Mike and Monica had an amazing wedding at the Castle Pines Golf Club a few weekends ago. We only had the chance to meet them once before their wedding but we could immeditately see the love and connection they had with each other. They are both widowers, at a young age, and will be blending their families together. All they really wanted was pictures of their kids together…that was easy to do. Thier kids got along so great and it was obviously a testament to Mike and Monica and what an amazing job they’ve done raising these children.

It’s always so great to spend a few hours with a family on one of the happiest days of their lives. To see them come together and start a new family and life together is truly priceless and it makes our job so fun and easy.

Here are a few of our favorites from their wedding…

Dad had to help him get his shirt buttoned and his belt on…

The kids were a ton of fun and they made it easy to photograph them.

Mike’s mom reassuring him that whether the ceremony was inside or outside (because of the rain) he’d still be married at the end of the day.

I love when couples are themselves and we can just document it.

We had a lot of pictures of the kids sticking their tongues out at us…

Doug and Lori had an amazing wedding in the fog and rain at the Boetthcer Mansion recently and we were so happy to be a part of it. (Even the rain couldn’t dampen the excitement…even if it did leave my clothes pretty wet.) When we met Doug and Lori last year we could tell right away how much they loved each other and how happy they were to be getting married. We love working with couples who are so obviously meant for each other.

Here’s a few of our favorites from the day…fog and all.

The umbrellas were a nice touch…and came in very handy.

These 3 kids couldn’t have been funnier not to mention they did a great job.

The fog made for some really amazing images…

Jessica and I were in Philly (I’ve been there so I can call it that) last week photographing Marcus and Lynn’s amazing wedding. We had such a wonderful time and really enjoyed our first trip to Philadelphia (I’ll post some of our other pictures soon, but we did see the Rocky statue and ride on a bronze elk so stay tuned.) I’ve known Marcus since college so it was extra special to see one of my closest friends get married and spend the weekend with all of my great friends (and make some new friends as well.) Marcus and Lynn were so hospitable to everyone that made the trip and they put together a great wedding and a wonderful weekend.

The wedding was at their church and we were able to walk through City Hall on the way back to the hotel for some pictures. It’s so much fun to photograph in a new place…espeically a city like Philly where the architecture and scenery is very different from Colorado. Here’s a few of our favorites, I hope you enjoy them…

Jessica got this shot and it’s one of my favorite shoe/dress shots she’s ever taken.

I love the look on Lynn’s face in this image…I can just imagine what she’s thinking as she gets ready to head to the church.

No wedding is complete without some vodka in a flask.

They had a large wedding party but I think we were able to get some great shots with everyone.

There’s that flask again…

I love the difference between the guy and girl images.

These next two might be my new favorite wedding pictures…

Jessica captured this moment while Marcus and Lynn were dancing with everyone else dancing around them.

Thanks again to Marcus and Lynn for allowing us to be part of your wedding weekend…we had an amazing time and we wish you the best of luck!

I’m out in Philadelphia right now for Marcus and Lynn’s wedding and having a great time. Marcus is one of my best friends from college which makes the week even more exciting. The wedding is going to be amazing and the scenery here in Philly is great (so is the weather right now.) We went out today for a quick session…here’s a few of my favorites.

Kelsey and Nathan are celebrating their first anniversary and we just wanted to say congratulations to them. Here’s a few of our favorites from their wedding last year.

We loved their wedding because it reminded us of our own, they were both so excited and their families were incredibly close. We wish you both many more years of happiness together!

I’m going to continue posting some of our favorites from last year as well as the couples favorite from their wedding, with their own words.

Sanya and Grant were married in Golden Gate Canyon State Park last summer in an intimate and beautiful ceremony. We then drove back down to the Boulderado Hotel for their reception. Sanya and Grant don’t live in Colorado so they and all of their guests traveled here for the wedding. We also didn’t have a chance to meet Grant until the wedding day but it wasn’t an issue at all. We had talked with Sanya many times and they had a great idea of the style of our work and how we go about creating it. They were just as comfortable with us as if we had known each other for many years.

Here is one of (many of) their favorites from the wedding day and what they had to say about it…”This is one of many beautiful candid moments caught by Andrew and Jessica on our wedding day. They were extremely professional and worked hard all day to capture each aspect of the day. We loved it that they were always one step ahead of us – they always seemed to be there, in the background, when key moments happened. They provided us with a collection of photographs that we absolutely love and will cherish for the rest of our lives.”

This was one of my favorites from their wedding day…

I love this picture because it wasn’t posed or setup and Sanya and Grant had no idea I was taking it. They were coming down the stairs to enter the reception and I just happened to capture it perfectly.

Have a great weekend and remember to stay positive! (Blog post about that coming soon.)

I know it can be a bit of a daunting task. There are lots of great photographers out there with amazing images and seemingly endless options. But what it comes down to is personality. You absolutely have to find people you like and people you can envision spending a lot of time with. (Maybe people who seem like they could become your friends.)

But you might say to yourself, “well the pictures are the most important, or the price is the most important, or their album styles are the most important, or this or that…” Certainly these are all very important aspects of choosing a photographer and shouldn’t be overlooked. But ultimately you want to work with people you like. You will be more comfortable in front of the camera and you will be yourself. And that’s what is truly important. When you have that connection with your photographer your pictures will come out amazing because you are being yourselves. You are free to laugh at each other, kiss each other (maybe make out a little bit) and there is no self-consciousness. Your photographer will spend the majority of your wedding day with you so it’s imperative that you know you will enjoy that person being there with you.

I also believe that it’s important to find a photographer who will work with you before AND after the wedding. Someone who is invested in you receiving amazing imagery, an incredible album and most importantly a great experience.

No matter how much money you spend on your wedding day the emotions and excitement are going to be the same. Maybe you have had to make a few cut backs in your budget. But you certainly haven’t cut back on your love and dedication to each other. Your closest family and friends are still going to be there to witness such an amazing day in your life. Your photographer should enhance those memories and ensure that you will always remember the emotion and love of your wedding day.

There are lots of great resources available to help you choose photographers and plan a wedding and I’ll be listing some of them over the course of the next few weeks. But a great resource for finding photographers is photographik.org.

We went up to the CU Campus in Boulder a few weeks ago for Michelle and Adam’s engagement session. Jessica and I both went to CSU, they both went to CU but we didn’t let that get in the way of creating some great images of the two of them. Their wedding is this summer at the Boettcher Mansion and we’re very excited for it. Here’s just a few of our favorites from their e-session.

Our last wedding of 2008 was Becky and Kevin’s at The Oxford Hotel and it was a perfect ending to our wedding season. We’d only met Becky once before the wedding but it didn’t matter because her excitement and enthusisasm for her day were unmatched. Everything about the wedding turned out perfectly and we were so lucky to be a part of it. The weather was great and allowed us some time to run around downtown denver and get some great images of the two of them together.

We were so lucky to travel to Sunriver, Oregon and photograph Terra and Matt’s wedding in November. Jessica has known Terra since high school so it was extra special to be a part of their wedding. We had such a great time just hanging out with them and their families and getting to know everybody better. Spending a few days with the bride and groom’s families is great because we really get a sense of who they are. The resort was amazing and we had a grea time and we were so lucky to be able to capture their wedding day. Here’s a few of our favorite images from the weekend…