There are many things that are consistent between weddings…. a big white dress, fancy shoes, a cake, flowers and the rings. One of the things we love the most about shooting weddings is that each couple puts their own personal spin on their day. Even though many of the items are the same…. each wedding is different. Over the last couple of years we’ve made it a game to find something personal to the wedding or the couple to use in photos of the couples rings. Sometimes the bride is so in love with her flowers or the flowers are so beautiful that putting the rings in the flowers is a natural choice but sometimes…. there are other details that scream out to have their photo taken with the rings.

My personal favorite so far is this gnome who made it’s way around the wedding with the bridal party. Apparent this was not his first wedding…. or his last I suspect!

Poor little guy had a broken finger!

A basket of delicious cherries was placed at every table. So of course, we used them for the photos too.

This couple had mead as their gift to their guest to coordinate with the custom designed bees on the bride’s ring.

On their vows.

The colorful Colorado aspens were a stunning beautiful backdrop for their ceremony.

The bride loved the lacing up the back of her dress, so we highlighted it by adding their rings.

Vintage cars were the theme of this wedding; they placed classic Hot Wheels on every table. This particular car is similar to the one the groom owns – only smaller.

Taken in Mexico, where the wedding was on the beach. Everyone was barefoot and loving the sand! You can’t do that in Colorado.

When you have a beach wedding there are so many things for us play with!

There were tiny daisies all over  the fields of this Winter Park wedding,  but using only one for the rings photo highlights the daisy and their rings.

An Easter wedding – the couple had little nests of candy at each of the guests place setting.

Taken with their invitation.

The bride’s henna feet.

A custom drawing with the rings added.

Tiny clothes pins once held the place cards for the guests table seating.

Darth Vader was on the groom’s cake so of course he needed to make an appearance with the rings!

It rained a lot this day! Of course the wedding was planned for outdoors at the Botanic Gardens. Putting the rings on a leaf with water droplets is a reminder that we waited the rain out and had a beautiful Colorado evening after all.

Everything at this wedding was vintage, including the cake topper.

Cupcakes have become very popular at wedding and sometimes they are so beautifully decorated.

Inside the table decorations – there were these beautiful bubbles!

Each guest was give a box of yummy chocolates at their place setting.

Sometimes just one flower is dramatic enough for the rings.

The reflection of the mirror with the gorgeous colors of the flowers in the background.

On the couples crystal champagne glasses – a gift from her family.

Beautiful fans were handed out to each guest as they were seated. They also made a lovely background for the rings.

On the door knob in the brides dressing room. Sometimes getting married in an old venue gives is elegant items to play with.

The groom’s wedding ring is made of wood (this is the first and only ring we’ve seen like this!) so it really needed something natural. Because the couple lives back east and specifically chose late September for the Colorado colors we chose the rock they stood on when they said their vows along with colorful leaves.

Guests’ favors with their wedding date.

Pears were the theme of the day! Linda and Kent ordered the carved trunk on Etsy as their table decoration.

Trying to figure this out? It’s a Japanese whisk used in tea ceremonies. The bride and her wedding party held a tea ceremony before the wedding.

When your ceremony is at the Jazz Hall of Fame – you get lots of vintage instruments!

Again….. on the guests’ thank you gift.

This couple made their guests think about where their table was!

A book of romantic love letters was in the library of this wedding.

The stem of the bride’s bouquet was such a beautiful color!

We easily admit to loving shoes and get very excited when our brides choose shoes that are fun and different.

Maybe it’s because spending up to 11 hours on our feet, running after couples and we are relegated to wearing sensible shoes. Let’s be honest…. most of the time sensible translates into boring, something we have to wear rather than the cool, fun shoes we wish we could wear.

Maybe it’s because it shows the personality of the bride better than anything else. Did she choose the traditional white, low heel pumps or the sexy, hot pink, 3 inch stilettos? Leopard print? Comfortable flats that she won’t regret late into the evening? Did she go western and wear the cowboy boots she told us about?

Whatever the reason…. the possibilities are endless and we LOVE the surprise each bride gives us.

Let’s start off with Jimmy Choo…….

Matching toes……

Tartan wedding dress and matching shoes…..

Welcome to Colorado……

The sexy bride…..

Sensible, yet very fun…..

The traditional bride…..

A very bold bride……

A mountain wedding…….

and an airplane hanger wedding…..

A very colorful bride…..

Jeweled with His and Her initials……

Funky and loaded with personality!

His and her’s shoes……

Sometimes the guys even get in on the shoe details!

Courageous. Confident. Vital. A brave new color, for a brave new world. Let the bold spirit of Honeysuckle infuse you, lift you and carry you through the year. It’s a color for every day – with nothing “everyday” about it

From the Pantone web site:

“In times of stress, we need something to lift our spirits. Honeysuckle is a captivating, stimulating color that gets the adrenaline going – perfect to ward off the blues,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Honeysuckle derives its positive qualities from a powerful bond to its mother color red, the most physical, viscerally alive hue in the spectrum.”

Eiseman continues, “The intensity of this festive reddish pink allures and engages. In fact, this color, not the sweet fragrance of the flower blossoms for which it was named, is what attracts hummingbirds to nectar. Honeysuckle may also bring a wave of nostalgia for its associated delicious scent reminiscent of the carefree days of spring and summer.”

Honeysuckle is guaranteed to produce a healthy glow when worn by both men and women. It’s a striking, eye-catching hue that works well for day and night in women’s apparel, accessories and cosmetics, and in men’s ties, shirts and sportswear. Add a lively flair to interior spaces with Honeysuckle patterned pillows, bedspreads, small appliances and tabletop accessories. Looking for an inexpensive way to perk up your home? Paint a wall in Honeysuckle for a dynamic burst of energy in the family room, kitchen or hallway.

Honeysuckle products are currently available from a variety of manufacturers:

Wedding Apparel
A flattering hue for wedding attendant apparel and accessories, Honeysuckle is now one of the nearly 200 PANTONE WEDDING Colors available from Dessy, a leading manufacturer of bridesmaid, social-occasion and flower-girl dresses. PANTONE WEDDING exclusively from Dessy provides a collection of color tools to make it easy for brides to achieve perfectly color-coordinated weddings – from inspiration to “I do.”

See www.dessy.com for more information.

We love it when our couples send us their wedding invitations. It gives us one more opportunity to record an important piece of their special day – one that often goes over looked.

We’ve been very lucky this year to have some of the most wonderful couples, Danelle and Brandon are no exception. Willing to go with the flow of the day including (again) weather that didn’t cooperate. Changes to the ceremony site were made without any fuss and we went on as beautifully planned. Danelle has an eye for details and the reception room was stunning. Delicate pink blossoms and candle light graced every table giving the room a romantic glow. Everything was stunning – including the bride and her bridesmaids and while the groom and groomsmen were darn handsome, the ladies took the stage.

At the bottom of this post I’m including a post written by Danelle on her Facebook wall. Words of wisdom for all brides from someone who’s recently been there. We thought is was an excellently written piece. Danelle, thank you for letting us share this!

From Danelle:

I felt that I should post this to give my tips to anyone who is getting married, wants to get married and just anyone who wants some insight to this crazy day.

2. HAVE FUN! The best way to get all the guests to have fun is to have fun yourself!

3. Invest in a good photographer! Your guests will remember the food, and the decor and when everyone jumped out on the dance floor to do Shout! but its not the same when you look back at the photos and you realize that you remember hearing about it, but you didn’t actually see it.

4. Don’t freak out when something goes wrong! This just stresses out you, your significant other, and most likely any other person in your wedding party! And for that matter don’t freak out on your vendors, it’s not always their fault when something doesn’t go your way, sometimes you haven’t been communicating as well as you should be.

5. Pick a great person to handle all of your day of stuff. That way if you’re 45 minutes late to getting things set up (believe me it happens) you have someone who knows your vision and will get things started for you. Quick side note it does help if you can have someone who isn’t part of the wedding party, who also has a great eye for aesthetics and won’t get stressed when every one is asking where you are. (Thank you Tate!)

6. If you are having an outdoor wedding make sure you have a back up plan!

7. Find vendors who you click with! If you just aren’t really feeling it when you meet a florist or a photographer, try looking at a few, if you guys kind of click, they’ll just get it when you explain something, and they’ll be easier to work with. (Thanks Amanda, Debi and Nicole!)

8. Make it unique! Sometimes people just want to go with the regular traditions. If you think its a dumb tradition then don’t do it! That usually makes your wedding stand out in other people’s minds!

9. If you are going to do a receiving line have all your attendants go in and get the cocktail hour started and just have the two of you, and each set of parents, it will make it go by so much quicker.

10. Remember the important thing is not the ceremony, it’s that you are marrying this person. If a tornado ripped through the ceremony and took every thing but you and the person you’re marrying away, would you still be standing there with that person wanting to get married?

Hope all you guys picked up something out of this note.

Note to add: Make sure someone…. even if it’s the photographers knows how to bustle your dress 

Vampire Weekend M79 – Corey and Rachel\’s Wedding Invitation

I also just bought the Vampire Weekend album and it’s very enjoyable. Kings of Leon, however, faked me out. Just because it’s $6 at the Target, doesn’t mean it’s the album you’re looking for! Proof that reading the track list is always a good idea.

Amanda

Back to Jessica’s beautiful terra cotta wall…..

What do you do if there’s so many photos you love that narrowing it down to 4 favorites is too difficult? Consider doing a wall of frames all the same size. You’ll still get the impact you’re looking for only your guests will have to get closer to check out your little cuties.

This arrangement is 10×10 photos with 2  inches in between the frames. If your photos are from different sessions you may want to think about making the photographs black and whites. This way different clothing colors won’t be fighting each other and your arrangement will have a timeless, classic feel to it. Granted…  hanging frames so they hang level with each other is a pain, but the look  is spectacular when you’re finished.

Our friend Jessica has an assortment of photos that we’ve done for her over the last 8 months. Now she’s at the hardest decision: which ones to hang and in what sized? They have a large beautiful terra cotta colored wall in their dining room where she’d like to show off her adorable family. But, it’s so hard to see sizes when it’s nothing but a big blank wall. So here’s a thought….

The two outside photos are 24×20 and the two middle photos are 10×8. The object of hanging your photos or any art work is to make an impact. Printing them slightly larger and hanging them at eye level will give you a more dramatic feeling. The mistake we often see is a great photo that’s small and hung too high. As the kids grow Jessica can trade out the photos for updated ones.

Jessica – these are just photos I grabbed really quickly to give you an idea of what you could put on your wall. I’ll post another layout up for you later but right now…my kids are STARVING!