Hope and Tom had a small, intimate ceremony at the Flagstaff House in Boulder, Colorado.  They had to postpone the ceremony because of rain, but this gave us the most beautiful light to photograph the details on the covered deck.  I love the soft light that makes the flowers look like they were photographed with Fuji film. Rabbi Scott Segal from Aspen officiated at this beautiful ceremony and Ketuba signing and Austin Ellis provided some amazing acoustic guitar.  Mozel Tov!

It’s a mixed blessing that anyone can marry you in Colorado.  On the one hand you get to have someone with a meaningful history to officiate at your wedding, but on the other, it’s probably their first time officiating and they probably haven’t thought of these things that help the ceremony and the wedding photography run smoothly.

1. Ask the guests to stand when the bride comes down the aisle and sit before the ceremony begins.  People need this direction and the green light when it is ok to sit back down.
2. Talk about an exit strategy after you walk down the aisle.  When I was starting as a photographer I kept getting this terrified look and question after the ceremony from the bride and groom – “Now what do we do?”  Figure out ahead of time what you want to do.  Are you takeing 15 minutes in private, doing a receiving line, or going to a special spot for family photos?  The end of the ceremony with 200 people watching isn’t the time to figure it out.
3. The officiant should move after announcing, “You may kiss the bride”.  Otherwise, you will probably have a strange partial head in the photo looking at your first kiss as husband and wife.

I’ve seen many ceremonies performed beautifully by first timers so hopefully these recommendations will help make it go even more smoothly at your ceremony.

Michelle and Steven had a beautiful April wedding at Rembrandt Yard.  Before the wedding we walked up to the Bitter Bar before they opened to recreate a dyptic painting, or two individual pieces that work together as one (kind of like a marriage!).  On the way back we stopped at a few of my favorite downtown Boulder locations.  One thing that struck me about this couple is how much they enjoy each other’s company.  Once they start talking the rest of the world disappears – great for getting candid shots of them.  It was a pleasure working with them and Shayna from cherry-bomb events.