Monica & Tom did their engagement shoot at Red Rocks in Morrison, CO.   I loved the way her green dress contrasted against the red rocks.  And their outdoor nature inspired e-shoot will definitely be a nice contrast to their urban downtown Denver wedding at   Mile High Station.  Check out their just finished memory book proof, each page (other then the first one) is how you would see their book laid open flat (minus the watermark & banner of course).  Enjoy.

Sarah & Dylan lived and played in Golden, before a job sent them packing to their current location in Arkansas.  So it only made sense when they came to town last week for some necessary wedding planning that we do their engagement shoot in Golden.  Their time in Denver was limited, so we met early in the morning for a walk down Golden’s main avenue, Washington Ave.  Then we walked along Clear Creek (which unfortunately was more muddy then clear on this day), to Coors Brewery, where Dylan reminisced & shared fraternity stories.  We then headed back to Washington St. for a coffee break where we spotted Governor Bill Ritter taking a break from a bike ride.  I decided against posting the unflattering shot of him in his skin tight biker shorts (but feel free to visualize it), but I’m starting to get a nice collection of random politician black mail photos.  Too bad I’m not in the paparazzi business.  What a weird job that would be…getting paid to make people look bad, I’m glad I specialize in making people look good   Which is perhaps why my intern called me a “hopeless romantic” today.  Anyway…enough ranting….to see this couple’s picture preview watch the slideshow below.  I’m really excited for Sarah & Dylan’s Halloween wedding at Grant Humphrey’s Mansion.  It is one of my favorite locations & holidays, which I’m sure will make for quite an amazing day!

Diana & Matt did an urban inspired engagement session, a nice contrast to their nature inspired Hudson Gardens wedding coming up later this month.  Flip through their album proof below to see shots from their graffiti & whisky photo shoot.  When viewing keep in mind that each image (except the cover page) is actually a 2 page spread (how you would see the book open flat). You can also select the TV looking icon in the lower bottom right of the slide show after you press “play” to see the images full screen.

With a summer full of weddings and photo shoots I’m going to have to start keeping my blog post much shorter to keep up with it all.  I’ve been playing with the idea of hiring someone to help me with my blog, but the thought of someone else writing my posts still seems too odd, kind of like having someone record my personal journal entries.  So you may notice me writing more with pictures this summer then words…since obviously that’s what I do best anyway

Here’s a sample of my latest design, a stylish guest book for Renee & Kevin’s rapidly approaching August wedding at Mount Vernon Country Club in Golden, CO

What goes better with an engagement shoot then grafitti & whiskey?!

For Diana & Matt’s photography filled date night we met on Colfax St. where they knew of a great grafitti wall near downtown that was full of characters from The Nightmare Before Elm Street, one of their favorite movies. Then it was off to Stranahan’s distillery for some whiskey shooting (photos not shots) fun!  Diana & Matt discovered a love for Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey & thought it would be an interesting stop for their engagement shoot.  It took me a lot of phone calls & emails to get permission to enter their warehouse and do the photo shoot, but I love a challenge and shooting in new places so I was more then happy to do it.  I was surprised how similar the distillery was to the beer brewery where I did Emily & Andrew’s engagement session. They both use enourmous metal cylinders, wooden barrels, and of course a hold a huge supply of their goods which makes for some uniquely different pictures. For our last stop we tried to get to one of my favorite grafitti walls in Lodo, but unfortunately there was a baseball game at Coors Field so every parking lot nearby was packed to over capacity resulting in the graffiti to be completely covered by parked cars.   So instead we drove away from the crowds till we found more graffiti & the sun went down.  Diana & Matt are getting married later this summer at the Hudson Gardens.

Below is the just finished engagement guest book for Stephanie & Dane.  Please keep in mind when viewing that you are looking at 2 pages opened flat.  This new style of guest book replaces the traditional boring “sign on the line” guest book still seen at most weddings.   Its filled with pictures from the couple’s engagement photo shoot with plenty of space for guests to leave messages for the bride & groom on their wedding day.  I’m looking forward to seeing it out on Stephanie & Dane’s wedding day this fall at Peace Lutheran Church & Stonebrook Manor.

Renee & Kevin chose to start their engagement photo shoot in Wash Park near where they live and where they spend a lot of their free time.   We had to dodge a lot of people and duck poop but luckily it was a beautiful day & perfect cloudy skies for photos.  From there we stopped at their house for a change of clothes and & a shot with their cat.  The poor cat seemed startled by every noise & rapid movement so photographing her was not the easies.  Next I brought these baseball fans to Coors Field in downtown Denver.  Then to finish off our photo session we did some shots in front of the Denver skyline…as portrayed in graffiti.   I will be photographing Renee & Kevin’s wedding this fall at Mount Vernon Country Club in Golden, CO…where I will also be spending my 4th of July for another wedding, hopefully full of firecrackers & great weather, fingers crossed!  Play the slideshow below to see a dozen pictures from this fun engagement shoot around Denver.

Who would have known taking engagement pictures would be such a dangerous job! We’re just minding our own business walking around Red Rocks park in Morrison, CO and out of nowhere a huge snake slivers across our path! Actually if my intern didn’t see it first I probably would have stepped right on it. I always say its good to have an assistant on shoots as my 2nd set of eyes to watch out for hairs out of place, revealing bra straps…oh and to make sure no snakes are in the shot. I wonder now…does my insurance cover snake bites…or yikes what if one of my clients would have gotten attacked…would have made for some interesting pictures, but not the kind you want to hang on your wall! Luckily, Stephanie & Dane were not too freaked out by the snake and were able to finish walking the path without crossing paths with more serpents. Thank you guys for being such good sports about it.  It helps me to know that you will be just as calm & collective for your wedding day…as I think that snake would have even scared off some of Tyra’s top models (it was a LOT bigger then my picture, that is just the small tail end)!  Well at least we shouldn’t have anything like that to worry about at Peace Lutheran Church or Stonebrook Manor where Stephanie & Dane will be getting married this fall. But next time I’m doing a wedding at Red Rocks I will certainly have my assistant there for snake watch!

Monica & Tom’s Engagement Shoot at Red Rocks in Morrison, Colorado

Monica & Tom are one of those couples that take little guidance in an engagement photo shoot because they naturally just flow so well together.  They are the couple that would have gotten kicked out the school dance for too much kissing.  They will either make you swoon at their cuteness or gag with jealousy.  As a wedding photographer with a romantic soft spot it just made my job more enjoyable and easier.  I didn’t realize it until I started editing their pictures that Monica & Tom’s engagement shoot was on the one year pre-anniversary of their wedding date.    This lovely couple will be getting married Memorial Day weekend 2011 at Mile High Station in downtown Denver.  Even though we have a year to go until their wedding, I’m super excited to be working with Monica & Tom and to be shooting at a venue I haven’t photographed yet. I have a feeling that it will be a fun, romantic, super stylish yet laid-back wedding…my favorite kind!

Zori & Ben have been living in the Denver neighborhood of West Wash Park for a few years but are trying to purchase their first home together outside the city. So we decided to do a shoot around the hood as a way for them to remember their time here together and all the places they like such as Cafe Europa & Pete’s Greek restaurant. This is actually my new neighborhood so I was excited myself to see what fun spots I could find for pictures.  Spring is certainly in full bloom now and we even found a tulip garden that inspired the couple to do a fun yoga pose. We had a great time meandering around and finding unique spots they were not even aware of. I can’t wait to photograph their wedding,  Zori & Ben will be getting married this summer at The Pines at Gennesee, right outside Denver, Colorado.