Get Carried Away

How often do you spend $1,000 on a dress, get your hair done, paint your nails, buy really expensive makeup, and carry around a bouquet of gorgeous flowers? Not very often? Well, you better preserve the moment with a few fantastic portraits, then.

My favorite part of wedding photography is capturing amazing images of brides and grooms. Yes, the couple's portraits are important, but so are individual portraits. Many brides and grooms haven't had their picture taken formally since high school. (I've never understood why we stop commemorating certain milestones in our lives after the age of 18.) Ben and I always make it a point to separate the stars of the show from their family, friends, and bridal party in order to get a bunch of fabulous (work it!) pictures. From there, we can take them home and play with all sorts of effects - black and white, sepia, you name it! This is your day to be beautiful, and we will make sure the whole world (or at least your Face.book friends) see how amazing you look!

Vintage Effects

Modern technology allows us to create photos that harken back to another era. Recently, we photographed a stylish young couple who had a very "vintage" vibe to them. After bringing the photos home and looking them over, we decided to add a little kick to a number of the shots - toning down the saturation and even adding some interesting borders / backgrounds. The result was a series of portraits that were set apart not only from ordinary wedding photos, but from the rest of the couple's pictures. Of course, we always give our clients the color versions of every photo, just in case. The glory of digital! We can render any photo in black and white, sepia, or low-saturation, and still provide the full-color original. It's what makes the post-production process so much fun!

And the Bride Wore Cowboy Boots...

We had the privilege of shooting Kylie and Craig's wedding this month, which was a welcome excuse to return to the small towns of Flagler and Siebert. The couple were married in church, and then ran off to the community center for a fantastic reception...but not before we stopped off with the wedding party for some amazing photos. As a storm rolled in from the west, we snapped a few photos of the newliweds and their best friends. The clouds made for an amazing backdrop, and we were very happy with the results.

Couple's photos are one of the most valuable and endearing parts of your wedding day. They're the first photos of the bride and groom as man and wife, and they're also a great way to show off how amazing you look! (And if your new husband is anything like mine, you may not get him in a suit again anytime soon.) But time is often in short supply on your wedding day... so, when IS the best time to do couple's portraits? As long as you plan for it, the space between ceremony and reception (when your guests are enjoying a drink or two...or three) is a great time for photos. Once the pressure is off, you can enjoy the photo shoot. Steal away for a moment or two (photos usually take about 20 minutes to shoot) and enjoy being away from the crowd for a moment. This will also allow you to make your "big entrance" into the reception. And you'll have beautiful photos of just the two of you...just the way you looked tonight.

Spring...and wedding season...has arrived!

When you find the person you're meant to marry, a beautiful wedding is simply icing on the cake. We spent our weekend with a lovely couple who tied the knot at the Cliff House in Manitou Springs. Surrounded by a small group of friends and family (some who were absolutely adorable), the two said their "I do's" amidst 150 years of history in the two-story Victorian hotel. The sunny spring morning made for a cheerful welcome for guests to the area, and by mid-day the sun had gone into hiding behind a group of forboding thunderclouds. (Rain on your wedding day is good luck, isn't it?) Nevermind the weather, the day was a fantastic start to this couple's many happy years of wedded bliss.