This is one of the most important days in your lives and there are going to be a lot of decisions to make and a lot to think about along the way.

I know when I planned my own wedding, I had almost no idea what I was doing, but since then, I have learned a lot! And after ten years of working in this industry, I am more than happy to share anything and everything i know with you!

Grab yourselves an adult beverage or a cup of hot tea! This is an invitation to you two to sit down and dive into quite a bit of information here. I’ve created this to help you two in the wedding planning process.

Feel free to scroll or you can jump to a section!

-your vision

-vendors

-engagement sessions

-wedding day timeline

-first look

-wedding attire

Vendors!

Hiring your vendor team. Here are a few things to keep in mind…

• What one couple values another couple may not, so make sure you don’t compare yourselves to others here.

• Take a look at your budget and decide on what your top three to five vendors that you can not live without. food you’ve been drooling over, attire you are obsessed with, DJ or a live band, flowers, dessert etc. and prioritize from there with your budget.

• Talk with friends and family about who they loved.

• Wedding Planners/coordinators are lifesavers on your wedding day! This is one of the biggest “wish i would haves” for my wedding day. if this is out of your price range, not a problem! In that case i would highly recommend finding a friend or friend of friend that is “type A” and very organized to help you out on the day of so you don’t have to be worrying about any of those details on your wedding day!

• Trust your gut and don’t overwhelm yourselves.

here is a list of some of my favorite Colorado vendors to work with!

click here!

-Firstly, I would highly recommend getting grounded and clear on your vision and the values that are important to you on your wedding day. My amazing business/goal coach, Jacki Carr wrote a wonderful article all about being mindful in the wedding planning process, and I would definitely recommend reading it if you can. You can find it by clicking here.

-Figure out what your must haves are and what are your big no's!

-I would also recommend creating a vision or mood board for your wedding day if you haven't already done so.

-And never forget that this is a celebration of the two of you and you can design it however you want! Get creative if you wish! make your day unique to you two in whatever way you envision!

Are you on the fence about doing an engagement session? Here are some benefits to consider…

- Most people are not used to being professionally photographed, so doing an engagement session allows you to get an idea of how it feels to be in front of a camera, making you that much more comfortable on your wedding day

- When you get your images back, you will get a better idea of what you liked and what you'd like to avoid on your wedding day. For example, i've learned that some of us have some nervous ticks that can come out when we are in front of the camera. I had one client that would lick her lips when she was nervous, so I made sure to keep an eye out for that on her wedding day.

-It will give you more confidence!

-Allows you to get casual, fun images of you and your partner that you might not be able to get on your wedding day. For example, if you want to include your fur child/children, but your wedding venue doesn't allow dogs.

-This is such a special time in your lives and it deserves to be documented! Time seems to fly by faster the older we get, so why not take the time to have a photoshoot date night to celebrate where you two are right now! Add to that visual legacy of yours!

-Engagement photos make great guest books, save the dates, and decoration additions.

-Gives us time to get to know each other a bit better! :) I can’t tell you how often I hear, “how do you all know each other?” when I show up on a wedding day. A lot of that comradery comes from the time we spend together at your engagement session, which i just love!

you can literally do anything you want!

Don't be scared to switch things up and make your wedding day scream you two. How do you envision what that celebration looks like for you two? Are your guests eating cake at your ceremony? Is grandma the flower girl you’ve always wanted?

carve out at least 10 minutes of alone time with just you two!

Highly recommend this! Such a great way to help slow down the day and take everything in together. reminisce on what has happened on your day so far.

give yourself some wiggle room in your timeline

Even 5-10 minutes here and there as a buffer in your timeline can help ease any stress if there are delays for any reason. And my personal favorite, it allows for down time and candid moments for us to capture between you two and your family & friends!

My favorite things about doing a first look!

-You get to spend more time on your wedding day together!

-A first look allows you to share this special moment in a more private and intimate setting. this can be especially helpful if you get nervous in front of a lot of people and/or don't enjoy being the center of attention.

-It allows you to get some additional photos checked off your list before your ceremony, aka family & bridal party photos, meaning you get to spend more time at your cocktail hour, etc.

-You get more variety in the images of you two. When you split your time up between a first look and sunset vs just at sunset, there will be two different types of light and allow for different locations.

- If there are delays or weather issues that arise, doing a first looks allows for more flexibility in your day to get all of the images you want!

-Don’t worry, the feelings don’t go away! After shooting weddings for so many years, I can guarantee you that if the emotions are there, doing a first look will not take them away when you see your person coming down the isle at your ceremony. That moment is still extremely special.

-DISCLAIMER- being your photographer, I might be just a little biased here, but one of my biggest loves of this job is every wedding is so different, so please don't take this as pressure and absolutely feel free to do whatever feels most like you two! I have shot a lot of weddings where the couple decided not to do a first look and everything has been just lovely!

Wedding dresses & Attire

Colorado Couples- If you are getting married in Colorado, you may already be aware that we can sometimes get all four seasons in one day. That means, bring all the layers and options, just in case it snows at your June wedding in the mountains.

When wedding dress shopping, consider the season you will be getting married in. If you want to wear a spaghetti strapped dress in the winter, be sure to bring layers. For all winter (and some Fall weddings) I would consider wearing “long johns” underneath your dress, have warm socks and gloves you can wear in between locations. I’ve heard nothing but great things about L.L. Bean’s version of long johns. Guys, you can join in on this as well!

When wedding dress shopping, consider movement and where you are getting married. Will you be walking through wooded areas? How much freedom in your movement do you want? How freely you can move around will somewhat determine the types of images we create. One type of dress isn’t better than the other, just keep in mind what you will and won’t be able to achieve in each type of dress. Same principle applies to suits.

In my experience, bugs love thule and will get all up in there, and silk wrinkles very easily. Not the end of the world, but something to think about if either of those things might bother you!

Shoes: consider where you will be getting married and where you might be walking. High heels don’t hold up so good in the soft grass or snow. If you love your heals but are getting married on a mountain top, maybe consider a couple pairs of shoes to have handy for the day. One pair for outside and another for inside. They do have heal protectors that can help with waking on grass in heels. Click here to view. And don’t forget to wear those shoes before the big day to break them in a bit!

For those of you wearing flats, same goes for your shoes. Slick bottoms can be tough to walk in on some surfaces.

Veils & Trains. I love a fun veil and long trains! However, trains and veils take a little more time to coordinate for photos. If that isn’t something you are wanting to spend time playing with on your wedding day, you may want to avoid those when dress shopping.

Three piece suits in the summer can be rough on a hot day but lovely in the winter time.

Accessories. Don’t be afraid to add some fun and personality to your attire! Hats, jewelry, scarves, parasols, etc.

Not all “colors of white” are created equal. They all pull different tones of warm or cool. Something to consider if you both are wearing “white”.

Outfit changes can be fun! Two dresses or two suits are totally acceptable!

Disclaimer: I have worked with all shapes and sizes of wedding parties and this is definitely personal preference. They are not all created equal, in the best of ways! Here are a few things to think about if you are on the fence!

-The larger the bridal party, the more moving parts, meaning the longer some things will take on a wedding day. For example, getting the bridal party together for photos can be a bit like herding cats sometimes. This is not necessarily a bad thing, just know the larger your party, the more time in your day you will need to allot for certain events.

-You can have your close friends and family involved without them necessarily being a part of your wedding party. You two do you!

-You don’t have to have a bridal party if you don’t want to!

-Young flower girls/page boys can be moody and uncooperative. Makes for great photos, but also consider images with them being flexible. When they are in a good mood, lets take the time to get those photos vs when they are scheduled.

-Time with your bridal party can be so much fun! Take advantage of this time together and show off your fun/silly/sweet sides! And if you are into, feel free to chat with me more about fun props we can add to this part of the day to get some amazing imagery!

-Smaller bridal parties allow for more quality time with your select people and often come with a little less stress with less moving parts.

Frist Dances!

Short or long, totally up to you! If you are not big dancers and/or are uncomfortable with all the attention, i’ve seen couples do a few different things to make it a bit more comfortable for themselves. You can ask for a shortened dance time with you DJ/Band and they will edit your song accordingly. I’ve seen couples merge all the dances into one song, so starts with you two, then add in Mom & Dad to finish up the song. I’ve also had couples opt for a private dance somewhere away from their party. Just a few options to consider if you fall into this category. :)

If you two are into dancing and wanting to have fun with this part of the day, date night dance classes to learn a choreographed dance can be a fun way to enjoy this part of your wedding day. Bonus is it can be a great date night excuse leading up to your wedding.

Cake Cutting

This can be announced or not announced. I’ve also had a few couples opt to do this part away from their guests as well or not do it at all. Totally up to you two!

Things to keep in mind in regards to photographing this part.

Have fun with each other! Don’t put toooo much cake on the fork for your partner for the first bit, an extra large open mouth bit is not generally the look you want photographed ;) but then again, if that’s your style, go for it! If you’re interested, there are a ton of YouTube video’s that will show you “the perfect way to cut a wedding cake” but myself or your coordinator are happy to help instruct you on the day of as well!

Toasts & Speeches

This is one of my favorite parts of a wedding day!

Throughout the years, I have learned a couple things that might be helpful to know in regards to capturing this part of the day. Being near the friend/family member during this part can help with the story telling of the image, like having them stand near/by you. When the person giving the speech is closer to you, I am able to capture theirs, as well as your own facial expressions & responses to what they’re saying to you & your party. Definitely not the end of the world if this doesn’t work out, but something to consider if this is important to you. I find this especially nice when you don’t have a videographer capturing this part of the day as well.

If possible, try to be aware of where you’re holding on to any glasses in your hands, and keep them from being directly in front of your face when possible.