July Wedding at The Boulderado + Dushanbe Tea House

Caitlin + Zack are the perfect example of why I love to photograph my couples for an engagement session and their wedding. Getting to know a couple throughout an entire year, makes it easy to capture a beautiful wedding day. They even made their guest book from photos from their engagement session! I absolutely loved photographing their wedding and getting to know their love story.

Caitlin + Zack were assigned to the same class project in college, that is how they met. They were friends for a long time and started dating after college. Then, they moved out to Colorado together and bought a house. They had already picked out the engagement ring together at an antique jewelry store in Boulder, so Caitlin knew the proposal was coming. A few weeks later, Zack got down on one knee in their living room and asked Caitlin to be his wife!

Caitlin + Zack wanted their wedding day to be a celebration of the love they have for each other, their friends, and their family. When you stop and think about it, it is pretty rare to have all of the people you love (who may have never met each other) in the same room interacting. Their wedding was simple, there was no theme, no color palette, no religious traditions, “it was just us.”

Caitlin got ready for the day at The Hotel Boulderado and the wedding ceremony and reception were at The Boulder Dushanbe TeaHouse. The tea house is incredibly beautiful and colorful. Since the building itself is so richly decorated, they didn't really need to decorate at all! They were married under a rose vine covered pergola with flowers all around them - what more decoration could you need?

It was important to them that they looked like themselves. Caitlin didn't want to show up with a giant dress, covered in make-up not looking like herself. She chose her Anthropologie wedding dress with Zack's mom and sister while out visiting them in California. Zack + Caitlin went together to pick his suit. They avoided the black and white look because it seemed more like a funeral than a wedding. Zack chose a blue suit and a purple tie. Then they told their guests what they would be wearing and invited them to add some color to the day!

The florals were wildflowers that they purchased from the farmer’s market in the morning. They were able to make Caitlin’s bouquet all different colors and they used the same flowers for the flower girl! Caitlin + Zack chose not to have a wedding party; however, they did make corsages and boutonnieres for their families. The wildflowers were also on the tables and on their cakes.

As for the personal touches, their officiant was Caitlin’s Dad's best friend (he was also the best man in her parents wedding.) They wrote their ceremony and vows, but everything was pretty simple. They loved how the night flowed naturally and didn't really announce anything (the microphone didn't end up working!) but everything just happened in its own time.

The Hotel Boulderado

Boulder Dushanbe TeaHouse

Anthropologie

Rainy Day Wedding - Full of Good Luck + Love

There are so many brides that believe the perfect wedding day has to include sunshine. The reality is, the perfect wedding day is the one that ends with two people becoming united by a ceremony - rain, sun, snow, hail - we cannot control the weather. Matt + Sam were of the same opinion, the rain didn’t change a thing on their day and they smiled through every rain drop that fell from the sky. Now that I am living in Cambridgeshire, I suppose I need to get used to the rainy day wedding.

Rain doesn’t have to make a negative impact on your wedding day; they say it is good luck! What I can tell you about a rainy day wedding, is that they usually come with some beautiful photos that include umbrellas, water, laughter, and love. I come prepared to every. single. wedding. with clear umbrellas because I cannot predict the weather and even when I do, it can be completely wrong. My advice to you is to go with the flow and trust that your wedding photographer can make magic happen, no matter what the weather.

Sam couldn’t have been a more beautiful bride, inside and out - she was stunning. Her fun-loving personality lit up the reception and it was easy to see why Matt fell in love with her. They are the perfect match and were surrounded by friends and family who were so excited to be apart of their wedding day. The day began with the sun - the groom and his friends went golfing while Sam and her friends got hair and make-up done. The light was perfect for photographing the details and then for some getting ready shots of Matt. His brother was his best man and it was so much fun to see them prepping for the big day. His brother was actually more nervous than Matt - and he wasn’t the one getting married!

Sam walked down the aisle with her Dad who was crying the entire walk. He gave his daughter away to Matt, who was holding back tears as well. She looked stunning! The ceremony began quickly to try to finish the “I do’s” before the rain, but it didn’t happen. There was a small ceremony with the rosary and it began to drizzle. Sam’s sister held the umbrella over her head while they finished up with the ceremony. Once Matt kissed his bride, they ran down the aisle to get out of the rain just ahead of their 100+ guests. The entire time with smiles on their faces because they were now husband and wife!

It rained for their portrait session and during the beginning of the reception, so their family portraits were done inside. However, halfway through, the rain cleared and everyone was able to enjoy the rest of the night inside and/or outside. Nobody let the rain ruin the wedding day and when it cleared up, out came the cigars and cornhole and everything else they wanted for an outdoor reception. Their wedding photos are just as beautiful as they would have been with a sunny day. Thank you Sam + Matt for going with the flow of the weather!

Fabulous Winery Wedding at Balistreri Vineyards

Jacob and Rachel met online. They lived an hour apart, so for the first year they only saw each other on the weekends. However, they both knew pretty quickly that they were meant to be together. After a few months of living together, Rachel went on a business trip. The day she came back, Jacob opened the door to their apartment where there were candles, a heart shaped container filled with flowers and wine, and homemade peanut butter cookies (Rachel’s favorite!) Her favorite romantic song by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, “You're All I Need To Get By” was playing in the background. Then, Jacob got down on one knee and proposed!

The wedding took place at the Balistreri Winery in Denver. (Who knew there was a winery in Denver?!?!) . They wanted something that felt intimate and romantic and thought a small winery that allowed for an outdoor ceremony was the perfect fit.

Rachel + Jacob wanted their decor to be quite simple. Thankfully, Balistreri is full of beautiful vines and flowers that provided the inspiration and base for their wedding decor. The majority of the wedding decor was DIY except for the simple candle centerpieces provided by Compass Rose.

They decided on faux floral arrangements because Rachel’s stepmother is extremely allergic. The only arrangements they used were for the bridal bouquet, boutonnieres for the groom and father of the bride and rose petals for the sweet flower girl. The wedding colors they chose were blue and silver and they were able to incorporate blue florals throughout.

For the wedding gown, Rachel chose a dress that was romantic - a lace mermaid dress with a corset back. The groom wanted a blue suit that not only matched the color theme but also brought out the blue in his eyes.

There were a lot of personal touches that made up their wedding day. First and foremost, Rachel’s father was the officiant. The tunes for the evening consisted of music from our favorite romantic scenes from movies and TV shows. There were so many wonderful moments from the wedding but their favorite’s include sharing the vows they wrote to each other, laughing as they took their first pictures together as a married couple and being surrounded by their closest family and friends.

Balistreri Vineyards

Compass Rose Floral

Nothing Bundt Cakes

Country Club Wedding in the Mountains of Boulder, Colorado

Kenna + Mike met the summer of 2011 when they both joined a softball league of a mutual friend. (Dare I say, they really ‘hit’ it off.) About a year later, they started dating when they realized they both were attracted to the each other. After dating for 6 years, finishing college and buying a house together Mike surprised Kenna with a trip to Belize for her birthday. WOW, How awesome!!! I really think destination engagements are just as epic as destination weddings.

On the 3rd day of the trip, they had just come back from a fun day out at the beach, but realized they had somehow lost the GoPro on their bike ride back to the hotel. They were frantically searching their hotel room and Kenna glanced at his pocket where she saw a box sort of shape. She thought it was the camera, so she grabbed Mike’s pocket and mentioned “it” was there. He kind of laughed it off and then asked if she wanted to go walk on the beach now that we found it.

After walking along the beach and ending up at the end of a dock, Mike proposed to Kenna under the stars, in Belize. Then as she was crying, they kissed and Kenna realized she had grabbed the ring box and not the GoPro! Now they laugh and say, well we lost the GoPro, but Mike gained a wife!

Kenna’s dream had always been to have her reception inside an old barn or something of the sort; however, that didn’t happen. Instead she translated that idea to a country club through the inspiration of romance, whimsical and rustic ideas. The Boulder Country Club was decorated with lots of soft ivory fabric, dark rustic wood and strands of eucalyptus to give it that romantic feeling while her wedding day colors were blush, gold, green and ivory.

Much of their wedding was DIY, though they did order their bouquets and such from Beet + Yarrow, the reception hall itself was decorated with long strands of eucalyptus and white roses they bought. They wrapped eucalyptus around 3 hurricane tiers holding ivory candles for the centerpieces and table numbers were printed out pictures of Kenna + Mike at each age according to the table number for a cute little touch. Kenna’s Aunt even handmade wooden stairs to hold the cupcakes from The Makery Cake Co.

For the wedding ceremony, Kenna’s mother made a beautiful arch of flowers out of artificial eucalyptus and ivory roses, along with individual bunches for the end of each row of chairs. Kenna purchased dark wood signs to place all over the venue for everything from cupcakes, guest book and anything else that was needed to give it that rustic touch.

Two very special moments during the wedding day were one - that her brother walked her down the aisle and two - that they had a choreographed first dance. Kenna’s father passed away about 15 years ago, and she and her brother have grown to depend on each other due to that loss. He is definitely the person she looks up to and you could see that throughout the wedding day.

However, Kenna would say the most anticipated moment was she and Mike’s first dance. They had been taking dance lessons for months before the wedding to make it very special. The dance started off with a slow dance to Speechless by Dan + Shay and then halfway through switched to a salsa dance to Bailando by Enrique Iglesias. Everyone was really surprised and it was so much fun to see everyone's reactions!!!

Wedding Vendors who made this possible:

Boulder Country Club

Kate Spade

Betsey Johnson

The Makery Cake Co.

Beet + Yarrow

Amanda’s Bridal + Tux

Lola Beauty