Emily & Ramiro

I had a couple of weeks off from weddings during the middle of July, whew! Then on the 23rd I photographed la boda de Ramiro y Emily. She's from here and he's from Mexico and they are very, very cute! Since Ramiro's family couldn't make it to the wedding, these pictures are especially important. Emily walked up the aisle to the strains of latin guitar in honor of Ramiro's heritage. I thought that was pretty cool! Although it was a small wedding, poor Ramiro was so nervous I thought I was going to have to give him a paper bag to breathe into! But it all came off beautifully, nerves notwithstanding. Oh, and they had some seriously cute flower girls.

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Alex & Melissa

July 13th was a Thursday, and my third wedding in six days. You'd think that I would have been really worn out and unmotivated, but actually I was stoked to work with Melissa and Alex, I just like them so much! She's from a tiny farm town in Nebraska, and he's from southern California: yes, country girl meets surfer dude. They've actually been together for over nine years, so when someone wrote "at last" in their guest book I had to get a picture of it. Melissa's "something borrowed" was an antique, hand-embroidered hanky that had belonged to her grandmother. I thought it was a sweet gesture in honor of Grandma. This was a fun, relaxed family get together. Great food, great company, great party. I had a lot of fun.

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Jennifer & Brandon

It's not often that I have a wedding at 10:00am on a Monday, but June 10th is a special date for Jennifer and Brandon. They were high school sweethearts and now they're in their early/mid-twenties -- to me they look so young, but maybe it's just me feeling old! St. Mary's Cathedral in downtown Colorado Springs is a beautiful church to be married in. I love the pink groin-vaulted ceiling and the antique devotional statuary. The reception at the Sheraton featured brunchy food, yum. Jennifer is a full time nanny to two autistic boys who happen to be twins. The funniest part of the day was when, in the most solemn part of the ceremony, one of Jennifer's charges firmly announced from the peanut gallery that he did not want tater tots for lunch. The sweetest part of the day had to be the father-daughter dance. Jennifer is a self-professed daddy's girl, and everyone got a little teary eyed to see them dance together. And then we all made it home in time for Oprah.

Jen and Brandon's first dance. They waited years for this!

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Leanne & Jose Gabriel

July 8th turned out to be another multicultural wedding! Leanne met Jose in Venezuela on a mission, and they fell in love. Since she's from here, they decided to get married in Palmer Lake at the Pine Crest Event Center. It was rainy but we worked with the weather instead of against it -- I think rain is romantic! Since Leanne was in Venezuela during the entire engagement period and her friend Jesse in Dallas designed and sewed the wedding gown, Leanne had her lone dress fitting in a bathroom at the Dallas airport during a layover on her flight home! The dress turned out perfect, so kudos to Jesse. And uh by the way, I must also mention that, umm, it turns out that Venezuelan guys are extremely handsome! And they smell so good! And such beautiful hair! Jose had the handsomest brothers and cousins and uncles and who knows what at this wedding! The only bad part was at the end, when I accidentally backed my car into a ditch in the dark when trying to leave. All these hunky guys had to come out and rescue me. So embarrassing! I swear I didn't do it on purpose.

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Salha & Alan

Still catching up on all the weddings I've been doing this year... Today I wanted to share a wedding I shot on June 25th. Here in Colorado Springs we have a small but tightly knit Jewish community. I've shot Jewish weddings before, but never an Orthodox Jewish wedding, so this was exciting for me. Salha and Alan met online, on a site for Orthodox Jewish singles. They are very happy together, so good for them. Since both of them are a bit camera shy I won't post any pictures that show their faces. This was a new experience for me -- lots of beautiful rituals, including signing the ketubah (see photo, that's one of the witnesses signing it). I had a great time, met some wonderful people and learned a thing or two as did some of their non-Jewish guests. Speaking of which, my favorite pic of the day is the one of the wedding guest wearing the kilt and the yarmulke.

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Lynn & David

I did a really great wedding on June 24th. Lynn and David were my first official digital wedding experience. Up until then I was shooting 100% film. Boy did I have fun! Making the transaction to digital has been difficult in many ways, but in other ways it's really freed me up as a photographer and as an artist. Lynn and David were such a cute couple to break in my new camera with! They got married at First Christian Church, and the reception was at the Craftwood Inn. It was a military wedding, too, which is fun. I love all the pomp and ceremony. An all around great day, and such a gorgeous couple to "practice" on! Congrats guys!

I love this picture! Doesn't she look magnificent?

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Happy Birthday Hannah Banana!

On Saturday, June 10th I didn't have a wedding, amazing but true. I had another very important event to attend though -- a 5th birthday party! My little buddy Hannah turned five and I haven't missed any of her birthdays since I met her three years ago. For those of you who don't know the story, Hannah had leukemia and that's how I met her. I volunteer for an organization called Compassion for Kids which provides aid and support to families who have children in chemo (please see http://www.compassionforkids.com/). Part of the support they provide is to match each family with a professional photographer to chronicle their story, and that's where I come in. I've really grown attached to the Richters. Not only do they have Hannah, they have a little guy named Carter and a pair of twins named Kelsey and Meranda. And they're expecting another baby in a few months! This family has completely stolen my heart! The great news about Hannah is that she is now cancer-free and healthy, so this birthday was extra special. The Richters just relocated to Texas (Eric's in the Air Force) and I miss them dearly! Especially Hannah and her sweet little KoolAid-stained face.

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Brooke & Mike

Brooke and Mike tied the knot at Hillside Gardens on June 3rd. I love doing weddings there because the view's so awesome. It was one of those postcard-perfect Colorado days, not too hot, shockingly blue skies. I thought Brooke had one of the coolest wedding gowns I've ever seen! The bodice was boned and tightly corseted, and the skirt had these super-stylish bustles all the way down the back -- but it wasn't a ballgown. It was chic! Another cool thing at their wedding: Mike sang a song to her at the reception. At first I thought, "Oh no, it's karaoke time," and I braced myself for yet another bad version of "Love Me Tender", but when he began to sing I was pleasantly surprised! I don't remember the song (it was a country song) but I do remember what a great crooner he was! Who knew?!? Not only is Mike a crackup and all-around great guy, he's the next Kenny Chesney! ...Stand by for more updates. I plan to have the entire summer blogged by the beginning of November.

I think this picture is so romantic!

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Kristina & Rob

To continue catching up on all the blogging I didn't do this summer... May 28, 2006 was Kris and Rob's big day! They had a big affair at the Briarhurst. Great food, great party, and a multicultural event! During the ceremony Kris's mom did a reading in Korean and Rob's mom did one in English. When Kris got choked up while reciting her vows, her mom ran up and handed her a tissue (see photo)! A little moment of brevity always helps. Notice Kris's beautiful dress: to date she's my only bride to wear Badgley Mischka, and it was just perfect for her. She looked amazing.

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Toni & Bryan

I started my blog in July but haven't updated it since because of problems with my site (long story). I've taken a heck of a lot of pictures in the interim (!), so I'm just going to recap my summer one entry at a time, starting with Toni and Brian's wedding on May 20th! What a great couple. They're from Pueblo and they opted to get married in Manitou Springs. We couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous spring day! Mother Nature really smiled on us. It was a great wedding -- he actually sang to her during the ceremony (a John Denver love song) and there wasn't a dry eye in the place, including mine. Congrats to Toni and Brian!

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