brother officiated the ceremony as her father gave her away, and then he would be the officiant. But before that, her brother sang a little song about his sister (quite well)… and I was done. Cried like a baby. As I wiped tears from my eyes I realized that we weren’t even 10 minutes in, and I was already emotionally drained.

Once Hannah’s dad took over, it was your classic wedding ceremony. That is, until Hannah suddenly was handed a microphone and she was off and running with a song about Matthew… and she sang like an angel. So then I was begging to realize that not only this was her whole family attractive and nice folk, but they all could sing like the dickens, too!

Have any of you ever felt that little twinge of jealousy when you see a seemingly perfect and wholesome family, and then find out they are really good at something like music, or sports, or dancing, or…

Wait a minute.

The Osmonds! They were Colorado’s version of The Osmonds! I don’t know why I’m only realizing this now, but that’s what they were. Good looking, talented. In fact, they were too good looking and too talented.

But I digress…

In the end, as I look back at the photos, I am so thankful that we were able to capture that amazing wedding like we did. We captured the magic, romance and grandeur it deserved. Would it have been best if we’d been able to shoot outside as planned? Sure. But I’m sure that after it’s all been said and done, with the whole wedding behind them, Hannah and Matthew probably think their wedding was perfect, and wouldn’t change a thing.

… and neither would I.

Colorado’s high country can be a moody lover.

She is so giving: her majestic vistas, soaring tower-esque clouds, and beautiful greenery are a photographers’ dream backdrop, especially for the drama and romance of a wedding.

However, she can turn cold and stormy in a second. Her jagged mountain ranges can hold back even the strongest storm fronts which boil and rage just out of sight and out of mind a peak away, until the built-up energy of the storm front swells and boils over the tops of Colorado’s peaks like a volcanic pyroclastic flow. And just like that, a beautiful day in the High Country can turn from beautiful, to stormy and wet.

Such was the schizophrenic mood of Colorado on the day of Bree and Brian’s wedding at the Siverthorne Pavilion. Spots of sun would yield to cold wet drizzle. Calm would relent to gusting winds. It wasn’t a very fun day to try and capture Colorado for Bree and Brian.

However, through all of the changes in weather, one thing remained constant: Bree and Brian’s unshakable optimism and joy for the fact that this day was finally here and they were getting married. We may not have had sunshine, but their love for each other shined brightly on it’s own.

I love when couples say: “We don’t care what the weather does: we’re getting great photos done!” and we roar around in the drizzle and wind taking simply perfect photos of the two of them. All brides should take Bree’s lead and suffer for the art. Suffer for the art!

If I were to try and sum up Bree and Brian’s wedding in a few words it would be: laughing and crying. I was worn out just watching them vacillate back and forth between cracking up and barely containing sobs.

Growing up, I never understood “happy crying”. I’d always see my mom crying because I bought her a pretty necklace for Christmas or something, and ask why she was crying and she’d always answer, “… because I’m so happy.” Huh? I don’t know if it was because I was young, or male, or both, but I couldn’t get my head around that concept. That is, until I married the woman of my dreams (I cried), and then later when Charlotte, my beautiful wife, gave birth to my children (I really cried). So I think it’s obvious that I now fully understand “happy crying”.

Bree and Brian, I wish you the best in your marriage. I also heard from a little bird that Bree clearly has “baby fever”, and it’s probably going to be only a matter of months (9?) until there’s some new changes in the big picture for you two…

Please click the photo or the link to view Rachel and Aaron’s wedding at the Broadmoor Hotel.

Outdoor ceremonies in Colorado offer a number of challenges, as well as unparalleled beauty and grandeur. This wedding ceremony on the Broadmoor Hotel’s West Lawn was no exception: rain threatened all morning long, in fact, the couple got sprinkled on during the couple shots (they saw each other before the ceremony). The wind gusted and whipped all day, the sun was in and out of clouds…

We love days like that. Our job as photographers is to adapt and change our shooting strategies according to the situation, and Char and I have seen just about everything Colorado has to offer in terms of weather, so we simply adapt, and thrive.

Honestly, I love challenges when it comes to photography. I love overcoming unflattering angles of sun, falling rain, driving wind, etc: all of those things can be used to a photographer’s advantage. Wind whips hair and veils beautifully, unflattering sun can be used to add dramatic effect at just the right angle and with remote flash, and rain brings a romantic melancholy to couple photography.

The difference between great and bad outdoor shots in Colorado is whether we’re simply at the mercy of the elements, or whether we can be flexible and use the elements as additional artistic tools. We’ve learned to allow Colorado to become an additional and welcome subject in our wedding photography along with the bride and groom! Fighting against what Colorado gives you never works.

Anyway, back to the wedding: after the ceremony, Rachel and Aaron held their reception in the exquisite Penrose Dining Room. It was a blast. A huge part of it’s success I credit to their exceptional DJ, Phil Peralta at Simply Entertainment. He was a true emcee. He set the appropriate mood for the different events of the reception, he was very good on the mic, and did some very unique and fun introductions. My favorite part of the reception came right before the father / daughter dance when Phil read a letter Rachel wrote about her dad. in it, she remembered how the Penrose Dining Room was where she went on her very first date… with her daddy. He took her out to dinner there, she wore a beautiful dress and that night he presented her with a necklace… and here they were again, dancing together in that very room.

Not a dry eye in the house! Her dad was sobbing, Rachel was crying, I was crying, Char was crying, and we’re both trying to see well enough through the fog of tears to capture this amazing moment! We did (Thank God), and the photo of Rachel wiping her daddy’s tears is so precious to me (as a both a photographer and as the proud daddy to my Ella…)

Rachel and Aaron: you planned a perfect wedding. We had a blast photographing it. What a day!

You can view Tristyn and David’s sample gallery.

Why do I like Tristyn? (Other than her name…)

I like Tristyn because she was one of our only clients through the course of last year to notice, and mention, that between the time they intitally met with me, to the day I shot their engagement photos, that I had lost a lot of weight (30 lbs in 4 or 5 months).

Why do I like her even more after her wedding?

Because when I told her I’d gained all the weight back she claimed she didn’t believe me! God Bless you, Tristyn! That was, The Perfect Answer.

But seriously, I really enjoyed photographing Tristyn and David because of the true affection and love that shined out between them. They were authentically excited, almost giddy to get married. And it shows: the natural affection, the warmth, and most importantly, the level of comfort and confidence it takes to be naturally close and affectionate with your fiance.