Keisha and Cameron chose to fill their engagement session with some vibrant scenes around Austin – and we had such a fun time bouncing through town together. We began around happy hour time in Clarksville, where the owners of restaurants Jeffrey’s and the Josephine House welcomed us so generously – even providing these two with […]
My camera has seen dozens of engagement sessions throughout Colorado and Texas this summer, so it’s always tough to pick ones to feature here. Sharing these stories during the peak of Colorado wedding season has been a challenge, too – definitely working on that one.
I think Jie (pronounced ‘jay’) and Ryan’s session grabs me immediately because of the vibrant colors and diversity we stumbled upon in Boulder. I guess it’s kinda hard not to stumble upon vibrance and abundance in a Boulder engagement session, but everywhere we ended up that day just seemed to fit perfectly for us. Bonus: Jie and Ryan are new to Colorado and had not explored Boulder yet, so it was a treat for me to show them some favorite spots. We danced (Jie with Ryan, me with my camera) to some live music on Pearl Street, checked out the Boulder Theater and soaked up the town a bit before heading to the Flatirons for a little hiking and picnic time. These two will be super happy as Coloradoans – I love their happy-go-lucky, adventurous spirits and they were so sweet and comfy together, I can hardly wait for their Chatfield Botanical Gardens wedding this fall.
Lots of Colorado wedding couples invite me to Boulder for their engagement photo scene and I love that it challenges me to see the area in a new way each time. Here are some favorites from what I saw with Jie and Ryan:
Must love Texas. Must love Colorado. Must love dogs. That’s all I require from my clients when I photograph their wedding day and engagement session. Teasing, of course – but there is some sort of happy trifecta that those three ingredients bring to my client relationships these days. I’m referring mostly to the Texas and Colorado parts (dogs are icing on the cake, naturally – because if you love dogs, then you are automatically awesome in my book); it seems that there is often a strong connection between Texas and Colorado for many of the wedding clients I cross paths with lately. As soon as Texans learn I’m from Colorado, eyes light up and conversation turns to skiing, snow, mountains (because Texans love Colorado) – and when Colorado folks learn that the Austin area is my second home, they almost applaud with the same admiration – and hand me a list of places to eat and hike and cycle (because, see – Coloradoans love Texas, too). Couples hunting for a wedding photographer to accommodate both places have even come across my name (needing engagement photos in Austin and wedding photos in Colorado – perfecto!). I couldn’t be more thrilled or grateful to bounce between both states with my cameras.
While my weekends are filled with photographing weddings, my weekdays are generally packed with engagement sessions. I suppose you could say I’m a professional third wheel Monday through Friday, always hanging out with couples in love, hunting sweet little scenes for engagement photos. Just me and the bride and groom to be. They’re smooching and I’m clicking. No complaints here, though! The engagement session is a great time for all 3 of us and I always leave these photo opportunities knowing more about each couple and how they interact – perfect info to stash away for the wedding day.
Between engagement photography and wedding day photography, a Colorado couple has the opportunity to find themselves in some of the best locales the state has to offer. Amy Beth and Drennen wanted photographs that show off their love for each other and their love for Colorado. Lucky me! I knew from our first emails that a wedding at the Sanctuary was in the plans, but it wasn’t until a few months after we’d met that the engagement shoot ideas started to unfold. Wanna head to Vail for a spring engagement session? Yep! Yep, I do. And so we did.
We brainstormed an idea of getting dolled up for a casual but classy set of photographs throughout Vail Village, followed by a change of clothes for a cozy mountain feel. We wrapped that plan up in some prayers for good weather, and were on our way.