Congrats to one of our sweetest couples–Leona and Lucas–who tied the knot this weekend! They are as sweet, down-to-earth, and in love as they come, and their wedding was a perfect celebration!

The gorgeous Leona getting ready in her amazing hotel room:

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They were staying at the Hotel Monaco, which is…well…pet friendly doesn’t seem to do it justice. They are more like pet LOVERS. There were embossed beautifully wrapped dog bones on the entry table of the room, goldfish in goldfish bowls by the elevators, and Leona said that they brought Pickle his food bowls on a silver tray! It was very cool, and I think Pickle enjoyed it greatly:

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Meanwhile, a couple of blocks away, the boys were getting ready. Gust was a perfect brother, pre-tying Lucas’s tie:

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Leona and Lucas saw each other before the ceremony so that we could get all of the formal portraits out of the way beforehand. We talked a lot about the best way to time everything, and it turned out perfectly. I love it when the portrait time is absent of stress and perfectly on time!

Leona and Lucas chose Wash Park in Denver for their portrait spot…and I didn’t realize until we got there that it was the one park in Denver that I actually knew! We shot Faisal and Sonya’s engagement portraits at the park, so it was easy for me to quickly get them to the best spots…

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These two make being a photographer EASY!

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Leona and her sister/maid of honor (Leona and her three sisters are all way too beautiful!):

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Aren’t the bouquets gorgeous?! Leona and Lucas chose an orange and teal color scheme (and I think it’s safe to say that’s a color scheme I approve of–he he) and orange Gerber daisies for the flowers. I am nothing if not a HUGE Gerber daisy fan. I think Leona’s bouquet officially replaces Julie’s rose and steponopolis (or snuffalufagus or whatever those flowers are called) bouquet as my favorite ever!

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The adorable bridal party:

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The ceremony and reception were held at the Space Gallery (which we will visit again next month for Carolyn and Jack’s wedding)!

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Probably my favorite captured moment from the night. After politely feeding each other a little cake, Lucas put a little frosting on her nose. This is where he explains that it was just a little…:

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It was a beautiful evening, so the party eventually moved outside onto the sidewalk. Nic rocked the low light shots!

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Leona and Lucas, thank you so much for letting us be a part of your wedding day!  You have been a complete and total pleasure to work with–your laid back calm and friendly attitudes spoiled us!  Your friends and family were all so welcoming and friendly.  It was such a delight to meet them!  We hope you have a fantastic honeymoon, and we don’t need to wish you a long and happy life together–because we KNOW you will have it!

***

Two behind the scenes shots to share this time.  Here’s Nic stalking his prey…which, in this case, appears to be the wedding cake.  ;)

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And then there’s this one of me.  Some photographers don’t use any camera straps at all.  Some use a neck strap, some use a hand strap.  Me?!  I’m safest when I’m using both.  ;)

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(And if you’re like “hey?!  Why is Nic wearing the orange bag flap which clearly was intended for Traci, while Traci is wearing the blue bag flap, which is obviously wrong because blue is for boys?!”  then I applaud your good sense.  Nic took one look at the blue cover, declared it “the girliest blue ever” and literally called dibs on the orange one.  Which didn’t totally ruin my intended “orange bag to match my orange shoes” plans at all.)

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Cindy and John were married at the Air Force Academy Chapel with their reception at The Cliff House in Manitou Springs. You may remember them as the winners of our 2008 Real Couple of the Year Contest…and what deserving winners they were! It was one of the most fun weddings we have been to. You could feel the love just dripping off the rafters. It was glorious!

We started off at the mall for a good old fashioned hair appointment with Cindy and two of her bridesmaids. Here’s Brenda getting all cute and curly:

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Cindy looking sheepish…just as she was given the “all clear” to go, she took off her cape and with it, her veil. Ooops!

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Cindy was a bride after my own heart. It was the only wedding I’ve photographed that has been totally on time! But really, did I expect anything else of two Air Force officers? While she was getting dressed, she was a woman on a mission. Every time she would start to have a moment (or anyone would start to cry) she would remind them that there wasn’t time. There would be time for moments later…but right now they needed to get to the chapel. :)

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The one exception? There was time for a Swedish fish break. (I told you she was a bride after my own heart.) When one of the bridesmaids broke out the Costco sized bag of Swedish fish, Cindy and the fish did a little happy dance.

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And then we were at the chapel. Gorgeous settings make for happy photographers!

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Cindy and her dad are very close. Nic got a bunch of adorable shots of them as they prepared to go down the aisle. Here they are as they started off down the aisle:

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The ceremony was beautiful and full of emotion.

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The highlight of a military wedding has to be the sabre arch. The final pair drops their sabres and forces the newlyweds to kiss. In this case, twice–apparently the first kiss wasn’t persuasive enough. ;) Then John was swatted on the backside as they passed through. (They’ll have to tell us if there is a good story there. Nic was in the Honor Guard at our ROTC detachment and formed the sabre arch at many weddings…he says that they always swatted the bride, not the groom.)

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I rode to the reception in the limo to capture some shots. John and Cindy did their best to be subtle. ;)

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And the girls put the “party” in bridal party (although admittedly with apple cider instead of champagne)!

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Cindy and John did a great job of scheduling, and our portrait time was nice and relaxed.

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The Cliff House was a gorgeous setting for the reception!

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John and Cindy are fantastic, and if they ever move to the Springs, they need to let me know, because I will be sending in our application to be their new best friends. And then while we’re hanging out, they can also teach us how to dance. Cause they can DANCE. (Which reminds me that before we attend our friend’s wedding this spring, we need us some dance lessons. Badly. Nic and I sorta suck at dancing. [Mainly Nic. I pretty much rock at dancing like Elaine on Seinfeld.])

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The cake cutting got a little messy. ;)

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The DJ (from The Celebration Station) did a fantastic job of getting the party going. If I throw a party, that’s who I will be hiring! I have so many pictures of laughing, and dancing, and laughing while dancing…

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The father of the bride had some serious moves for the disco competition.

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I have never seen such a group of macho, macho men…

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Have you ever seen a better rendition of “Lost that Lovin’ Feeling”?!!

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Ready to see the shot I almost got run over while taking? So worth it!

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Thanks again, Cindy, John, and their family and friends for being such wonderful photography subjects! It was a blast to spend the day with you!

John and Cindy are off on another deployment soon. We wish them safety and that they return to Kansas and newlywed life soon!

***

I don’t have behind the scenes shots to share this time…but I do have bloopers! Cindy’s train proved to be a bit hazardous. :) John tripped on it for the first time as they walked back down the aisle:

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And again as they rocked the dance floor:

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I hope John will forgive me for not hitting the “delete” button on these! :D

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This weekend’s endless rain has reminded me that Colorado isn’t immune to Seattle-type rainy days.  I know that a rainy wedding is on the top of the “wedding day disasters” list, so I wanted to share some tips for making a rainy wedding fabulous.

Besides the obvious “have a back-up plan for your outdoor wedding” tips, I think there are a couple of things you can do to make rainy wedding pictures awesome.

#1:  Have a cute umbrella ready

Adorable, elegant, or just plain hilarious umbrellas can make rain on your wedding day kind of fun and exciting!  There are tons of cute umbrellas just waiting to make your wedding pictures pop, so having one that you love waiting in the wings could make rain not seem so bad!

Here are a couple of fabulous umbrella resources:

The Umbrella Stand

Pare Umbrella

Bella Umbrella has the most stunning vintage and modern umbrellas and parasols for purchase or rent.  (I can totally see parasols being adorable props for sunny weddings!)

#2:  Ditch the heels for rainboots

Is it just me, or can you totally see a bride holding a yellow umbrella with yellow rain boots peeking out from under her poofy white dress being the cutest thing ever in the whole world?!

Target has a ton of rain boots online from pink to polka dots to strawberries to these most awesome boots ever.

What a Pair has a giant selection of cutie patootie rain boots.

And if it were me, and I wasn’t doing the yellow boots/yellow umbrella thing, I’d be rocking these frog boots.  (Or maybe the ladybug or bee ones.)

#3: Have fun with it!

I think the key to any wedding day mishap (weather or otherwise) is to just have fun with it or around it.  (I can totally see a bride holding hands with a flower girl jumping in puddles.  With the dry cleaner passing out nearby.)  :P  As long as you look like you’re having fun, the pictures will reflect that!

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