One of my very favorite engagement sessions ever.  Seriously.

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Funny story behind Kendra.  Back in 2009, I met Kendra two weeks in a row.  She was a bridesmaid in a wedding on the 18th of October,  and  then attended another wedding the week after–totally unrelated set of friends, both brides in the same dress. It was kismet.  I was supposed to know her, I guess.  Since then, Kendra has been a loyal follower of my blog and I’ve been able to keep in touch with her.  When I got her email that she was getting married, I almost started jumping up and down.   I’m honored to be shooting her and Jason’s wedding next August in Aspen.

Jason, Kendra and I met up at the Cherry Cricket to fire up our engagement session.  The Cherry Cricket was where Kendra and Jason first met,  so it was only fitting that we start there.  Two pitchers of beer and a shot of patron later, we were having a riot and enjoying one of the most beautiful days this fall.  It was GORGEOUS out.  I then got to meet their two pups and hear Jason woo Kendra on the piano.  It was a really fun engagement session and I feel like I really got to know Kendra and Jason even more.  Already looking forward to their wedding next season!

Katie and Peter are a couple that I am so looking forward to working more with…  They are getting married next June and my expectations of it being a splendid event are high, simply because I know there will be a lot of emotion and the focus will be on their union–not a bunch of fussy hoopla.  Katie and Peter are in love–and that is clear.  But it’s almost as if they have two sides to their relationship—one side being that they have a blast together.  This is obvious in the shoot below, but they also have a more private side–while they are not into PDA, they display a tenderness with one another that is so sweet.  I love this in a couple.  The engagement shoot really reflects these two sides of them.  We started at Red Rocks, played a little there, had a beer, then went over to Yeti cycles where Peter makes mountain bikes, and hung out in the warehouse for a bit before we lost all light.  It was a really fun shoot.

I was so excited to do Jenny and Matt’s engagement session during the peak colors this fall…  We met up at the South Mesa Trail near Eldorado Springs and just played, really.  They brought their wonderful furry kids, Addie Mae and Kayle which made for some great captured moments.  I adore Jenny and Matt and am already looking forward to their wedding in Boulder next Summer.

I know I’ve said this before about other clients, but Lee Lee and Michael really might be the most fun loving couple I have ever worked with.  EVER.  I had never met Lee Lee and Michael before their engagement session (which took place a week before their wedding), but I wish I had, and I plan to spend many more hours with them in the coming years.  These two are total GEMS–they are kind, bubbly audio files who already spent their honeymoon (pre-wedding) following Widespread Panic.  Need I say more?  Fun.  We started with a shot of tequila at McLoughlin’s,  then hit Commons park where we just played and got to know each other.  Lee Lee and Michael’s wedding was on Saturday and met every expectation of the fun celebration that I could have only imagined coming from these two.  Lee Lee even got on the mic and rapped.  Enough said about that… you’ll have to stay tuned for the wedding blog entry.  Enjoy these for now…

Lauren and Dan are one of the couples that I am most excited about working with this upcoming season.  So it was no surprise that we had such a good time working together on their engagement portraits.  We started at a bar on Colfax and then went to twist and shout, where we got kicked out (which is always an adventure), and then landed at and around the Tattered Cover.
Dan was extremely nervous about doing the shoot–I honestly think  he thought he would have rather poked his eyes out than spend a Saturday afternoon posing pretty for engagement portraits.  But between you and me….  I think he ended up have a pretty good time.  Because I knew that Dan really didn’t want to pose for the camera, I did 90% of this shoot with a 70-200mm and was a voyeur.   I really like the challenge of having to work as a journalist with engagement portraits, rather than spend an hour posing and making “pretty”.  And the clients who prefer this type of documentation are my dream clients.  Posing is great for a couple of shots—I guess you’ve gotta have that “newspaper shot”, but when I get to hide and capture “real life” during a “real time” in somebody’s life, I’m pretty much happy all around.  Thanks, Lauren and Dan!  Can’t wait for March 26th!

When Megan and I were talking about what she had in mind for their engagement photos, she said “Ryan’s not really the PDA kind of guy. I think we might be more “squirly”. But as squirly as these two might appear, they simply adore one another. PDA was not an issue, as they cuddled and loved on each other the entire session. I really click with Megan and Ryan—they are my “kind’. Straight forward, and maybe even scrappy, these two wear bleeding hearts on their sleeves.

Sadie and Ryan met me at Mclouglin’s for a couple of drinks before we started the shoot. They said that they were “camera shy”. HAAAA~ shy, maybe. But brilliant in front of the camera! They wanted something more “urban and edgy”, and less “cutesy and naturesque”. I loved this session and am so excited to work with Sadie and Ryan again at their winter wedding downtown. What a stunning couple, no?

One word: Adorable. Seriously, freaking adorable! I am a bit biased however, as Evan is my baby cousin. But hypothetically speaking, if Evan were not my cousin, I still would have had such a good time with these two and couldn’t be more thrilled and excited about shooting their wedding next June. Evan and Jessica met when they were 12 at the county fair (see below, but imagine the fair 14 years ago). I’m not sure when they started seriously dating, but I know that as long as I can remember Evan having a lady friend, it was Jessica. And I always thought to myself—darn, that girl is a knock out! Evan done good. He’s held on to Jessica and is making this gorgous little lady his wife.
Evan grew up in Otis, Co and Jessica, in Akron–about a 20 minute drive from each other. My grandma, Nonie has a farm in between the two in a tiny little town called Platner, so we all decided that the “farm” would be the perfect place to do the engagement pictures. Funny enough, and by total coincidence based on coordinating dates, the county fair was going on. It was perfect, and fun, and I can’t say how much I love these two—obviously.

Sometimes I have no words to describe a couples connection. I’m a photographer, not a poet. I often feel like I repeat myself again, and again on my blog when I say how “in love” this or that couple is. But Kristina and Shaughn are truly, really, fantastically, in love. The pure joy in these two’s faces is divine. As a photographer, all I aim to do is “capture”, not “create”. I cannot manifest expressions of bliss on peoples faces with direction, but I can be in tune with it,and intuitively know that a “moment’, sums up a larger picture. No pun intended.
Kristina and Shaughn were a gift to me as clients. I showed up to the shoot for the perfect 7:30 pm light. We walked out about 100 yards into a field and I was stoked—beautiful couple, beautiful backdrop, surely beautiful images. Unfortunately, when I snapped that first shot, my shutter locked up and we had to cancel the shoot. Did I mention that we had scheduled this shoot 3 months out because Kristin and Shaughn are from Boston? And unfortunately, I had a wedding the next day at 7:30pm and wouldn’t be able to “reschedule” with the original vision in mind of that golden, perfect light peering over the Boulder foothills. We had to reschedule the shoot for 10am the next morning. Not exactly as comfortable, and a hassle for Kristina and Shaughn to say the least. I was embarrassed, and I felt so unprofessional, but hey–what’s one to do? (Now I will bring a back up camera to all shoots). Long story short, Kristina and Shaughn were more than gracious and understanding, and what could have been an unpleasant experience turned into a wonderful one. I love these two for their kindness and grace–towards me, of course but especially with each other! They are two kind, beautiful hearts who deserve each other completely. The icing on the cake of all of this, is that the 10am light proved to be incredible! I generally steer away from this harsh light, but the blue sky, and the fresh morning foliage was perfect. I don’t think I could be happier with the outcome of these images. All things happen for a reason.
Congratulations on your engagement, Kristina and Shaughn…. I wish you all the happiness in the world.

Elizabeth and Collin shocked me a couple of weeks ago with the news that they will be moving to Seattle… Life seems to throw crazy at you in clusters, doesn’t it? Planning a wedding, moving to Seattle, new jobs… etc, etc. But if anybody can roll with crazy, it’s Elizabeth and Collin! They are super chill and fun-loving. They embrace life no matter where it happens… and this is what I love most about them! They are a truly vivacious couple! We decided to do the engagement shoot at Commons park in Denver to really get that Denver feel, with the skyline and the people and the amazing golden light that seems to ascend on the buildings and grasses in the evening. And we had so much fun walking around for an hour or so! While I’m sure a short engagement shoot won’t sum up their time in Denver, I certainly hope that this shoot and these images will be a fun memory that they can take with them to Seattle….

I had a short but great trip out to DC a couple of days ago to take Julia and Andrew’s engagement portraits. How lucky am I, that I have a job that flies me to beautiful places to work with beautiful people? Beyond lucky. I am blessed.
Funny thing about life is that you can’t predict the future and you certainly can’t control it. We planned this trip about a month ago in hopes that I would be out there for the cherry blossoms on a lovely warm spring DC day. Ticket was purchased, hotel was booked, and visions of pink blossoms and sunny faces preceded the trip. Little did we know, a nuclear summit would descend upon the city making it insanely crowded or that it would pour rain on the one day I was there for the shoot. Did I also mention I missed the cherry blossoms by about a week? However, there are always silver linings and this day turned out some of the most romantic engagement portraits I’ve made. The rain, the empty parks, the reflection of city traffic in the street, and of course true love. The trip was surreal and the city inspiring. I came home with a hot set of engagement photos and a new love for our nation’s capital.
Thank you, Julia and Andrew for giving me the honor of being your photographer and for showing me around your hometown. This was a highlight of my career.

I’m so fortunate to get to work with a myriad of different people/personalities…. It’s part of what keeps my job fresh. 9 times out of 10 I am meeting my clients for the first time at the shoot. I have no idea what they look like, how they interact, or whether they will even jive with me. Thankfully I’m a gal that gets along with most people, and this certainly helps! Lisa Marie and Codi hired me to shoot their engagement photos through Lisa Marie’s stepmother, so they were no exception to the rule. I really knew nothing about the two of them until our shoot. When I finally met Lisa Marie and Codi however, I instantly loved them. They are completely authentic and honest people. There was no bull with these two—they were frank about what they wanted and straight to the point. A perfect example of this is, after I kept trying to pull all these tricks out of my bag to make Codi laugh or smile he finally turned to me and said, “No offense to you Julie, but I just don’t smile much”. I loved it! And I respected him the more for being honest and real. Smiles or none, this man has a great sense of humor and is smitten with Lisa Marie. After trying to put them into a box of the “giddy couple”, I finally let go and felt like I captured the two of them best when I asked them to “nuzzle”. This was natural to them. This is who they are as a couple—not bubbly or over the top energetic hipsters who want to jump in the air. They are Lisa Marie and Codi… who clearly love each other fiercely. And that is what they hired me to capture.

What a beautiful couple, No? Kara and Calvin are adorable… she is just a little peanut, and he is a very tall man. I love it! We started the shoot at the Denver Diner where Kara and Calvin had their first date and then meandered around 15th in some very, very windy conditions! The elements made for some serious flashing (on my part). Note to self: no dresses on windy days. It was worth it though to get the laughter and reactions from Kara and Calvin. All in all, this shoot was one of my favorite engagement sessions ever and I’m very much looking forward to Kara and Calvin’s wedding in June.

Long story short, I wrecked my 70-200mm lens at Jesse Daniel and the Reckoning on Thursday night… So I shot this entire session with a 50mm 1.4 which, although already my very favorite lens, having to rely on it so heavily during this engagement shoot really reminded me of why it’s my favorite lens. On top of the amazing shallow depth of field it offers, the 50mm forces a photographer to move. There is no zooming here—just me, the photographer, moving around with a fixed lens to get the perfect shot. I love that composition was changed by me getting out of my comfort zone and moving in…. making the images feel even more intimate and romantic. Speaking of romantic…Lauren and Bryan were wonderful! I was a little nervous, because Lauren being the spicy little thing that she is, came right out when we met and said, “I don’t want anything cheesy, like….” referring to some of the shots on my website. Immediately, I was worried that they would think everything I asked them to do would be “cheesy”. Luckily, these two cats are so much in love, that they cuddled and “nuzzled” giving me a plethora of beautiful, romantic shots without me having to pose them or ask them to “roll on the grass” or “jump in the air”. They also played hard with their exuberant dog, Nala. We had a riot around Commons Park and landed at Mcloughlin’s for shots of Jameson. Very good times with Lauren and Bryan and Nala!

I feel like I’ve known Jessica my whole life—like she is an old friend. But that’s not exactly the case—we’ve only known each other for about a year, and in that year, we’ve only met up in person 4 or 5 times. Jessica entered my “love song cover contest” last Valentines day on my blog and cracked me up immediately. She then came in to interview for my personal assistant position and, well the rest is history! When I met Adam, I felt equally as comfortable as I did with Jess the first time we met. They are just those kind of people who make you feel at home no matter what the situation. They are genuine sweethearts! I had to share this email from Jessica that she sent a year ago, because I think it’s a great proposal story. Especially the part where Adam faked a fall on the slopes. Classic! Check it out:
“Adam proposed when we were skiing at Mary Jane. We go up there a lot so it was the perfect setting, especially because it was a gorgeous, warm, blue sky day in the mountains. Not sure if you’re familiar with Mary Jane at all, but at the very top of the mountain there is an area called Parsons Bowl so we rode the lift up there with his cousin and cousin’s girlfriend who were in town from D.C. for the weekend. All of a sudden his cousin & cousin’s girlfriend said they were going to ditch us so they could race each other down the hill. I thought that was a little strange but was like whatever, I guess that’s what out-of-towners do when they come here to ski So Adam and I were skiing by ourselves and all of sudden he took a spill and was really slow to get up so I skied over to where he was and he was still on the snow grasping his knee in pain. I was really worried he might have torn something since he has bad knees to begin with! So I told him he should pop out of his skis and stretch a little to see if that would help. Well when he popped out of his skis, he also popped out the ring and proposed! I couldn’t believe it was happening then and there but was so excited and surprised that I said yes right away and we skied down to the bottom of the mountain and met up with his cousin and had some celebratory shots at the Cable Car!!! I couldn’t have asked for a better proposal, because not only was it a surprise but it was at one of our favorite places and doing one of our favorite activities…..”
Aren’t they adorable?! And their sweet little husky, Kiva wasn’t too bad, herself! We had a great time meandering around Jefferson park… it was a very easy and comfortable shoot–again, like I have known them for years! I’m very much looking forward to their wedding in June.

Another cold, winter engagement shoot at Chautauqua. I have to say I actually love these winter sessions. There is something about the way these cutties cuddle up in the snow and keep each other warm, that reminds me of an old 1940′s holiday song—super romantic! Katie and Chris were great sports playing, sitting and even laying in the snow and practically going numb from the cold temperatures. But I’m pretty sure they thoroughly enjoyed the hour together. They are in love—all kisses and giggles. Thanks for braving the elements, you two! I’m more excited for July, than ever!

It was only about 22 years ago that I went to my cousin Briana’s first wedding when she “married” my brother,  Robbie in our front yard.  Totally adorable…

But sweet  Briana is now marrying her real her sweetheart, Jim whom I couldn’t adore more…  Unfortunately I won’t be able to attend their wedding in June because I am already booked up, but I was happy to get to take their engagement photos and play with them a couple of weeks ago!  They are too cute and totally in love.  I couldn’t have picked a better man for my little cuz.  Love you, girlie!  Congratulations to you both!

Jim and Briana’s thing is “Rock, paper, scissors”.  I love the series of images below—I’d play “rock, paper, scissors” with Jesse all the time, too if we had this much fun!

I of course had to snag this candid moment with Denver’s skyline in the background…

I am so lucky to have clients who love my work enough to fly me across the country or world to shoot their wedding.  I really can’t think of a bigger honor–especially when that place is NYC, and I happen to know  that there are some super talented photographers out there!  In fact, Michelle and Paul and I were all joking about how confused their familes were when they said that they were flying in a photographer from Colorado of all places, to photograph their East Coast wedding!  I mean, really—Colorado?  Could there be superior talent in “middle America?”  Ha ha!  But I am thanking my lucky stars that I get to work with Michelle and Paul–not to do a destination wedding, but because I adore these two!  They are an incredible couple who have the most wonderful, fairy tale love story …  You see, Paul was Michelle’s 8th grade algebra teacher…  Of course they didn’t  get together back then, but fell in love a few years back–both now teachers (actually, Paul is a principal).  It sounds scandalous, which is one of the reasons I love their story so much–it sounds scandalous, but it isn’t at all—it’s actually true love and a perfect match if I’ve ever seen one.  They have one of those stories that gives me hope that love can be found in the most unexpected places and can still surprise  us at any moment in life….

Michelle and Paul are big Mets fans…  they had two shirts made with the date of their wedding on the backs (7/18)  I thought it was an adorable idea—and it somehow fits them so perfect!  They are so much fun!