The couple will be married outdoors this august in Boulder, Colorado.  The sun will be shining, the flowers, brilliantly colorful, and the damn wind can stay home for the day–or else!

When I first talked to Crystal about her wedding and engagement photos, she expressed concern that both her and Roberto were a little camera shy and have never really had their photos taken by a professional photographer.  After meeting them for the first time, I quickly realized that their shoot was going to be easy; the couple has amazing chemistry, and Crystal just lights up in the presence of Roberto.  Two is better than one.  By the end of their engagement session in downtown Denver, I barely remembered that these two were supposed to be camera shy.  When you take two people that are crazy about each other and place them together, their chemistry takes over; they soon forget all about the camera, and they get lost in their own little world.  My role at that point becomes not so much a creative director as simply providing suggestions and letting them interpret them through their own ways of interacting with each other.  Part of what keeps my job fresh is that there’s a unique subtlety to every couple’s interactions; it means that you never know quite what you’ll end up with, and it’s always rewarding to see a couple’s unique personalities show through in their wedding and engagement photos.  One observation I noted about Crystal is that she lights up when Roberto touches her.  I realize this sounds cliche, but their engagement photos speak for themselves.  See for yourself!

I’m really looking forward to photographing their Denver wedding at the Grant Humphrey Mansion in April.  Thank you guys for inviting me (wink, wink).

(I’m sure Roy will be able to appreciate this, being from my generation, which grew up watching real action movies the likes of Blood Sport, Rambo, and Delta Force–not the nancy, sissy cr@p they play these days).

So, where we were?  Yes,  Ashley and Roy.  I could tell you all the classic stuff like how they met at a co-ed softball league and hit a home run (ok, maybe I added that last part ), or how Roy proposed to Ashley while they were out for a Vespa ride and almost missed the opportunity when Ashley rode ahead of him and almost didn’t stop at EXACTLY the top secret spot he had picked out, or how they share a mutual love of dressing up their cats, Stormy & Sawyer, for the holidays (and job interviews), but I think what should be noted the most is the strength of his embrace and how she just falls into it like home—and on that note, I think I’ll get started on my first harlequinn romance novel (j/k j/k).  In all seriousness,  I don’t get a ton of time to get to know my couples; after all, Ashley and Roy have spent the past four years together going on many adventures.  So I have to go on what I see in the moment, which tells you a lot, actually, about how comfortable a couple is with each other that they can forget the world around them (and a certain photographer) and just lose themselves in the moment.  These guys were so utterly lost in the moment that you’d think they were still using Apple Maps™

Ashley and Roy, I had a blast photographing the two of you in your idyllic seaside town that smells like a giant botanical garden (apparently year round even in the middle of winter–so jealous);  I LOL-ed along with you as we repeatedly got photo-bombed by dogs running amuck; and I loved that you invited me over for dinner and that said dinner consisted of two very delicious deep dish Chicago style pizzas that Roy made by hand (and very successfully defended his family’s honor with).  Thank you guys for having me.  I’m really looking forward to photographing your wedding in august at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

It’s always fun meeting new  couples and learning things about them;  I love doing engagement shoots for this very reason.  It’s laid back, fun, amazing photos come as a result, but best of all, by the time the wedding rolls around, it’s like we’re long time friends.  That level of comfort makes the wedding day photos so much better.  During their San Francisco engagement shoot, I learned that Colleen has a fantastic sense of humor and is extremely resilient–she did, after all, sit on a pile of dog poo accidentally when I asked them to sit on a grassy knoll during their engagement shoot.  I don’t know what was funnier: her sitting on the pile, or the ‘ick’ faces Erik was making afterwards.  Hahahahaha.  Fortunately, there was a hose near by.  I learned that Erik loves sailing, plays rugby and takes his Honda enduro bike on adventures into the mountains and dirt roads.  –all very manly things, of course.  I can see why Colleen was attracted to him.  During the wedding, I learned that Erik also likes rocking out to Hannah Montanna’s song “Party in the U.S.A.”…and does so shamelessly, nay, triumphantly!  I can’t say that I saw that one coming.

Thank you for inviting me to be a part of your special day.   I wish you guys the best.