Archive for February, 2020

I know Amanda, Alec and their families have been waiting patiently for me to finish their wedding video! And the time has come to release their highlight clip and get their photos and images back to them! This was an amazing wedding with a lot of moving parts to it and also not without it’s challenges, which makes me even happier to see the final results of their photos and video. Having a Winter event is always a bit of gamble especially if you are planning it the mountains of Colorado. Taking a chance on this Silverthorne Pavilion wedding was well worth it for them and even though the Eisenhower tunnel closed for a period of time on this day, almost all of the guests were able to make it to the ceremony on time! The couple notified their guests through their personalized website that due to the ski traffic and unforeseen weather issues that people should allow extra time for travel. That warning seemed to pay off for them! I would highly recommend that any couple planning an event do a little research on the area they plan on getting married at for what’s going on around the time of year they schedule it. Many times I’ve seen couples run into things like a festival being scheduled in the town at the same time as their event so accommodations for rooms being scarce, or unforeseen road closures due to construction or weather. If you know about these types of issues beforehand and let your guests know this can help them prepare for traveling and an on-time arrival for your event as much as as they can!

This venue boasts beautiful mountain and creek-side views, but because the sun goes down quicker in the Winter months we had to plan to do all of their formal portraits prior to the ceremony. This lead to a decision to do a “first look “between the bride and groom so that we could get their formal portraits out of the way before the ceremony. It ended up being a really touching intimate moment that they shared on the bridge. It was completely magical which fits in with their magical Disney themed wedding! Loved the romantic photos in the snow. And all of the children that participated in the ceremony singing songs was adorable!

The reception had a lot of unique elements as well. First, the bridesmaids did double duty as bartenders for the cocktail hour where the couple served their guests “Mocktails” which were non-alcoholic fun fruity drinks. This is a great idea for someone either looking to save money on their bar tab or for couples with religious or other reasons for not drinking. In Amanda and Alec’s situation they still served alcoholic drinks they just opted to wait to open the liquor bar until after dinner when the paid bar staff took over.  It was so cute seeing all the bridesmaids wearing rain smocks over their beautiful dresses to prevent them from getting dirty and I think it also gave another level of entertainment to the many young guests both attending and in their wedding.

Amanda’s brother was the DJ/MC for their event. In most cases I would also try to dissuade couples from using a family member for this important service, but in this case her brother had a background in entertainment having worked for a company that hosts parties and provides games and more for their clients. He did an amazing job not only running games that were entertaining for both the kids and adults, but also keeping the dance floor full.  The reception was also very unique in having a line up of different performers that were chosen from their friends and family who sang at different points in the evening. Amanda and her dad even chose to do a duet instead of a typical father and daughter dance. It really put a personal stamp on the event by including guests that were near and dear to them in the festivities.

We had a ton of fun doing the photography and video for this fairy tale event! I hope it will be a moment that they cherish forever!

Vendors who made this day possible:

Venue: Silverthorne Pavilion

Caterer: A Perfect Bite

Photography & Video: Crystaline Photography & Video

Hailey & Andrew are another one of our Willow Ridge Manor couples who will be tying the knot this Fall. To announce their engagement we did their rustic engagement portrait session in Golden, Colorado. Hailey was hoping for some snow, so I was happy that the foothills had a slight dusting of snow behind them! It ended up being a wonderfully warm day to celebrate their love and we got some awesome shots!  Looking forward to their September wedding!

This couple wanted to have a wedding that was not like anything anyone else they knew had done! So they planned a destination wedding in the mountains of Colorado from their home in Tennessee.  Friends and family that were willing to make the journey were treated to a beautiful morning event complete with brunch after their short outdoor ceremony. The plan was to make it a wonderful ski weekend! So as soon as the ceremony was over they headed for the slopes in Keystone for evening skiing. Destination weddings are becoming a huge draw here in Colorado for those looking for amazing views and something different. It takes a lot of trust on the part of the couple to book vendors strictly off their websites and skype meetings! Luckily, Colorado has a lot of amazing vendors willing to put their best effort forward to satisfy their clients.

Planning a Winter event is also not without it’s difficulties…. we booked a room for the night before the event in Silverthorne because Winter conditions can often shut down the roads in and out of these ski mountain towns. It’s highly recommended that couples do a back-up plan for a Winter event or for all of their guests to arrive early by even a day or two to alleviate any of these headaches. This day was also one of the coldest days so far this Winter! I was worried about my camera not working under such conditions and so was Mike, my husband and DJ for their event. He was worried about his gear seizing up due to the temperatures. Luckily, the ceremony was short that we didn’t run into many difficulties. Our batteries drained quicker, but luckily we come prepared with a lot of extra back-ups!

This truly was a beautiful wedding with unique touches from the couple! My favorite part was their “Grand Exit” They opted to change into their retro looking ski gear and run through smoke bombs! While it made for really cool photos, hindsight I think we should’ve spread out the guests more on a path or in a field rather than on the bridge. Guests were a little too close and the smoke so thick that it was not only hard to see the couple through it, but also a bit hard for guests to breathe. Since this was a first for me… it will just be something to consider when planning more smoke bomb photos!

Vendors who made this day possible:

Venue: Silverthorne Pavilion

Hair & Make-Up: Rollers & Rouge

Caterer: A Perfect Bite

Donuts: LaMAr’s Donuts

Disc Jockey: Digital DJ

Photography: Crystaline Photography & Video

I got the privilege of delivering Henry & Bethany’s wedding album and parent albums to them yesterday! Nothing is better than getting to see the faces of my clients when they see the final product from all the hard work we put in. I get to spend almost a year with couples at one of the best moments in their lives starting with the process of picking their photographer when they are doing the interviewing and deciding. Working with them in most cases for months leading up to their big day by discussing wedding timelines, photo ideas and more. Sometimes even giving advice on other vendors and how to accomplish an activity that they want to do on their big day! When the actual day comes there’s preparation work that takes almost an entire day beforehand… cleaning gear, charging batteries and more! The day itself goes by so fast! We spend a good 8-10 hours working almost non-stop, making sure we get all of the photos the couple wants and more.

After the wedding our job is only half done. We have many, many hours of editing work ahead of us along with, posting the photos, uploading them to the USB and disks for the clients and then sometimes we meet again to present them with those photos and go over options for their album. The album design process is something we work on over the Winter months during our down time. We take the client’s choices along with some of our own favorite images to design a beautiful album that tells the story of their entire day from start to finish! Working with them during the design process to make sure that the book is just right! It’s an heirloom that will last for generations to come and we want to make sure that it is perfect.

Henry & Bethany also chose to purchase the accompanying parent albums to give to their parents so that they would also have a beautiful memento from the wedding. These books make great gifts for your loved ones!

Congrats again to this amazing couple…. many more album designs to come in the weeks leading up to our Summer season… so stay tuned!