Had a wonderful day playing at Ribbons n Rainbows Event Center yesterday.  Although we were hoping for a little warmer weather so we could shoot more outdoors… it was windy and chilly out so we spent most of our time inside.  But, this is one of the very reasons that this location is so amazing.  So many venues look good inside… or look good outside, but rarely both.  Ribbons n Rainbows offers amazing locations to shoot inside and out – so in the off chance you have to suck the wedding inside.. you would still get amazing images.  Jessica Miller came up to model some dresses and get us some test shots to use at this beautiful new venue for our upcoming Bridal BOOTCAMP on April 1st, 2012.  I had never photographed at this venue and wanted to have some images to show the brides to be – so they had a vision of why this location would be a great place for their wedding.

Personally… we didn’t even get to scratch the surface and I’ll definitely be going back when the land greens up and we can shoot in the fields with the stark skyline area and also a beautiful mountain backdrop.   The cropping of trees, paths and the anticipation of getting an amazing sunset and rainbow shots (hence the “rainbow” in the name) get me just giddy for my next shoot there.

For a potential bride, I would give this location very high ratings.  Gorgeous views, beautiful interior… a water-wall, fireplace, fire-pit outside and little ponds-fountains-bridges…. and I could go on and on.   You may feel like you are out in the middle of nowhere… and the best thing about that is you won’t have sound restrictions and you don’t have to compete with other events going on.  When you book the location you have the entire property to use.

Dresses you see were provided for us by Blushing Bride Colorado!  They are also a must visit if you don’t have a wedding dress yet.  I LOVE Danielle, her shop and her staff – all amazing!

As photographers & wedding vendors we love our work, but we are always at the design desire of our brides & grooms.  So when we all get a day to play together with an inspiration board created and carried out by some of our favorite vendors in the wedding business… it is pure excitement for all of us.  Just imagine planning a wedding with such amazingly great wedding gurus…. I LOVE IT.  It allows us to be creative, fun, a little silly, completely at ease with no real pressure of time constraints.  Plus, it allows us to break the boundaries of what most see as “traditional.”

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This time around we played with a romantic “Snow-white” themed wedding shoot.

THE DISTANT PAST: 20+ years ago, when you hired your wedding photographer – part of that deal was a beautiful custom wedding album of your favorite images; and, sometimes it also included a couple of parent albums as well as a gorgeous wall portrait for your  home.  Then – if they wanted all the images they purchased a proof book (4×5 unedited proof prints of all the images).  A client paid for each negative they wanted retouched by professional at a lab; or in some cases the photographer did their own retouching of negatives and dodging/ burning to make each image for the album as perfect as possible for that heirloom that would be passed down to their children’s enjoyment.

THE RECENT PAST: With the coming of the digital age – clients turned to wanting all of their digital files instead of a “proof-book.”  In addition, many have foregone a heirloom wedding album.  Why in the world would you add the expense of a wedding album when you have all of the images and can just print them out whenever you want?  With the recent turn – many new photographers weren’t even doing retouching, but just handing wedding clients a disc of images and done!  The old-school film photographers that fought the change a bit before turning to digital still had the mentality that they would never give away the digital files and most lost the battle to the weekenders that would give away everything.

THE PRESENT: Although everything listed under recent past is still happening.  There is finally becoming a realization that couples that just got their files feel they are missing something.  Heirlooms haven’t been created for so many, and as photographers we are getting calls to do albums years later after the wedding – and personally I’ve been getting a lot of calls from people wanting albums from their digital files… and their photographers are no longer to be found.  Weeping clients have even called to tell me that they lost their images or the computer crashed and they don’t have their files any more, and either their photographer didn’t keep them or they can’t track them down.

THE IMPORTANCE OF HEIRLOOMS: When we are children one of our favorite things was to look through old photo albums of our parents and grandparents. I personally loved experiencing their life before me, seeing them as children and as young adults and even now as grandparents and great-grandparents. I saw images of my mom’s graduation, my dad fishing, and of our family vacations at Madeline Island. But, more often the favorite images go pour over are images of our loved ones on their wedding day.  It is seeing them with that fresh love in their eyes and knowing that is why you are here.  It’s seeing them when their hopes and dreams were at their highest and gives all future generations a feeling of belonging to a bigger picture of life.

THINKING ABOUT WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU, BUT ALSO WHAT WILL BE IMPORTANT TO FUTURE GENERATIONS OF YOU FAMILY: It is amazingly easy to skip over the wedding album. Wedding albums are a considerable investment and can be easily overlooked when creating a budget for a wedding day – especially when you begin tallying all the other expenses at hand. A wedding album is a gift of memories that lasts far after the wedding has ended.  It’s an investment in your family, and heritage and wedding albums are an heirloom for all future generations.  It immortalizes the beginning of a great love story.  After your wedding, the cake is gone, the food has been enjoyed, tears of joy were shed,  your beautiful gown is tucked away in a box, and through the years many of your memories may grow dim as lives get busy.  Having a professional photographer catch those details and moments and being able to pull out a beautiful wedding album to remember a simpler and loving day – well, do I really need to say more?

MAKE ROOM FOR THE INVESTMENT:  Many professional photographers can create custom albums of your wedding day.  There are so many options now and there are also ways to get your wedding album on a more limited budget.  Some photographers will even work with you on a payment plan so you can still get the heirloom created and making it easier with payments spread over time.  If you can, planning for your wedding album within your wedding day budget is the best.  However, there are also other options like having your photographer set up a registry for you.  You register for so many things on your wedding day – why not register for your wedding album, where your family and friends can contribute any dollar amount that they want towards a beautiful heirloom that generations will enjoy!

The Golden Hotel

The Golden Hotel has such beautiful views and so many places to get some great wedding images.  Kimberly & Seth’s wedding was so much fun starting with the first 5 minutes in the room while the girls were getting ready – it was non-stop giggles and laughs!   Karyn Gueck organized/planned this beautiful event and is so good at getting all of the details in order, but also making the bride, groom, family and vendors feel comfortable and welcome.

Vendor list: Cake – Elegant Bakery, Planner – A Beautiful Wedding & Special Events, Childcare – Child Care by Charity, Florist – Ivy Lane Floral Design, Make-up/hair – Ahhh Mobile Design(Amber), Music – A Solid Impression, Rentals – Seated Elegance, Photography – Jeanine Thurston of Fototails Photography & 2nd photographer Carl Simpson of Line of Sight Photography

Photographer: Jeanine Thurston

Photographer: Jeanine Thurston

Ivy Lane Floral Design

August 14th at The St. Julien Hotel & Spa in Boulder proved to be filled with clouded skies and clouds threatening thunder and heavy rain.   I LOVE WEDDING DAYS LIKE THIS!  It was to be an outdoor wedding on the back greens at the hotel and everything was set up, and sitting inside as the rain poured down about an hour before the wedding.  Sara asked what I thought about holding out and having the ceremony outdoors… and I said confidently – have it outdoors.  Now saying something confidently and what you actually think is very different – and crossing your fingers that someone in the skies is listening to you that you need a brief widow to shoot this wedding so everyone stays dry.

Sure enough – the clouds broke, and even had some sun for the ceremony.  This is one of the reasons I love Colorado so much – most of the time, if you wait a few minutes, the weather changes.  Very lucky that is was a change in our favor this day.  After the ceremony we did a few photos and just in time as the sprinkles started up again after we scurried into the reception.

Photographer: Jeanine Thurston

Mulberries Flowers put all the floral touches on the tables and ceremony, as well as the bridal flowers.  They all looked amazingly beautiful!  The Spa at St. Julien did Sara’s hair and make-up perfectly, and Elegant Bakery created a truly beautiful cake for the reception.

Mulberries Flowers

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After some serious heatwave the past week in Colorado, we had an amazing day for Molly & Garrett’s wedding in Boulder, Colorado.  September 3rd, 2011… and a perfect 75 degrees and sunny.

Photographer: Jeanine Thurston

There house and land would be the envy of nearly anyone that wants to live in Boulder, and over the past months they had spent so much time moving in and getting everything in order for a fantastic backyard wedding & reception. Biscuits & Berries was setting up for the reception when I arrived, and you know the food and display will be above and beyond when they are there!

Biscuits & Berries

In leu of a cake, they adorn a table with every kind of pie you can imagine.  I have to say, it was a bigger hit than any cake I’ve ever seen.  As soon as they announced cake, there was a line instantly to get a piece.

Biscuits & Berries

Then of course came the dancing… and no lack of.  Congratulations to a happy marriage to you both!

Photographer: Jeanine Thurston

Photographer: Jeanine Thurston