Houston Wedding, but a Colorado Engagement Session
Texas and Colorado have a strange bond. Texans LOVE Colorado, and a huge number of people who live in Colorado originally hail from Texas. I’m originally from Oklahoma (Don’t judge me!), but I lived in Colorado for more than a decade, and moved from Denver to Houston in 2019.
The number of Texans who get married in Colorado every year is staggering. If that’s you, I have a wealth of knowledge about wedding venues in almost every Mountain town, as well as local laws and logistical considerations, and I’m more than happy to be a resource.
But let’s get back on track, because that’s not what Grace and Andres did. These two recently moved to Denver from Houston, and were planning a big wedding back home in Texas, but hoped to capture their beautiful new home in their engagement photos.
When their planner, Courtney, put us in contact I knew we were going to be a good match.
We settled on a June date for engagement photos, Seven months before their January wedding, and on a weekend when I was already scheduled to be in Colorado for other work. While June is usually unbearably hot near the gulf coast, it’s perfect weather in the mountains.
I recommended a handful of locations within an hour’s drive of their home in Denver, and they settled on one of my favorites. Chautauqua Park in Boulder, CO. I love this location because the views of the Flatiron mountains are massive and don’t require a long walk from the car. Also, no matter how crowded the park gets, there are trails that lead off of the primary walkway that run parallel to the mountains, so it’s not too tricky to get a great view with nobody else in the background. There’s also a beautiful overlook a short drive up the mountain which gives any session some nice variety. Big mountains in the background AND close-up photos with rocks and trees.
Chautauqua Park requires an annual photography permit from OSMP (Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks office), which I have gotten many years in a row, so we were all set legally.
And then we also got lucky. The wildflower season in Colorado is pretty short, especially at the comparatively low altitudes near Denver, but we managed to be there on the exact perfect weekend to have a ton of perfect purple wildflowers decorate their photos for free.
Grace chose three looks for the session. A long white dress, a pearl-embellished short number she wore with her wedding shoes, and a casual look with jeans. Andres coordinated with her beautifully.
Me taking a headshot of Andres during his and Grace’s Engagement Session. One technique I often use to help clients find their real smile for close up photos is to have their partner stand right behind me. This way the subject of the photo can actually be looking at the person they love, which I find is much more inspiring than trying to smile while staring at a giant black camera lens.
While most engagement sessions only require one photographer, Libby, Caleb came along on this one. Many of the final photos are his, as well as these of me doing my thing.
My engagement sessions are always unlimited time, so couples can bring as many outfits as they’d like. The session serves as a way for us to get to know each other and for me to learn exactly how to direct and work with them on the wedding day. I want couples to feel like they don’t have to rush to get the photos they want and we can take our time. A typical engagement session results in 100+ final images that the couple can print for save the dates or share however they’d like. Grace and Andres received 203 final images from this session, some of which they printed and displayed in the most creative way.
Check out this post to see their stunning wedding at Hotel Zaza in Houston