Some people idolize Oprah or Martha Steward for the powerful business woman they are, in the wedding industry there is Lara Casey. Back in March I had to opportunity to go attend Lara Casey’s workshop/brain child, the Make Things Happen Workshop. Since then my state of mind has changed, I am still continuing to work on many things I learned in her workshop but the BIGGEST thing I gained from her workshop was confidence. I was a scared scared little girl when I met her and the other wonderful ladies that attended that workshop, but now it’s like being a new person. For me that was a personal breakthrough, a hurdle that I had to get over to get to the next step in my photography business and life. NOW I’m ready to really give my business all I’ve got. I want a solid brand. I want to shoot the cover for Southern Wedding Magazine. I want clients to see not only my beautiful work but beautiful me. Lara Casey is having another wonderful business opportunity that I’m dying to be a part of… Live with Lara. Lara is my Oprah. I don’t know how she does it ALL! I hope that I will have the opportunity this time to learn more from Lara, to pick that beautiful brain of hers and put my business into warp speed!
Latest
{Naked as we came}
We turn not older with years, but newer every day.- Emily Dickinson
Birthdays for me are kind of like New Years.It’s a great time to reflect and clean slate to looking forward to the future. At 23 I am still quite young but I’ve always felt like an older soul. There are times when I look at my life and think I’m not much farther than I was when I was 18. I’m still working on my college degree. Still scraping by pay check to pay check, many people my age have graduation form college, are getting engaged and seem to be such… grown ups. I’m ready for that next chapter in my life and I think this year, my 23rd year of life is the year to make things happen.
I have made plenty of mistakes along the way to 23, and I’m sure I will keep making many but it’s learning life’s little lessons from those mistakes that makes an individual stronger. This year it is my goal to continue staying focused on my dream of becoming a professional photographer, getting the most of my education from Metro State and loving every person around me a little more.
Some of the best lessons I have learned…
To breathe more…. Thank you Erin
To not sweat the small stuff… Thank you Matty
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take… Thank you Lara Casey (and Wayne Gretzky)
Inspiration is everywhere.
Take pleasure in the simple things.
Life is Beautiful.
Day One. 7.17.1987 in Altamonte Springs, FL
You can tell were sisters by the matching outfits. Me and My half sister Lacey.
One Year Old. One of my favorite baby pictures, too bad about the scratch.
Christmas. 1988.
For real this time.. this is my favorite baby picture of me. I love how you can still see your adult self in baby pictures.
Five. My mom chopped my hair off, forever traumatizing me from getting my hair cut.
My first interaction with snow. Southern Girl at heart. I still hate snow.
My little sister Serena. She changed my life forever. She made me stronger.
Eight. Those teeth would be the death of me until high school.
{Long Black Veil}
Fareeba + Ali: July.02.2010
I always love when I get the chance to experience something new. Every wedding is unique and different but this wedding was extra special since it was a different culture. No white wedding dresses here, instead it was an ocean of beautiful color and fabric! Fareeba & Ali had a three day Indian celebration of their marriage, I was lucky enough to photograph the first day of the marriage ceremony at their home. At Ali’s home in a beautiful area in Highlands Ranch the backyard was transformed into a wedding sanctuary. The tent was beautiful decorated with colorful fabric that matched the Brides traditional Indian wedding gown, flowers and lights. One of my favorite parts of the evening was instead of the couples’ first dance their were dancers that preformed for the bride and groom and all of their guests. Wish I could have been there for the other days to see the whole celebration but I was happy to experience the first day. Also loved something the officiant said during the ceremony… no matter what your religion is Muslim, Christian or other the family that prays together stays together.
This wedding was photographed by Laura Brooks for 2Sisters Photography
{La Bamba}
Molly + Lucas
REDEMPTION SHOOT!
Molly and Lucas were married at Willow Ridge Manor, which is the same place I photographed a wedding just the weekend before. This was my opportunity to master the lighting… I’ll let you be the judge.
Molly and her bridesmaids were full of giggles and smiles while getting ready for Molly’s walk down the aisle. Molly was probably one of the most laid back brides I have ever seen and it was rare to not see a bright smile on her face. I just loved her personality and how she truly was enjoying her wedding day and the start of her life as a Mrs.
It was a treat to be at Willow Ridge Manor again because the scenery is seriously amazing. Just miles away from Red Rocks, mini red rocks are the backdrop of Willow Ridge Manor that sit on a hill over looking Denver to the east and the foothills to the west. It’s truly an amazing backdrop for any wedding. Molly and Lucas’ wedding was no different as the two of them said their I DO’s surrounded by Colorado beauty.
The party really started during the reception, I have never seen a dance floor so packed! I loved how enthusiastic Molly and Lucas’ family and friends were to DANCE… DANCE… DANCE! The guests started dancing before the couple’s first dance. Many weddings I have been to it take a while for even just a few people to get out on the dance floor. At times it looked more like a club than a wedding. I have never captured so many amazing dance photographs. One of the best songs that really got the crowd jumping was Shout! This wedding really made me wish I was a guest so I could join in. Just DANCE!
This wedding was photographed by Laura Brooks for 2Sisters Photography
{Kick start my heart}
April + Jason: June.04.2010
Hole in one! April and Jason feel in love working for the Pepsi Center and celebrated their love of sports through their wedding. April was a beautiful bride with her long brunette curls and stunning mermaid style wedding gown. Her bridesmaids wore dark navy blue dresses with yellow bouquets. I’m a little bias for loving April’s bouquet, which were yellow orchids and Cali lilies. Orchids are my favorite flower. The wedding took place at Omni Hotel in Broomfeild, Colorado, which is a sort of hidden gem to have a wedding. The hotel is huge and the décor is beautiful with resort amenities of a beautiful pool, spa and gold course. The ceremony actually took place at the second hole of the golf course, which made for a very unique and adorable get away car… a golf cart that transported all the guests and bridal party to the ceremony.
As a photographer light is an important element to photography, and during April and Jason’s wedding the lighting was beautiful, sickingly perfect! The sun hid behind the fully white clouds in a picturesque bright blue sky that left even blanket of daylight to fall over the entire golf course. It was a photographers dream. In between taking pictures of the ceremony I admired the beautiful setting that surrounded us and spotted something that was almost as perfect as the lighting. A field of yellow flowers (that were actually weeds) that mixed with the blue sky matched April and Jason’s colors of navy and yellow. It was the perfect place for photographs of the two of them.
Back into the ballroom of the hotel for the reception, touches of the couples love for sports was seen again in the details. Escort cards that were also favors to the guests were personalized golf balls with April and Jason and the wedding date written on them. The cake topper was super cute giving a spin to the traditional bride and groom topper; only the groom was pitching a baseball to the bride that held a baseball bat. But the best part of all was the announcing of the bridal party, because of April and Jason’s connection with the Pepsi Center it was done by the official announcer who does all the Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets home games! Being a fan of the Colorado Avalanche I was defiantly impressed and loved such a unique announcing of the bridal party. April and Jason’s wedding was defiantly a home run!
This wedding was photographed by Laura Brooks for 2Sisters Photography
{All My Loving} Part II
Anne & Alexander May.30.2010
After an intimate ceremony it was back to the Brown Palace. Which is classic and beautiful much like Anne and Alex… like I said perfect couple for a Brown Palace wedding. Upon walking in I was transported to my childhood dreaming of Princesses and ritzy places that I only saw on movies. There was even a smell to the Brown Palace of fine perfume and fragrance that is unique to the Brown Palace. Everywhere you looked there was fine detailed decoration, it was so regal, elegant and romantic. The room where the reception took place even had stained glass windows with dim candlelight that matched the ambience of Trinity Methodist. The perfect wedding for a perfect couple, wishing them a happily ever after…
This wedding was photographed by Laura Brooks for 2Sisters Photography
{All My Loving} Part I
Anne & Alexander May.30.2010
This wedding will most likely defiantly be the highlight of my year, and probably my favorite wedding. This said I truly feel every wedding is special, every couple I fall in love with, but this wedding was the wedding of dreams and movie magic.
The Brown Palace is the second oldest hotel in Denver. I had never stepped foot inside until Anne and Alexander’s wedding. The Brown Palace is like Denver’s New York Plaza Hotel; it looks rich, it feels rich, you feel like you need to be rich when you’re inside it.
Anne and Alex were the perfect couple for a Brown Palace Wedding. Anne has an elegance to her similar to Grace Kelly, beautiful smile with warm brown eyes and just classy. Alexander was British. I could just end explaining him there because I am obsessed with Europeans and British accents, but Alex did have more substance than being British he was also charming and watching the way Anne and Alex interacted with one another was witnessing the truest of love. One could not help but admire them and wish to be them.
The wedding ceremony took place at Trinity Methodist directly across the street from the Brown Palace. This was again a first for me photographing an actual church wedding with stained glass windows, red velvet and gold alter and huge golden organ pipes ascending to the heavens. Since this church was so traditional there was also the rule of no flash photography and we had to stand behind the last pew of guest. It was a new challenge being sniper like still to prevent motion blur and getting the camera settings just right to show the beautiful dim romantic lighting of the church.
More to come in Part II of Anne and Alexander…
This wedding was photographed by Laura Brooks for 2Sisters Photography
{Strangers in the Night}
It’s not to often that you find a model gorgeous bride who is as beautiful inside as she is on the outside, oh yeah and she fishes too. But sorry boys this lady is now taken. Tiffany and Chris were married at the Willow Ridge Manor on Saturday May 29th, 2010. The Colorado weather was in their favor when threatening dark clouds where over head but proved non-threating by producing no rain. Tiffany’s favorite color pink played a major theme in the flowers, bridal party attire and decor adding a brightness to the dark sky and matching the bright personalities of the couple. It was a rare moment when Tiffany and Chris were not smiling and laughing with one another. The pastor even pointed out how blessed they were to have the weather on their side and during the ring exchange I loved what the pastor said about their wedding rings, “your rings will get worn and dull on the outside but the inside of your rings will always be shiny and new.. have your love always be like the inside of your rings.” Beyond the pink theme one of the couples favorite pastimes of fishing was incorporated with a tackle box for guest to place cards in and table names like Rainbow Trout and San Juan River. What I loved most about this couple was there families. Both Tiffany and Chris had very supportive and loving families with them on their wedding day. I don’t think I’ve seen so many tissues as Tiffany and her father both got teary eyed when he first saw his daughter in her wedding dress. It was very sweet seeing a family with so much love for one another.
With this wedding I was glad to be training with 2Sisters because I differently learned a lot from this wedding in terms of lighting. I am a little embarrassed with my work because of my inexperience with lighting. The dark clouds looked amazing when I had the camera settings right but many times I had the settings wrong which caused for very dark and not clear photos. I need to learn more about lighting in BAD light situations. I also had difficulty during the dancing, a dark room with random flashing lights was kind of nightmare that with my past cameras I would just shoot on “auto” but now that I work with a professional camera there is no auto button for a crutch. Thankfully I actually have another wedding very soon at Willow Ridge Manor so I can learn from the lighting problems I had with this wedding.
This wedding was photographed by Laura Brooks for 2Sisters Photography
Like Mother like Daughter, you can tell where Tiffany get’s part of her beauty.
{Love Me Tender}
Rebecca & Chris 5.21.2010
A small town in Colorado know as Loveland was the beautiful moutain setting for Becky and Chris’ wedding at the Sylvan Dale Ranch. The couple chose to have a moutain destination style wedding by staying at Sylvan Dale Ranch for a week long celebration for their wedding with family and firends. Married by a small heart shape pond Becky and Chris promised the rest of their lives together with personal passages from Plato rather than the standard Bible passages, the entire day was filled with personal touches of the couple. Becky and Chris, along with their family and friends are corkie and couldn’t stop the laughter and smiles the entire day.
This wedding was photographed by Laura Brooks for 2Sisters Photography
{The Big Thompson River that runs right through Sylvan Dale Ranch}
{The Gorgous Bride Rebecca, a little film noir inspiration}
{Rebecca’s Sister and other Bridesmaids sign the bottom of Rebecca’s shoes, a turkish wedding tradition.}
{ Chris with his Dashing Groomsmen}
{Beatles Inspired}
{The Beautiful Childhood Innocence of Grace the Flowergirl}
{Nothing is cuter than a wooden swing and a Bride with her Maids}
{Rebecca is such a classic beauty}
{The Groomsmen lift Rebecca for a photo op, later the Bridesmaids lifted Chris too… only dropping him once!}
{Who said bunny ears makes for a bad photo? A wonderful moment between Rebecca and her father}
{The Bestman leading a helping hand}
{Cute DIY Table Numbers}
Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet.
Plato
{Such Great Heights}
Meet Shaquita and Benjamin. Shaquita is one of my co-workers at “the day job”, as much as the day job is really quite a drag people like Shaquita brighten my day and make it a little better. Shaquita and Benjamin will be getting married June 19th 2010 in Chicago. They are both originally from Chicago, I have never been so I’m excited to explore a new city while shooting their wedding. We drove up to Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, CO on a chilly morning in May. We had been trying to plan this engagement session for what seemed like FOREVER because the Colorado weather was NOT participating. One of the down falls to Colorado, even in May it could snow. Shooting pictures at Red Rocks is always easy because the scenery is just so beautiful that it’s hard to take a bad picture, but it also helped that Shaquita and Benjamin were such naturals and their love shows so easy on the camera.
{C'est la vie : Laura la vie} 