The Steve Z Photography Blog

Kara and Jacob know how to party.  These are the raddest kinds of clients, the ones that become friends even after the job is done!  We started off the fun in January for with an epic-ly snowy engagement session.  Then we had a picture review and some margs at the Rio.  A week before the wedding the bridal party and friends hung out for a raucous Boulder bar night, and then a ski party at The Beach at Arapahoe Basin.  The night before the wedding was the rehearal dinner followed by drinks downtown.  And than, after all that, finally the day came for biggest party of all, their fantastic wedding at the Trinity Church and Grand Hyatt in Denver.

What what strobed 16 times in 15 seconds? Kara’s wedding dress photo.  Sorry, photo nerd joke.  Continue on, nothing to see here.

The ceiling of the limo was most excellent.  The yellow halo is the reflection of a taxi cab on the street behind us.

The happy couple met up before the ceremony so that we could get the formal photographs taken care of early.  We did a First Sight ceremony behind the front gates of the Trinity Church.  This series of photos is really, really wonderful, you need to see the full set!  Kara and Jacob are so excited to see each other for the first time, it’s pretty cool to see.

I haven’t been playing with the wonky lens too much lately.  I’m going to bring it back.  Right now.

Between the ceremony and the reception we stopped off at the Denver Art Museum for some arty photos.  Here is the bridal party looking dapper.  It was all downhill after this for this crew.  If you know them, you know what I mean.  :>)

It was pretty hard to get a photo of these guys NOT smiling.  They had the happiness meter pegged at 11.

Back at the Pinnacle Club at the Grand Hyatt, the cake was enjoying the view from the 38th floor! Don’t worry cake, we’ll meet again soon enough.

The reception features lot’s of laugh’s tears and touching family moments.  And after all that was done, DJ Cameron turned up the throttle and opened up a party that the Hyatt hasn’t seen in quite some time.  And the best part is that the party isn’t over yet!  We will be heading up to Arapahoe Basin for a fantastic fashion Sport The Dress shoot in the next couple weeks, so stay tuned for more epic good times!

Special thanks once again to all the amazing vendors who put their heart and soul to make this event the masterpiece that it was!

Venue .:. The Grand Hyatt Pinnacle Club

Makeup Artist .:. Carissa Beauty

DJ .:. Cameron Trainer .:. 5280 Mobile DJ

Musician .:. Rick Chinisci .:. Guitarist

Paula and Harry became Mr. and Mrs. Levine on March 7th in Denver, Colorado.  I was excited to be shooting at a new venue: The Westin Tabor Center.

The Bridal Suite was super sweet, apparently the same room that Obama stayed in during the Democratic National Convention.  I’m pretty sure that he wore a similar dress and shoes while lounging in the spacious suite.  OK maybe not.  But this was his bathrobe, I KNOW it!

Portrait of the groom on the balcony? Check. 16th Street Mall Clock Tower in the frame? WIN!

We didn’t do too much posed photography during this wedding.  Paula and Harry appreciate the photojournalist style of shooting, and prefer to have most of the moments captured naturally.  Plus, we already lived on the wild side during our engagement shoot last fall. Here are a couple, real, genuine, and true looks of love.

This was a Jewish wedding, and the Chuppah was stunning!  The lighting in the ceremony was super cool, I enjoyed the chandeliers and the lighting in the ceiling as well.

So I actually had a cold on this day. It wasn’t too bad, I took a bunch of Sudafed and rocked it out anyway. The saddest part was that I was too tired at the end to relax and eat wedding cake.  I’m going to have to eat two pieces next time.

When it came to the dancing, my oh my, this couple threw it down!  They had choreographed moves that I’ve never even seen before.

I want to thank all of my associate vendors for making this event such a smashing success!

Videography.:. Rising Moon Video Productions .:. Highlight video from this wedding HERE

Venue .:. Deseri Martinez .:. The Westin Tabor Center

Makeup Artist / Hair Stylist .:. Christy Harrington .:. C. Marie’s Makeup Artistry

Florist .:. Newberry Brothers Greenhouse and Florist

DJ .:. Tye Porter .:. A Music Plus

Event Coordinator .:. Walli Richardson .:. Special Events Design & Calligraphy

Cake Artist .:. Das Meyer Fine Pastry

There are many things that I love being a wedding photographer in Boulder Colorado. And one of them is that I see a wide variety of nontraditional weddings. Erin and Duncan are new to Colorado, but they bring a free spirited San Fransisco flair that fits right in.  In his speach Duncan told the tale of the intensive process of obtaining authentic Scottish garments from the region of his ancestors.  I think the effort was well worth it.

The wedding ceremony and reception were both held at the Greenbriar Inn in Boulder, Colorado. I have shot here a few times in the past, but this was the first winter wedding, so we had to have the ceremony inside. First we shot some nice bridal portraits and detail shots in the upstairs dining room to show off Erin’s epic dress.

She didn’t have a big train, but a wide angle lens can make that dress look like it went on for miles.

Here are some highlights of a few photojournalist captures during the ceremony.

When it came time to set up the formals, I asked the Father of the Bride to pose for me while I took some test shots.  Nice work!

After persevering through 20 minutes of outdoor formals on an overcast and cold winter day, Erin toughed it out for some couples portraits in the field.  I edited this wedding with some vintage tones, which I feel are appropriate for the time of year.

Erin really liked the jumping shot that I did in this same location last year.  Well, these guys weren’t blessed with the vertical leap of Matt and his triathlete and Marine buddies.  So we added a little humorous twist!

That is all from this mild mannered photographer for another blog post. I have February off from weddings, so look for some portrait and engagement shoots to be posted here over the next month until the weddings return in March. Thanks for reading.

A special thanks goes out to my affiliate vendors at this wedding!

Videography.:. Michael Richman .:. BlueBee Creative Media

Venue .:. Liz Daniels .:. The Greenbriar Inn

Dress Boutique .:. Felice Bridal

Florist .:. Sturtz and Copeland

Band .:. The Fever

Here we are, kicking off the 2009 Wedding Season with a fresh start in January.  You may remember Jillian and Mike from their Pearl Street Engagement session in Boulder last summer.  When I blogged about it, I jokingly titled it that I made them ‘flirt with death’.  I don’t know if I quite upheld that standard on their wedding day.  I guess Jill could have frozen to death, but it was actually a pretty nice day and the sun was shining brightly.

More and more often, couples are throwing tradition to the wind on their wedding day. I’m talking about that old tradition where the groom doesn’t see the bride until she comes walking down the aisle. While this is certainly romantic, it isn’t always the most practical option if you want great photos. In the wintertime, there usually isn’t much daylight left by the time the ceremony is over, so outdoor pictures often have to be taken beforehand.

Personally, I think this is a good thing! This is often called ‘First Sight’. We still capture the moment, but we do it with a little extra planning and choice of location. Then after the ceremony the happy couple can stay at the cocktail hour, and not have to leave their guests to go off on the Photo Walk. And as an added bonus you can go right up and kiss your spouse-to-be right away! Right Jillian?

I’m going to be taking more of an interest in photojournalism this year. I like shots like these where the guys and gals are hanging out and having fun, acting natural and un-posed.

That’s not to say that a little smile at the camera isn’t nice too! Mom would want it that way.

I try not to make Mom’s flirt with frostbite so we headed into the warmth of the Lutheran Church of the Cross up there in Evergreen.

And I have to say, seeing each other beforehand did not diminish their star-gazed looks they saw each other during the ceremony. Awesome.

And when you leave the church there is nothing better than a sky full of bubbles. Well, wait, yes there is. Flame throwers. But those are dangerous so maybe you should stick with sparklers. Brides take note.

The reception took place at the cozy Evergreen Conference Center down the road. There were passionate toasts, dancing, laughing and more love-struck gazing. That’s all from me, wedding #1 in the books, thanks for reading.