The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado is a beautiful landmark, not only as a historic hotel, but for its noted hauntings, and the inspiration it provided to Stephen King for his novel ‘The Shining’.  For Emily though, it meant more.  Emily’s aunt lives in Estes Park, and this town was the backdrop of many family vacations.  Knowing that they were planning a destination wedding, Emily and Brian chose Estes Park and ultimately the Stanley Hotel as the location for their wedding.

The small and intimate wedding was held in the Manor House, decorated with leaves and rocks in fitting with the gorgeous Rocky Mountains just outside the windows.  As Emily was walked down the long hall by her father into the ceremony room, Brian lit up, the family’s lit up and Emily lit up.  Filling the small dark wood room with light and love.  After the ceremony, Brian and Emily and I drove to the MacGregor Ranch for some portraits.  By the time we returned, the families were all in the music room of the main hotel awaiting Brian and Emily’s introductions.  Emily’s sister and Matron of Honor, Megan, provided the toast, talking about the years of dreaming Emily had spent one wedding plans.  Years, and a law degree, and service in the Navy as a JAG officer got in the way of those dreams for a little while, but ultimately, it was in the service that she met Brian and she began to start dreaming of those wedding plans again.  After Megan’s toast the floor was opened for family members to toast, and after a few well wishes, Brian took the floor to toast his new bride.  I don’t think I was the only one with a tear in my eye when Brian finished his toast, but he managed to hold it together quite well.

The rest of the night was filled with dancing, and pies, and trick or treating for the kids and the not so kid kids!

I love all my couples. I love that they let me into those special days, those momentous occasions, but Emily and Brian are different.  I have known Emily and her family since high school.  I was first friends with her sister Megan, then worked for her mother at her fund raising company as one of my first real jobs (I’m still known as Dr. Sugar in that family … long story!) and ironically when I moved across the country from Maryland to San Diego, she had just been stationed out here, so I had the great opportunity to meet and spend time with Brian whenever he was in town.  I truly feel a part of Emily’s family, her father still calls me son every time I see him and I know her mother considers me an unofficial family member as well.  I couldn’t have been more honored to have Emily ask me to photograph her wedding, and felt overwhelmed much of the day from getting ready to the ceremony to the last dance.

To see a few of my favorite images from the day, click on the large image above or any of the thumbnails below.  For family members that would like to see all the images from the day go to their images on Pictage.

I recently traveled back to Maryland again for one of my last East Coast weddings of the year which was actually held in Deleware … more about that later.  But before I left for Maryland, I had been exchanging emails with Megan about her wedding plans for next fall.  During our discussions Megan and I talked about doing engagement portraits and how much she would like to have photos taken of her and her fiance Chris while there was still some beautiful colors on the trees.  The great thing about traveling from San Diego to Maryland during the Spring and Fall is that I get to experience those most beautiful of seasons on the East Coast.  Fall this year in Maryland was beautiful, and I’m so glad I got to travel back at the peak of the Fall colors.

Since I was going to be in town anyway, we set up a shoot on Friday afternoon at the beautiful Ladew Gardens.  Ladew is known primarily as a topiary garden, so I didn’t think we would find a lot of beautiful fall colors.  Our initial plan was to meet at Ladew, get some shots, then travel around the beautiful farm country in Baltimore County to find some nice rolling hills with the brilliant yellows and reds; split rail fences, farmhouses, perhaps even a horse or two … too much to ask for?

Well the point is Ladew is absolutely beautiful, and there were a lot of trees in full fall display, so while we did get out and find a nice farm, with a split rail fence and even some horses, we spent the majority of the shoot at Ladew and had a great time!

Chris and Megan were great and I’m really excited to keep talking with them as their wedding plans develop!  Check out a few of the images from our shoot below.

As promised here’s the second installment of Joe and Amy’s wedding.  You would never know it by these photos but Amy was getting knocked out by a terrible case of strep throat.  She was a total gamer and alternated between Gatorade and Wine plus some Dayquill to get her through the night.  Joe and his guys wore the traditional Filipino Barong for their shirts, and Ed even lent me one which was much more comfortable than my normal wedding attire!   Joe also gave his guys flasks as their groomsmen gifts, and because he’s a tattoo artist, he custom designed each flask for the guys!  What an awesome and unique gift!

Joe and Amy celebrated their wedding ceremony at Maggie Pond while Breckenridge Beer Festival onlookers cheered.  After the ceremony we hit the slopes for some portraits of Joe and Amy as well as the bridal party.  They held their reception back at Thunder Mountain Lodge where most of their guests were staying.  It was an incredible night and I am so thrilled that I was able to be a part of their day.

Check out the images below and the podcast too!

P.S.

Tune in tomorrow for the third post from Amy and Joe’s wedding and some really fun photos!

OK, so first things first.  This is not a normal blog post of a wedding, because Amy and Joe’s wedding was not a normal wedding!  First of all, Joe is a good friend of mine and the little brother of one of my best friends Ed whom I grew up with back in Maryland.  When Kristy and I were driving across the country to San Diego we stopped into Denver to visit with Ed and Joe.  It was then that I met Amy and found out that she and Joe were recently engaged.  I was super excited for them, and when they set their date on a day in July that I wasn’t already booked, I was amped that I would be able to attend.  Then, they asked me to document the wedding … awesome! “Oh, we’re having it at a resort in Breckenridge.” And it keeps getting awesomer! Sprechen Sie crab feast!?

I spent the whole week before their wedding with Ed and got acclimated to the altitude in Denver.  However, Breckenridge is another mile higher than Denver and the first night we were there we were all taking hits of oxygen to keep the room from spinning!  That day Amy and Joe held their rehearsal, and afterwards, had a crab feast and barbecue Filipino style complete with a whole roasted pig.  Joe’s parents flew Maryland blue crabs in with them, already steamed and introduced non-Marylanders to real blue crabs … yum!  I have for a long time wanted to document a wedding that had a crab feast for the reception, and while this was just the rehearsal it was still a ton of fun to photograph.

Check out a few of the images from the rehearsal and check back in tomorrow for another post of images from Joe and Amy’s wedding!

Check out the Blue Crab tattoo

It’s been raining practically non-stop in Baltimore for most of April and May and on into June.  It’s more lush here than I remember it ever being and Carly and Brandon’s spring green colors took full advantage of the beautiful spring foliage.  Luckily the rain decided to take the day off on their wedding day so I got some great images and they had an awesome wedding day! 

Carly and her girls got ready at her and Brandon’s townhome in Canton which was full of bright vibrant colors; yellows, blues and greens.  Carly couldn’t stop smiling from the time I got there (I imagine she was smiling even before that) and her smile’s infectious.  Her girls and her mother were all in such great spirits, it was an absolute blast spending time with the girls getting ready before heading to the Basilica of Baltimore.  This was the first time I shot at the Basillica since it was renovated, and it’s such a beautiful cathedral.  After the ceremony Carly and Brandon and the bridal party headed over to the Washington Monument to get some photos outside.  Since there was extra time before the ceremony they decided to also head downtown to Fells Point for more portraits by the harbor.  

Their reception was held at Gertrudes at the Baltimore Museum of Art which is an awesome location for a wedding reception.  One of my favorite parts of the evening was dinner … that is breakfast for dinner!  Carly and Brandon had baby quiches, bacon, crepes, and homefries for dinner (crab quiche? Yes Please!)

This really was a fun wedding and the colors not to mention the shoes (check them out below) made it such a beautiful and personalized wedding.  

Thank you Brandon and Carly for inviting me to be a part of your incredible day!

Check out the images below and the slideshow on the podcast!

Shoes ... oh my god ... shoes!

From the front porch of my house in Point Loma Mt. San Jacinto looms as the highest, most distant mountain.  It is notable only for the snow cap it still bears in April. Sitting by the pool in Desert Hot Springs, I look between the buildings and past the palm trees to that same mountain, and reflect.  

Twelve years ago, I came to California for the first time to visit my sister who was living in Palo Alto.  I traveled from Northern to Southern California.  Along the coast all the way back to Palo Alto and San Fransisco again.  On that trip I visited Palm Springs and took the aerial tram up to the Mountain Station of Mt. San Jacinto. I climbed the remaining 2300 feet to the peak, scrambling the final quarter mile over rock to finally peer down into the valley below, Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Desert Hot Springs, and behind me to the west, all the way to San Diego and the Pacific Ocean. Beautiful.  An inspiring view of a land I knew little about.   

When I climbed Mt. San Jacinto twelve years ago I was hobbling through my last few requirements towards my degree in photography.  I would later put down my camera and leave photography entirely.  It would then take me five years to come back; to rediscover my love for documenting life, mine and others with a camera.  I spent five years building a successful photography business on the East Coast in Maryland only to leave it all behind to begin my life anew in San Diego, California.  Through these past twelve years I had successes and failures, love and heartache, times of complete clarity and utter lack of direction.

From here by the pool I lay in the shadow of that same mountain in the same location taking the most circuitous of routes to find myself here again.  There was no beacon, no lighthouse guiding my way from then to now.  No meridian can be drawn to show the straight course of my travels.  The winding trail to the peak of San Jacinto, with its switch-backs, ascents and descents was a clearer better marked path than the one that led me to this pool, to this moment when twelve years later I am here again. This time as a resident, preparing to photograph my first wedding in Southern California and wondering what is yet to come. 

I am a bit awed and overwhelmed by what lies ahead of me.  Knowing the work, the great possibility of failure, all, again, with no clear path.  The rules have changed and I am again making it up as I go.  There’s no saying what the next twelve months will bring let alone the next twelve years.  The path before me is as unmarked and untraveled as any in the wildest of woods, still I continue to place one foot in front of the other, hoping to find purchase with each step.  There are connections that have led me from then to now, some that I see and many that I don’t.  Yet given the choice between knowing the path that I’m on and seeing the road before me, or being on a journey with no understood course, I will again, choose the latter.

I am thankful for the people that have and those that continue to walk with me.  Not to guide me but to walk beside me, stabilize me, to pick me up when I stumble, and encourage me always. And I am hopeful that the path I do travel leads to someplace half as wonderful as the path that has led me back here.