Niwot High School Senior Photography Session at Pearl Street Mall & Chautauqua Park

I can’t believe my baby sister is already going to be a senior.  I swear not too long ago we were cuddling while she fell asleep to Dirty Dancing or Bob Ross.  It’s also a scary reminder that my 10 year high school reunion is coming up soon!  Agh!

I took Chelsey and her best friend Megan out last night to the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, CO and we did some stuff in the alleyways there.  The girls changed into dresses for the last part at Chautauqua Park.  She looks so cute and grown up.  Our Mom and Dad are going to love these:)

She looks tall to me in this one even though she’s not standing up. I am officially the shortest sibling these days:(

Those pretty blues run in the family!

Ooh, and one last fun one. Not sure that I’m completely in love with the comp, but it’s kind of fun:)

Chelsey, I hope you love them lil sis. I’ll show you some more once I get a chance!
xoxo
April

P.S. I’ll do a seperate post with the shots for Megan and the both of you together:)

Morrison Colorado Wedding Photography at Willow Ridge Manor

This past Saturday we went up to Morrison for Nick & Dani’s wedding at the Willow Ridge Manor which is very close to Red Rocks. I met Nick & Dani early last year and have been excited for their wedding ever since. They were the cute couple who met during a fire alarm when they were giving blood at their school. All through the night I just kept thinking about how they were such a perfect match for each other.

Dani was cracking me up. She was so irritated with her garter which was apparently sucking the life out of her:) (so she put it below her knee instead!)

What a gorgeous girl! Such pretty green eyes! Nick is soooo lucky:)

I’m seriously loving this shot of the guys. They look so intimidating!

Nick was looking quite handsome!

Pretty location right?

I am obsessed with getting the wedding party shot where everyone is in their own little group. I’m starting to think it’s my signature shot.

One of her bridesmaids wanted to do a jumping shot which Dani wasn’t exactly interested in so I told her to look surly while the rest of them jumped. I think it’s cute.

Showing off those sexy red shoes!

They are such a good looking couple!

Ok, so during the ceremony my assistant Gabby and I were standing near these cacti (is that even right? lol) and I suddenly decided that I had to try and get the ring shot with the cactus. Luckily I was trusted to run off with the rings later during the reception. I always bring them back safely:)

Dad was so happy for his little girl. He was so welcoming of Nick too. It was one of three very sweet speeches that night.

They just look so right together. Especially during their first dance.

And look how adorable their Moms are watching them dance:

I had to post these because it’s funny. Look at what the bouquet looks like before it’s thrown. And then what it is reduced to in the next!

Dance time! Mr. DJ played 3 Michael Jackson songs throughout the night so I was happy:)

Here is the flower girl Natalie being cute. I swear right after I took this shot she gave me the biggest smile.

I love when I can get a long exposure shot in.

That’s all folks!

Nick & Dani,
You guys have been a real pleasure to be with this past year. I hope you have a wonderful marriage and life ahead of you! Congratulations!
-April

R.I.P. Michael Jackson

I grew up hearing about how much the deaths of Elvis and John Lennon etc… really affected people and I never really got it.  I get it now.  Never thought I’d be someone who would feel this sad about the death of such a famous person.  Maybe I’m just sad because it makes me feel kind of old;)

It’s been my plan to collect pictures of people doing Thriller from various weddings and put them together in some sort of funny project.  Unfortunately I just started so this is all I have for now.  Felt appropriate though.

Cherry Hills, Denver, Colorado Wedding Photography

I think most artists have such a love/hate relationship with their work and since they see it all the time it’s hard to appreciate what they’ve done. I know I am always striving to create something that is more than just good and really make work I can truly be proud of. Sometimes it comes out of no where and you just get a little lucky. I think that was the case for this past Saturday’s wedding in Cherry Hills Village, Denver. It was a wedding held at a beautiful house owned by the bride’s aunt and was hopefully going to take place outdoors (barring any extreme weather). I could not have asked for more beautiful light that day. Of course, no one wants a huge downpour on their wedding day (especially if they are doing everything outside!) but I know we were all pretty happy that we weren’t baking in the sun all day:) It takes more than just beautiful light for great portraits and luckily Tiff & Scott were the best subjects a photographer could ask for. I actually have a ton of great brides and grooms, & this time, I even had a huge wedding party and they were all loads of fun! So it was a triple score for me. And the cherry on top was that the place was filled with fun details and you all know how much I love shooting the details:)

Tiff and Scott are enjoying their honeymoon in Florida right now (so jealous over here!) but I wanted to get them a little sneak peek before they came home.

Enjoy!

The gals were hanging out and relaxing a bit when I arrived.

I saw the hairspray next to the glass of champagne and decided that it was the epitome of getting ready detail pictures:)

Props to Tiff’s MOH as her dress looked somewhat difficult to lace up!

Tiff’s dress was perfect for her. It was so fun and cute with a little dash of sexy. Just like her!

Dad thought she looked good!

See? Gorgeous!

Spent a little time with the guys hanging out.

Would’ve been nice to continue with pool, but had to get some of our formals out of the way. I love this one:

Little more casual:

Scott was smokin’ (Don’t you just love that gate?)

We had to move on to the ceremony, guests were waiting!

Is it wrong of me to say how much I love this shot?  (As the night went on, I kept expecting that at any moment all of the guests were just going to start jumping in like in the movies, but I only saw one do it.  Who knows, maybe they did after I left?)

Look at that smile! How happy do you think she is to be getting married to Scott?

It started to sprinkle pretty hard during the ceremony but we were able to use this overhang walkway for the group shots so there was no wasting time waiting for the rain to stop. My lovely assistant (and sister!) Gabrielle had to hold her arm straight up in the air the whole time with an umbrella to make sure my camera didn’t get too wet. Poor girl. Props to her:)

I love when the wedding party is up for anything!

Got some with the gals too. They were such troopers and no one gave me a hard time for making them pose all crazy like in the sprinkling rain. I think it was worth it:) How cute are they?

Ok, seriously, the guys were such a bunch of cut ups. Scott and Tiff are so lucky to have all of these great people in their lives.

The reception was awesome!

I thought the decor was perfect. I loved the bright colors and it was so simple and looked so good!

This was their fabulous Aunt who helped put it all together. I wanted to get a good shot of her throughout the night, but she was so sneaky (probably working behind the scenes to make sure everything was going smoothly). What a lovely lady!

Hilarious toasts ensued:

Along with very heartfelt ones:

Ring shot!

Now, I really don’t think of myself as that romantic and my bf jokes with me a lot about how matter of fact I am, but there is just something about the first dance at weddings that just gets me. I admit it, I teared up a little bit at how cute Scott and Tiff were! They sang “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz to each other while it was playing. Seriously so cute! I think you can even tell that they are singing that song to each other in the pictures. I give them an A+ for adorableness.

Their cake was to die for. Look how pretty it looks! So unique too:)

It was the guys’ tradition to sing “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” to the bride. They were pretty good. They had different parts and everything!

When I first saw the location, I knew I wanted to try to get a shot of all the ladies hanging out by the pool with their feet in it. I wanted to do it during the day, but we ran out of time. I actually like the night look though with all of the lights.

Last one for the sneak peek. I haven’t gone through all of them yet, but so far this one is my favorite!

Congratulations to Tiffany & Scott!

Summer Family Photography Session at Hudson Gardens in Littleton, CO

I met up with the “T” family on Saturday to get an extended family portrait.  Thankfully I was warned ahead of time that their adorable daughter Avery might be a little shy.  So I whipped out my bubbles and managed to get a few small smiles from her.  Luckily, she warmed up pretty quickly and we got a ton of really cute pictures.

Started with a big group shot:

And then we made sure to get some other combinations of the family. I love this shot of the guys.

I think we were discussing Winnie the Pooh at this point:)

And, I LOVE this shot of Grandma with her Grandkid.

Matt & Michelle’s Beautiful Wedding at Indian Tree Golf Course, Arvada, CO

We got some beautiful photographs of Saturday’s wedding which started at Bethleham Lutheran church in Lakewood, Colorado.  It was a gorgeous day.  Not too hot, and some nice clouds in the sky too.  The rain was even nice enough to hold off until we were pretty much done with our outside photos at the Indian Tree Golf Course. 

Michelle had this special garter made for Matt.  I bet you can guess what one of his big hobbies is!

Here’s Matt, ready for the big day to begin.

Girls gettin’ ready time:

Matt and Michelle see each other for the first time that day.

And on to the ceremony. That stained glass is gorgeous!

Darn ring didn’t want to come off!

After the ceremony, there was a quick receiving line. I just love the look on Michelle’s little sister’s face. You can tell she just adores her big sis.

Off to the reception…

Just a few of the cool shots we got of the wedding party at Indian Tree Golf Course:

Matt looks so dapper in this one:)

Michelle is HOT!

Love her ring!

Bustling up after pictures…

Their cake was so cute:) Tasted delicious too! (http://www.masterpiececakes.com/)

How pretty is her bouquet? Love all of the different colors!

A newborn guest!

First Dance:

Matt & Michelle’s guests were so great. Not only were they really nice, but they knew how to cut it up on the dancefloor too!

Matt & Michelle’s friends did a really good job on the getaway car. They didn’t stop at just their car either. I’m sure one of their friends got a pretty funny end of the night suprise on their car. But since I’m trying to keep the blog somewhat “PG” I won’t post those pictures;)

My favorite so far. How romantic!

Congratulations Matt & Michelle!

2 (almost 3) year old photography at City Park tonight!

I got a little workout tonight!  I met up with 2.5 year old Jack and his Mom, Courtney at City Park in downtown Denver, CO.  I haven’t photographed this age as much recently and I had almost forgotten how much they are on the move at this stage in their life.  Jack was a little sweetie albeit a fast little sweetie!  The independence kids at this age are trying to assert just cracks me up.  Even if you have something fun for them to do they’ll look at you with suspicion.  Especially if you have a camera in front of your face:)  We did get a lot of cute shots though so I’m really pleased.

He has such an adorable smile.

This one cracked us up.  When we asked what he was doing, he told us he was being a monkey!  Of course, silly us:)

I adore this one. 

 

Thanks for being so easy going and willing to try some different things tonight, Courtney.  I hope you love them!

Recent photography from a Lakewood, CO Wedding

I met Kristin and Aaron last year to discuss their wedding photography and we hadn’t seen each other in all of that time. It was really nice to see them again on one of the biggest days of their lives. We met at St. Jude Catholic Church in Lakewood where they had planned to see each other before their wedding. I know a lot of couples prefer to see each other for the first time when the bride is walking down the aisle (which is fine), but I can’t say enough good things about how this day went simply because they chose to see each other before the wedding.

First off, I got these really touching photos of the both of them seeing each other for the first time that day. This is Aaron seeing Kristin in her dress for the first time. I love the look on his face!

And the gorgeous Kristin seeing her man

Because they met before the ceremony, we were able to get all of their family/wedding party formal photos done before the ceremony began which meant that after the ceremony Kristin and Aaron had more time to individually say hello and hug each and every one of their guests. It also meant that we could spend time getting awesome shots of Aaron & Kristin by themselves at a pretty location away from the church without everyone looking on after the ceremony. Sometimes we get time to do this at the reception, but it can be hard to get the bride and groom away from their party because everyone wants to spend time with them (nothing wrong with that!). Anyway, I don’t want to go on and on about how nice the schedule was at this wedding because they met before the ceremony, but it is something to think about!

Yay for details!

There was an abundance of cute kids at this wedding. This little guy was out before the ceremony even began!

Just a few from the actual ceremony:

After the ceremony we had about half an hour to get over to Belmar Park to get some nice photos of just the two of them.

I love how excited Kristin looks in this one!

And she just looks so happy in Aaron’s arms in this one. Definitely one of my favorites!

I just had to post this because it was so funny when it happened. So Aaron goes to toss the garter and I’m snapping away when I realize that something is not quite right. The garter was STUCK to the ceiling! First time I’ve ever seen that at a wedding. We had to do a redo. (We had to do a bouquet redo too because it hit the ceiling the first time! What kind of luck is that?)

Their friends and family were awesome because they participated in all of the group dances!  Kristin is one of 8 kids which automatically made me feel more connected to her & her family because I am the oldest of 7 kids so I know all about growing up in a huge family:)  (In a nutshell: No privacy & no secrets, but there was always someone to play with!)

Ok, I have to admit that after being in this biz for a awhile now I’m absolutely amazed at the number of people who know all of the moves to Thriller. I’m impressed.

Awwww….

I’m putting the first dance shots last because they were so cool. Aaron and Kristin looked like professionals on the dancefloor. Twirls and dips and assorted fancy moves, oh my! Seriously, they could give those Dancing with the Stars folks a run for their money:) It was quite a treat to see.

Kristin and Aaron, it was a pleasure to watch the two of you celebrate your love on Saturday. I hope you have the most relaxing time in Mexico and eat lots of yummy food!

 

ETA: Ok, just had to point out how dumb I am because I mentioned Kristin’s name in this post probably a million times and had convinced myself that it was spelled with an e instead of an i and one of the photos even has her name in it!  Just call me Ms. Observant!  I tried to go through and get them all corrected, but if I missed one, just let me know.

Hi Denver, I’m Back!

And, amazingly enough I’m on a fairly normal schedule! Wedding season is kicking into high gear starting tomorrow but I wanted to post some photos from the England vacation.

Possibly London’s most famous piece of architecture? I love Big Ben! (Btw, I know Big Ben is really the nickname for the bell inside, but Clock Tower doesn’t really roll off the tongue as nicely!)

Rocky Mountain Rollergirls Party Bus & Adios for 3 weeks!

First things first, I just want to let my readers and clients know that I am leaving for a vacation in England on Weds. morning and I won’t be back in Denver until May 28th. I will have access to email there so feel free to get in contact with me that way, but just know I may not be as fast to respond as I usually am because I will probably be very busy eating fish n chips;)

In keeping with my New Year’s attempt to photograph my personal life a bit more I volunteered to man one of our party buses Saturday night for the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls.  RMRG’s  “B” team, the Contenders were going up against the Oklahoma Victory Dolls (aka VD) from Oklahoma City, OK.  I was born in Oklahoma (Tulsa) so I was excited that they made the trip out.  Also, one of our Contenders is sisters with one of the VD skaters which made me wish I could convince my sisters to join so we could beat up on each other too:)

And, I can’t write this post without pointing out what a fab deal the party bus is.  For $25 these people got a ride from the afterparty bar (The Skylark on South Broadway) to the bout at Bladium in Stapleton, entrance to the bout, free beer on the way there, during halftime, & on the way back to the afterparty.  My bus rocked.  We started off as strangers and by the time we returned to the Bladium we were all like summer camp buddies.  Except a little too drunk to write down each other’s addresses;)

The sign on this bus cracks me up!  We’re going to Disneyland!!!!!  Umm..yeah, not so much!