After doing their engagement shoot on Thursday and photographing their rehearsal dinner Friday night, I had gotten to know Kari and Sam a little bit before the big day on Saturday.  But when family and friends each took their turn at the microphone sharing stories and spreading love for the happy couple, I felt that I really got a sense for who they are for everyone around them.  That’s one of the reasons the toasts are my favorite part of a wedding.  I love hearing all the stories that provide context for a couple’s relationship.

After the toasts came a cake cutting that could have turned incredibly messy.  Kari had planned to have  some sort of cream pie available to smash in Sam’s face after feeding him cake.  I think it was delayed a bit somewhere down the line, and by the time she had the pie in hand Sam had figured out the plan and was backing away from the table.  He certainly lucked out.

The rest of the reception was filled with dancing.  This was my last wedding of the season, and I must profusely thank Michelle for second shooting (and doing a whole host of other things), and Kayla for being an expert with the lightstand.

Congrats Kari and Sam!

Kari and Sam were married last weekend at an indoor ceremony and reception at the Westin in Downtown Denver.  Kari’s dress was, in a word, stunning.  So much so that while she was walking down the aisle a guest exclaimed out at her “You look HOT!”  It was a chorus heard throughout the rest of the day, alongside commentary that Sam was a lucky man :)

After the ceremony, we went through a marathon of family photos (Sam has a large family), and only had a few moments to do photos of Kari and Sam together.  It was dark and cold, and there was a fire truck outside blasting lights and alarms, but they were willing to venture into the streets to capture a few shots in the 5 minutes we had before cocktail hour ended.  It was one of the fastest couple shoots I’ve done, but I think we pulled it off.

Then it was back inside to the warmth of the ballroom for the reception.  More from that tomorrow!

Reception time!  Becky and James had a rockin’ dance party going inside the Magnolia.  We still managed to sneak out for a few photos downtown in the dark.  I must say, they had quite the display of cupcake flavors in their display – Happy Cakes may have outdone themselves this time.

Many thanks to Michelle for second shooting with me, and to Kayla for assisting.  Congratulations Becky and James – enjoy Hawaii!

Can I say that Becky and James have good taste because they chose the same wedding venue that we did?  I think I just did :)  In fact, the venue was how Becky found me in the first place.  By googling Magnolia Hotel wedding photos she discovered our wedding images on Charlotte Geary’s blog and found a link to my website.  I’m so glad she did because I so enjoyed working with these two amazing people, and it was really fun to shoot at our wedding venue nearly a year later.

After a quick First Look we headed straight into portraits of the lovely bride and groom downtown.  Becky and James were blessed with excellent weather (and only a few drunk people harassing them while wandering 16th street.)  After the ceremony, we ran out before sunset for a few more photos with the wedding party, who were good natured enough to stand in a smelly alley for me so I could get my shot.  Thanks guys!

Stay tuned for the reception photos in Part Two!

After a few brief portraits, Leslie and Peter made their way into Mise en Place for a fabulous reception.  Mise en Place is essentially a giant kitchen, where the chefs prepare food right in front of you.  Guests (and a few lucky photographers) enjoyed a fantastic three course gourmet meal, followed by delicious wedding pie.  (Seriously, amazing food.)

Many thanks to Brooke for second shooting with me, and to my assistant Kayla for all her help.  Congratulations to Leslie and Peter for surviving a somewhat hectic wedding day with such class.  I hope they have a phenomenal honeymoon in Italy!

They nearly got married in a parking garage.

Leslie and Peter had planned a lovely outdoor ceremony in the Rose Garden of City Park, overlooking the mountains and downtown Denver.  It’s a beautiful spot, but sometimes Colorado weather gets in the way of best laid plans.  Before the ceremony was set to begin, we took family portraits at the ceremony site.  As the portraits progressed, the view began to disappear.  First the mountains, then the city skyline, then suddenly all you could see was a looming dark cloud.  We decided to run for cover.

We found refuge in the parking garage for the Museum of Nature and Science, and waited out the storm.  But it didn’t pass quickly enough, and their outdoor ceremony had to be redirected to another location.  But where?  The officiant suggested the parking garage, since guests already knew to arrive there.  Leslie and Peter considered it for a moment, but we all know how photogenic a parking garage is.  So they opted to try the reception space, Mise en Place in the Ice House building downtown.  When we arrived I helped them scout for a location, and it became clear that Mise en Place didn’t have a suitable spot for a ceremony.  But the lobby of the building had potential, and despite the somewhat steady stream of restaurant patrons moving through the space, it was the best option.

And so, Leslie and Peter were married in the lobby of the Ice House building.  It might not have been the ceremony they planned, but these two hardly seemed upset about it.  In the end they still got to say their vows and exchange rings, so the ceremony was a success.

More on the party that followed coming up in part two!

The Fall/Winter issue of Brides Colorado has just hit the stands, containing a lovely feature on John and Jenny’s winter wedding.  There’s a two page spread in the Real Weddings section, and a lovely photo of Jenny with John’s grandmother in their “The Moment” photo feature at the very end.  Go check it out on the newsstands now!

Congrats to John and Jenny!

A bride.  A groom.  A dunk tank.  Welcome to the carnival themed reception!

Christine and Brandan decided to do things differently for their party, forgoing the usual DJ and dancing for carnival games and a dunk tank.  So once all the formal wedding-type stuff was complete, everyone headed outside to the back lawn to play games, eat cotton candy, and dunk their friends.

The dunk tank functioned as a fund-raiser for Alzheimer’s research (a family member suffered from the disease), and provided much of the entertainment for the evening.  At the end of the night, the bride herself climbed into the hot seat and was dunked for a donation of over $300.  Awesome.

Many thanks to Katie and Kayla, who helped with this wedding, and to Brandan and Christine for allowing me to be a part of it.  Definitely a wedding I won’t forget :)

An Estes Park mountain wedding with a carnival theme?  Yes, please!

Christine and Brandan were married last Saturday at the Aspen Lodge in Estes Park.  There were a few unconventional elements to this wedding.  All of the attendants were guys – no bridesmaids but bridesmen and groomsmen.  The programs were folded into fortune tellers (some people call them cootie catchers.)  And the reception featured a dunk tank and a Sno Cone machine.

But everything you need for a great wedding was still there – a happy bride and groom, a meaningful ceremony, friends and family having a blast, and a delicious smelling cake :)

See more from their carnival themed reception tomorrow!

After a short ceremony and a few quick photos (we had done nearly everything beforehand, thankfully), Holly and Cody danced their way into their reception just in time to miss the next rain shower.  The party continued uninterrupted by the storm, with guests happily seated beneath a tent braced well against the elements.

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen so many single girls going out for the bouquet as there were at Holly and Cody’s wedding.  They were prepared to fight for it, too.  In the end, I think the bouquet suffered some serious blows from being bounced off hands (you can see it splitting apart mid-air in the photo Rachael captured.)  Pretty funny, actually.  Congrats to the tall girl in the front row who caught it :)

Many thanks to Rachael for second shooting, and to my lovely assistant Kayla for all that she does.  And a heartfelt congratulations to Holly and Cody, who were one of the happiest and most excited couples I’ve seen in a long time.  Best of luck to you both :)