Kerry & Augustus planned their big day for over two years due to Covid issues and because it was still a factor in 2021 they decided to host a very small event with just 40 of their closest friends and family at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Denver, Colorado. Because it was such an intimate event I suggested taking a group photo of everyone present on the outside steps in front of the church. This is something that can’t always be done at large weddings, but will be a great way to document everyone who was able to be there. After their very traditional ceremony and formals in the church we stopped by Washington Park on our way to the reception to get some beautiful photos with the fall colors of just the two of them. Another idea came to mind when we passed by an ice cream truck because the couple had told me they were not doing a traditional cake cutting at the reception…. I said how about a shared ice cream! And an adorable relaxed photo of just the two of them resulted in this impromptu photo.
The reception at the newly remodeled Doubletree Hotel in Cherry Creek was a simple affair with heartfelt speeches in front of the traditional paper crane backdrop created by the bride who folded hundreds of paper cranes for the event! After dinner the entertainment for the evening was casino style gambling for all of their guests. A very unique and fun option for this amazing couple. Enjoy some of my favorite photos from the big day!
Another beautiful fall wedding from last season! This bed and breakfast is an amazing small venue to host weddings and events in the mountains, but just a short drive from Denver in Pine, Colorado. It’s especially beautiful in the fall because it has a meadow with aspen trees surrounding it! Marci & Eddie came to us via a referral from another couple who’s wedding we covered already almost a decade ago! It’s awesome when couples think so highly of us that they recommend us for friends and families’ events. This October wedding had our whole crew out again for it… Chris was filming their video, I was covering the photography and my husband, Michael was providing the entertainment with his company Digital DJ. Having the whole crew just makes the day so much easier for us to cover.
Check out their wedding highlight video above and some of my favorite photos from their event below! My favorite thing about this couple was Eddie’s boisterous laugh! These two envelope what love means and make us so very happy to just be there to capture it!
We just passed this couple’s first year anniversary at the beginning of October! Congratulations again to Pascal and Jennifer who celebrated their amazing DIY wedding at a close family member’s home out on the plains East of Denver. This home made for a perfect wedding venue! A large open back yard with rolling hills and horses in the background. A lovely waterfall feature and a great pole barn that worked out great for hosting the wedding reception and our photo-booth! As far as do-it-yourself weddings go this one was the tops!!! Every part of this special day was taken into account and turned out amazing! Check out some of my favorite photos below!
It’s the one year anniversary today of Daphnee & Jordan’s lovely simple wedding in Loveland, Colorado! If I were hosting a small wedding for close friends and family this is exactly how I would do it! The couple held a ceremony at the church they met at – Foundations Church in Loveland with a reception held in the pavilion at Benson Sculpture Garden which is a great location with lots of picturesque features. Take a journey through their special day in the photos we provided for them.
Vendors who made this day possible:
Ceremony Site – Foundations Church
Reception Site – Benson Sculpture Garden
Photography – Crystaline Photography & Video
A year ago Becka and Bryce booked us to cover their wedding that will already be next weekend and then we photographed their fall engagement portraits to memorialize the special occasion! How quickly a year flies by! It hardly seems like a year has passed, but the fact that I’m just now getting to blog about it shows you how busy we’ve been! With the leaves just beginning to turn here in Denver I was thinking about all of the fall weddings and portrait sessions coming up for us in the next couple of weeks. Fall is a magical time of year and just so happens to be the busiest season for photographers everywhere. Families are wanting to document their family for holiday cards, couples are wanting those beautiful colors in their save-the-date cards and who doesn’t like wearing boots and chunky sweaters.
I just wanted to share some of my favorite photos from this session with their puppy in anticipation for their wedding next week. It will be great to see them again! Enjoy these fun festive fall photos!
The summer going into fall is the perfect time to schedule a high school senior portrait session. Most Colorado high schools require the yearbook photo submission by the end of September or first part of October. By scheduling your session early you ensure that you can find a great photographer available to meet your needs. Since Colorado is also a beautiful state with lots of outdoor background opportunities many students want to have their photos taken outside. We offer both an outdoor or an indoor session depending on the desire of the client. Whether you are doing an indoor studio or outdoor session you’ll want your outfits to coordinate with the backdrops. It’s a good idea to discuss the types of looks you are wanting with your photographer so if you’re doing an outdoor session they can suggest locations that will work with your wardrobe or they can pick out some studio backdrops that compliment your chosen outfits.
Here is some suggestions on how to style your wardrobe for your portrait session:
1.) Choose Solid colors over patterns and prints! If you do choose an outfit with a print it’s a good idea to break up some of that print with some solid color items like a belt, scarf, jacket etc. A pattern with a larger scale print is going to look better than a smaller pattern that can be distracting to the camera. I also find that some patterns can really “date” a photo. Choosing a solid color outfit is going to give your portraits a more classic look that will look good hanging on the parents’ wall for years. If you have chosen a session with multiple outfit changes then incorporating one or two outfits with a little bit of pattern isn’t bad.
2.) Consider a casual and a more dressy option. A casual option would be jeans and a couple different shirts. A more formal option is a dress, skirt or cocktail dress (this can even be your Prom dress or other dress from a formal dance). For men a dress shirt, jacket and even a tie if they so choose. It’s just nice to have options! One of your more formal photos might even be great addition to a job resume in the future!
3.) Make sure your outfits fit well! I find that clothes that are baggy or oversized are not very complimentary on almost all body types and will make you appear larger than you actually are. If your outfit is supposed to fit-to-size, make sure it actually does that and doesn’t fit too tightly or loosely, especially when it comes to your straps, bust area, mid-section area, and hemlines.
On that note, wear something you feel comfortable sitting, standing, and kneeling down in as we will also be incorporating those types of poses. Don’t forget to iron your clothes! If you show up to your session with wrinkly clothing covered in cat hair it’s going to show in all of the photos. Extra retouch costs will be assessed if wrinkles and hair need to be removed in the photos.
4.) Keep the location, weather and season in mind. A summer dress in the middle of winter might not only look out of place, but will keep you shivering during the photoshoot. Chunky sweaters and layered looks are always great for Fall and Winter sessions. Spring and Summer is the perfect time to wear a cute skirt, tank tops and shorts!
5.) Don’t forget the accessories! Jewelry, scarves, shoes and more can only improve a photo! This is also a time to show off your school spirit by bringing your letterman jacket, musical instruments that you play, items that go with the sports you do such as a basketball, football, tennis racket, etc. And if you are into something else like collecting stuff, art, etc. you are always welcome to bring some of those items to commemorate your love for whatever you’re into. Years from now it will be fun to look back at the hobbies you enjoyed as a teenager saved in your senior photos!
6.) Stick to your known style. While it may be fun to get experimental with your clothes for creative photo-shoots, I don’t really recommend it for senior sessions. This goes for hairstyles and make-up as well. My biggest regret from my own senior session years ago was cutting off my signature long hair to above my shoulders a week before I did my senior photos. While it was a fun change, it’s not how I usually looked and I hated my senior photos. It’s best to capture you the way most people know you before you go wild with a new look!
7.) Think about reflections. We use additional lighting in almost all of our portrait sessions so wearing glitter make-up, highly reflective glasses or anything else that can reflect light is not a great idea. If people are used to seeing you wear glasses on a regular basis and you want to wear them in your photos look at removing the lenses for just the photo-shoot or borrowing a set of frames from your optometrist. We can also incorporate poses that minimize reflections in glasses, but that can also limit the types of poses we can do with you during your session so if you can help us out by removing the lenses it makes the session run smoother. Some reflections can be removed in retouch later, but again that’s an additional charge for the work involved.
I also recommend bringing a translucent make-up powder that can be used to cut down the shine on faces. If men are not into using powder, then I suggest at least bringing some blotting sheets to use when you are a bit too shiny. Make-up should look natural and not too heavy. If you don’t wear a lot of make-up or any then at least bring some chapstick for dry lips.
8.) Lastly, have fun with it! It’s great to pick up a few new items before the shoot, but don’t discount some of your old, but favorite outfits! Your senior session should ultimately represent “YOU” and be a fun way to remember your last year of high school!
Here’s another early fall wedding at the fabulous Willow Ridge Manor. We can never get enough weddings from this venue! It’s an amazing place to tie the knot. And with getting ready areas for both the bride and groom on site, gorgeous views and a place for both the ceremony and the reception without having to leave the venue who needs to look further!
Taylor and Sam were just two of the nicest people you could ever meet. I see many many years of marriage for these two. I can’t wait to see what the future will hold for them.
Check out some of my favorite photos from their event last September!
Vendors who made this day possible:
Venue: Willow Ridge Manor
Catering: Rocky Mountain Catering
DJ: Digital DJ
Florist: Hawk Flowers & Gifts
Cake & Desert: Little Man Ice Cream
Bridal Wear: David’s Bridal
Tuxedo Rental: Men’s Wearhouse
Jeweler: Trice Jewelers
Almost everyone has heard the term “hashtag” but still not everyone knows what a “hashtag” is or what they are used for; most importantly most folks over the age of 40 are not going to know what the purpose of a hashtag is…. I’m here to help you out and give you some information on this trend for weddings and events just in case you were wondering if you need one or not!
- A hashtag is any word or unbroken word-grouping (no spaces) with a # sign in front of it, used on a social platform like Instagram or Facebook.
- A hashtag links your individual posts with all other posts containing that hashtag, giving it greater exposure and longevity, and connecting it to larger conversations.
- To create a hashtag, just think one up and start using it across your social channels. No need to register it anywhere.
- It doesn’t matter whether you’re on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram—use the same event hashtag for all content related to your event. This creates a branded hashtag that provides a clear way to track activity across all social platforms.
So how do you create a hashtag that’s perfect for your wedding and why would you need one? Let’s start with the why… Mainly because everyone has a camera in their phone which is on them at all times. People will be taking photos at your event (as long as it’s the time to do that… see my article about “Unplugged Weddings”). Do you want to see the photos everyone took? Maybe you are not “friends” online with a plus one that was invited, but he or she got an amazing sunset photo at your event and you would love to see it! If they use the hashtag when they post it to their social media you will be able to see it grouped with all of the other photos tagged with your special hashtag! It’s a great way to bring all of these amazing images together in one place!
Here are some tips for picking the best hashtag for your event!
- Create your own… try using an online “Hashtag Generator” for ideas. A good place to start is with your names because it will be easy for your guests to remember plus you can put a fun spin on it by doing a funny pun or play on words. #MorganHeBargainedFor #WritghtStateOfMind #SayYesToTheKress
- To be more unique try using numbers in the tag so that your hashtag doesn’t get mixed up with another couple’s event. For instance #BobAndSueWedding2022
- Capitalize the first letter of each word so that the hashtag is easy to read. Whether your guests post with the capitalization won’t matter – the hashtag will still work! It’s just easier to read (and remember) with capital letters.
- As you pick your favorite hashtag options, do a quick search to see if it’s already been used before! If so, just add a number, your wedding date, or change a word in the hashtag. You want yours to be unique to YOUR wedding so it curates photos from your event!
- Make a list of several options, and then narrow it down to your favorite! This is definitely a fun activity for you and your fiancé to do together.
- Next spread the word about your hashtag – Start using your hashtag before the wedding. Tag your engagement pics, selfies during date nights, pictures from your other wedding events such as showers, rehearsal dinners etc. and attach your hashtag in your post. The more you use it early on, the more people will notice it.
- List your hashtag on your wedding website, save the date cards, and/or invitations. At the wedding, you’ll definitely want to have a cute sign with the hashtag. Order a few of these signs, have them match your wedding décor, and place them strategically: near the bar, at each table, on the gifts table, near the cake, etc. Have the DJ or band encourage guests to take pics and post using your hashtag too! I’ve even seen them on the cocktail napkins!
- Tell your photographer and/or videographer about your hashtag so if they post anything they can use it too! Having access to all the photos friends and family take is awesome! Just make sure that people do not interfere with photos the photographer is taking so you can have photos without cell phones in them!
We can’t wait to see what fun hashtags you come up with for your wedding!
Let’s talk about eloping in Colorado and using our epic views to your advantage! Taylor & Nathan were another one of my couples who were victims of Covid! They planned a beautiful wedding to take place at a resort just outside of Gunnison, Colorado and then the pandemic hit… and after two postponements they gave up on their big celebration. But I was not discouraged, they had already paid their deposits with me and I still wanted to give them some lovely photos to remember the day, so we hatched a plan…. and you know what? I think the plan came out better than we could’ve ever imagined! We looked at a time-frame that was light on our wedding schedule during the summer and my family and I planned a camping trip to Taylor Reservoir just outside of Gunnison. I met the couple just outside of our camping spot and spent two hours photographing them in all the beautiful scenery! It was a win for both them and us! We got to enjoy a little family time in the wilderness and Nathan & Taylor ended up with some epic photographs!
Enjoy this selection of some of my favorites! If you’re up for an adventure please reach out to me, as we’re always up for an experience!!!
I have just one more couple from last year to finish up on their wedding album and that couple’s wedding is being featured on my blog today! The day started out with our associate photographer, Chris going to the couple’s apartment to get photos of the guys getting ready and I went to the mother of the bride’s home to get pictures of the ladies. After that we traveled to Genesee Mountain Park to do a “first look” of the groom seeing his bride and wedding party photos before the ceremony being held at Christies of Genesee. We had some lost wedding party members, but we persevered and were able to get just a few photos of the large wedding party completed before the rain started to come down. After a mad dash back to everyone’s vehicles we continued on to the venue to prepare for the ceremony and moved the rest of the formal portraits to after the ceremony. The day just flew by! Before I knew it we were staging the requested night shots with the full moon in view and seeing the couple out the door for the end of their evening. Sometimes weddings just go so quickly you barely get a chance to take it all in and today was certainly one of those days.
Large wedding parties can always be challenging (especially when you lose a few members). I always recommend booking a package with at least two photographers if you are planning on having more than four bridesmaids or groomsmen and/or if you are getting ready at different locations or even if you can’t utilize the venue for your preparation space. Christies of Genesee is a wonderful venue, but it only has a very small dressing room that can only really accommodate 2-3 people, thus the reason for the separate preparation quarters on this event. Having two photographers ensured that every aspect of this couple’s big day was captured.
Reasons we love this venue: 1.) Close proximity to Denver 2.) Mountain and city views 3.) Affordable price range for couple on a budget 4.) Outdoor and indoor space 5.) Gorgeous picturesque views nearby 6.) Friendly and courteous staff
Vendors who Made this Day Possible:
Venue, Catering & DJ: Christies of Genesee
Photography: Crystaline Photography & Video
Bride’s Dress: The Bridal Collection
Groomsmen’s Tuxes: Men’s Wearhouse
Bridemaid’s Dresses: Birdy Grey