Nothing says “marital bliss” quite like the story of a husband trying to murder his family with an axe, but when you get married at a haunted hotel it can be fun to embrace some of the creepiness. Mai and Michael went all out- Mai was even doing her hair and makeup while watching the original Kubrick film.

Natives and visitors alike know of a connection between The Stanley Hotel and Stephen King’s “The Shining,” but many are confused about what the connection is exactly. Even while watching the movie again to prepare for the silliness our bride and groom had planned, I thought the exterior shots would be of the Stanley- not so. Stephen King was inspired to write the story of creepy little girls in hallways while staying at the Estes Park hotel right before it was closing for an extended period of time. The Stanley claims several ghosts in residence; it’s a straight line from here to there. Apparently, some of the miniseries was filmed at the Stanley, but strangely the hotel’s grand moment on the silver screen is in “Dumb and Dumber.” Please, someone-  groomsmen in ruffled tuxedoes in burnt orange and baby blue launching themselves up the main Stanley staircase- I can see it now…

“Mai and Michael aren’t here any more Mrs. Torrance……”

The creepy rotting woman in the bathtub was the only part of the original movie that genuinely freaked me out. I think Mai looks much more attractive.

Our attempt at recreating the final picture of the movie.

It’s fun to make new friends. I’ve known RJ Kern for a couple of years, but only in passing. Recently, I offered to help him knock off a couple of his 101 goals in 1001 days, and he mentioned an educational vintage shoot he was putting together. Would I be interested in helping? I said I loved the style he was looking at and asked, “You knew I was a costume design major, right?” He replied, “You’re like my soul sister!!!” There would be a shortage of exclamation points in the world if I ever quoted RJ with the correct amount of enthusiasm.

And, as like follows like, RJ’s friends are pretty swell people too. All the participants in this portrait shoot were wonderful to work with. Even when the inevitable stress appeared, everyone took it in stride and pitched in. What more could you ask for?

Oh yeah, fabulous vintage pictures and a fun video explaining our process. But for me, that final output is secondary to the experience itself. If collaboration is a dance, it’s nice to feel like everyone’s in rhythm.

Inspired by Light: Behind the Scenes of a Vintage Shoot from R. J. Kern on Vimeo.

Whitney and Matt are an absolutely adorable couple. Both are athletic – which explains why their rehearsal dinner was a kickball game/picnic. They enjoy their friends and family immensely. They are practical with a sense of artistic flair…. but most of all they are very much in love which showed throughout their entire wedding day.

Whitney works at the Hotel Teatro which is where we met the wedding party. The Hotel Teatro (located across the street from the Denver Center from the Performing Arts) is a beautiful, romantic hotel decorated with costumes and photographs from past theater productions. This gave us plenty of opportunity for fun photography.

Whitney’s wedding dress and the bridesmaids dresses were from J. Crew Wedding. Not only are they reasonably priced — but they also have pockets. (This is the practical part I mentioned) Every bride needs someplace to hide a tissue or lip gloss.

Whitney and Matt wanted to see each other before the ceremony so we could take photos at the Hotel Teatro before we left for the ceremony. We are always happy when our couples decide to do this as it make the time after the ceremony much less hectic.

The original plan was to head to Civic Center Park for formals but a hard rain prevented us from leaving. Fortunately, the Teatro has many beautiful spots for photography.

Matt and Whitney allowed for plenty of time for us to take photos around the hotel and across the street at Kevin Taylor’s at the Opera House where the ceremony was held.

Fun with old theatrical prints!

Across the street in the Ellie Calkins Opera House.

The ceremony was held downstairs in Kevin Taylor’s restaurant.

Whitney’s one request was to get photos taken across the street in front of the yellow wall. Luckily the rain had let up by then!

After the reception Whitney and Matt reserved The Living Room for their guest. They hired a bus service to shuttled their guest making the evening a relaxed time for everyone.

We had originally planned to shot Brandon and Danelle’s engagement photos at Lakeside Amusement park but about 3 minutes into shooting park security made us stop. Apparently, there are now forms that need to be filled out. A new procedure we weren’t aware of. We filled out the required paperwork and waited…. and waited…. and waited…. and finally gave up. The owner wasn’t returning calls to the park. At this point Lakeside Amusement Park was clearly un-amusing and we’d lost the late afternoon light!

Plan B – three weeks later. We met Danelle and Brandon by the Mayan Theater on Broadway. The Mayan has very cool design features and the area around there has fun walls and building. After the show at the Mayan let out the manager even allowed us into the theater to shoot. Plan B was so totally different than our original plan! We had a great time with Brandon and Danelle – they were willing to give anything a try, relaxed and fun to be with. I’m sure their wedding day will be just as great!

Devil’s Thumb Ranch in Tabernash is always such a wonderful place to photograph a wedding. They have a true feeling of “Old West Colorado” there. The fields are lush with grasses, wandering livestock and wildlife, while the accommodations are elegantly rustic. You just can’t go wrong with a Devil’s Thumb wedding if what you’re looking for is a Colorado feel – and that’s exactly what Sue and Craig wanted.

We met Sue, their dogs and her bridesmaids at Sue’s log cabin. They’d planned two hours for getting ready photos and photos of Sue in her dress. It was so nice to have that extra time and not feel rushed.

Craig and I took a stroll out to a field behind the lodge. The view of the back range is beautiful, making for a very dramatic backdrop.

Tommy, Craig’s best man tied the rings around a shoe string so he wouldn’t lose them.

One of the ring dogs…. they did a very good job, but really wanted to go hang out up front with Sue and Craig!

Sue was determined to get photos with the horses. It’s a very brave woman who will tromp through muddy marshes in a Vera Wang dress to get the perfect shot!

“That 80′s Band” played throughout the evening. No stuffy wedding songs here – we were ROCKING!

As you can see from Ruxy and Andre’s photos they are an adventuresome couple! Full of fun ideas and willing to do any of the slightly crazy things we asked of them… which was often. They had such a beautiful day and Arrowhead is a stunning place for a ceremony. The ceremony site overlooks the golf course and the amazing red rocks of Colorado’s front range making for a dramatic setting.  Ruxy’s family is from Romania and brought a cultural flair to the event… lots of beautiful singing.

Andre and Ruxy chose to see each other before the ceremony. This was a private moment together before they started their formal photography.

Ruxy’s cousin wore these masks at her wedding — the tradition continues

This was not prompted!

Thanks for sharing such a fun day with us!

Debi and Amanda

Hey Guys! Got your message, but your email keeps bouncing back on me. Please give me a call, and I’ll be happy to discuss our services!

Thanks,
Amanda

From the moment we got up in the morning we were watching the weather – is it raining yet…. will the wind die down…. will they need to move the ceremony indoors? The Manor House has such a beautiful view of the city from their ceremony site is would be sad to move it inside. A few sprinkles here and there, the wind gave it a go for awhile and slowed down a bit. I watch the Weather Channel’s forecast on my iPhone to monitor which direction the storm was moving. Everyone who lives in Colorado knows that in the summer when it rains the skies unload with forceful thunderstorms, hail and lightening but after the storms… it can be so beautiful. Part of me was hoping that would be the case. Let it pour for an hour, let the system move on and give us an amazing afternoon for the wedding. But the weather Gods had other plans…. a slow, off and on drizzle, gusts of wind now and then and a beautiful sunset that evening.

By late afternoon the sprinkles had stopped, chairs were wiped down and guest seated. We were ready to begin Tina and Kody’s ceremony….

I love, love , love this photo Amanda took of Tina’s dad holding her veil.  It was such a defining moment for father and daughter when he placed it on her head. Tears all around… even the photographers cried.

We invited all the wedding guest to come out front on the Manor House steps for photos. The Manor House is 95 years old and is still as beautiful as when was built.

Miss Rachael was so tired of me taking her photo…. she resorted to the “If I can’t see you… you can’t see me” theory. Of course, this is the cutest photo of them all.

Sparklers! A bit unnerving when you’re watching from behind a camera and 60+ people are waving fire sticks around. But it makes for awesome photos!

Congratulations Tina and Kody! We hope you had a fabulous time in Fiji.

Debi and Amanda