Donovan and Lisa’s Intimate Backyard Wedding
Outdoor weddings are a gamble. Outdoor weddings in Colorado are a bigger gamble. Outdoor weddings in Colorado and in April are probably the biggest gamble of all.
The week leading up to Lisa and Donovan’s big day was snowy. Not just a little snow, but a lot of snow. I really thought I would be photographing their backyard wedding in my snowboarding gear. But the wedding day saints were on their side. The sky was clear for most of the day, the temperatures were perfect, and their intimate gathering went off without a hitch. A few rain drops were taken care of by the bride pitching in to set up a tent. The iPad kept playing tunes through speakers wrapped in plastic and the Maker’s Mark kept flowing.
I know I say this after every wedding, but it really did feel as though I was long-time friends with Lisa and Donovan. In fact some of the guests thought I’ve been friends with them for a while. Nope, I met them in January. Once. This was a true testament to how genuine these two really are toward everything and everyone.
Witnessing their approach to the wedding was refreshing. Their choice to focus on what is truly important proved to me yet again that extravagance doesn’t equate to importance. Because when you boil it down all that is important to their relationship was represented: their love, the inclusion of Donovan’s kids into the marriage, 40 of their closest friends and family witnessing their vow, and what is perhaps the coolest wedding cakes ever.
I had a blast photographing this one and getting to know a little more about these two. I wish them the best of luck and appreciate them trusting me!
-JB
Justin and Kat in Vail Village
It doesn’t really get much better than springtime in the Rockies. (As I write this it’s probably snowing there!)
As I waited for Justin and Kat in the Vail Village I sat on a bench and tried to imagine that only a week ago it was ski season. Snow pants, puffy coats, helmets, and goggles were replaced by shorts, flip flops, and t-shirts. The gorgeous mountain sun was warm, winds were quiet, and the anglers tried to land trout in the Gore Creek. I was kinda happy they were a few minutes late.
Justin and I have known one anther for a few years now. We spent many days together while working for the same newspaper. During football season I’d freeze on the sidelines as he stayed toasty in the press box. He’d snack on the buffet at Denver Broncos games as I’d eat scraps in the photographer workroom. We’d even put Chipper (the dog) into the back seat and hit the road to cover out-of-town games.
He was introduced to Kat by another former colleague while on a trip back east. I guess you can say it was all over after that, because she moved here to be with him. You can tell these two really love one another and seeing that makes our jobs awesome. Although I’ve only met her twice it seemed as though we’ve been friends for a long time. It was great getting to know a bit more about her while having beers on a creekside patio and eating what are perhaps the best hot wings ever. No joke. Ever.
They’ve decided to get married in Boston and can we just say we’re super stoked to be going there this July! Watch out Sam Adams Brewery…
-JB
A wedding photographer’s off season work
As you can imagine we’re getting into the swing of the upcoming wedding season. We’re planning for weddings currently on the calendar and enjoying consulting couples seeking wedding photographers for this summer. It was during a consultation a couple weeks ago that the couple asked: “What do you do in the off season?” Well, according to my personal Facebook page and twitter feed all I do is snowboard. In reality though I don’t think my wife, nor would my daughters, let that be the only thing I do. Oh how I wish.
So while I answered the question at the time I figured it might be beneficial to answer it for all of the world. Indeed I do a lot of snowboarding in the same Colorado mountains where we will undoubtedly be shooting weddings, but the rest of my time is spent making sure our business is on sound footing. While wedding work is seasonal, running a business is a year-round endeavor. Vendors expect to be paid all year and yes, so do we.
Fortunately for us we have a handful of consistent clients that keep us busy enough taking photographs as well as some video work. We manage to pack up the studio from time to time to capture executive portraits and photography for small, medium, and large companies’ marketing needs. We also worked on images for a campaign during election season and have photographed a few events. Aside from taking photos we are always networking in attempts for adding new clients and jobs. I’ve decided to post a few of those images just to show that our photo skills don’t get rusty between November and April.
The wedding side of our business is never too far off our mind, though. We’re always thinking of ways to streamline our operations and find better ways to satisfy our wedding clients for the next year. Our photo store is also open year-round and we’re finding past clients are getting around to have some fantastic prints made. Thank you to those people who’ve placed orders!
So in reality there’s a lot to do, however not so much that it’s just unbridled time. Lucky for my family, because if there was “downtime” this entire post would be filled with nothing but images from my time on the slopes and vacationing.
-Josh Buck
Traci & Aaron’s Downtown Denver Engagement Session
Aaron and Traci met at Colorado State University while getting degrees in Political Science. Their careers are deeply involved with civic duties and they wanted to work in the architecture of the Civic Center Park area in downtown Denver into their engagement photos. We started off at the newly completed Ralph Carr Colorado Judicial Center. The fresh columns and fun lines were a visual playground for my eyes. Then we wandered over to the Denver Art Museum and had a laugh with the enormous cattle sculptures on the south side of the building before heading to the Civic Center Amphitheater and the Denver City and County Building.
The weather has been so mild this winter in Denver, it’s almost unreal. There were lots of folks out taking in the weekend sun around the park with us, and the light was pretty nice for a Sunday afternoon this time of year. There were great shadows and reflections as we toured the area, while these two were just relaxed and having fun. Just how we like to see couples for a shoot. They are definitely a fun pair. Aaron had a bit of practice for the camera though from his early years as a model for what used to be a local sporting goods store establishment. We only picked on him a little for it.
We were introduced to Aaron and Traci after she had seen the photos of Nicci & BJ’s wedding last summer. So luckily they had a little bit of insight to our approach and results. And even luckier for us, they chose us to be a part of their big day in May. We’re really looking forward to seeing them tie the knot in the Cherry Creek area! Hopefully they and the wedding party are ready for a sprint across 1st Ave. to make it over to the Cherry Creek bike path area for wedding day photos….stay tuned to see what shakes out.
–JL
