Next up in my ‘best of’ series are my favorite wedding party photos.  The colors and details made for some great photographs!

Denver wedding photographer, Colorado wedding photographer, Colorado Springs wedding photographer

I photographed so many amazing wedding clients this past year and decided I’d share with you some of my most favorite photos from each category beginning with best bridal portrait. I’m so looking forward to my 2012 weddings and sharing more gorgeous previews!

When Susan and Bob called and asked me to photograph their wedding at The Broadmoor, I very giddily obliged.  It’s The Broadmoor!  You know, that most amazing 5 Star Resort on the planet that is every photographer’s dream venue!?  It was my first time shooting there (well, besides for family and child portraits) and it was everything I had imagined it would be…and more.  Beautiful lighting, breathtaking backdrops and the utmost touch of elegance throughout every detail.  I even got to work with a super fun couple to boot!  Susan’s brother could not attend the wedding last minute due to some medical complications.  He was with us in spirit however…and via an iPad, lol…you’ll see what I mean below.  It made an unfortunate and sad situation rather memorable for Susan and her family.

Enjoy this small sneak peek from their beautifully perfect day.  Susan wore an over 130 year old gown that has been passed down through several generations.  Only minor alterations to the bodice, using the original fabric, needed to be made.  The Broadmoor was such a fitting venue for this victorian gown.

Bob and Susan, thank you for allowing me to capture your special day from beginning to end.  It was an honor.

This is a long overdue post but one that must not be forgotten.  I had the EXTREME pleasure of photographing this amazing couple at Spruce Mountain Ranch this past summer.  At the moment Ashley and I met over a glass of wine at our mutual favorite place I knew we’d hit it off.  She is so warm, sincere and appreciative (heck, the list could go on and on).  Her now husband, Matt, is equally kind.  They were game for almost anything, including Ashley agreeing with my recommendation for eggplant colored shoes and umbrellas by Bella Umbrella to coordinate with their color scheme!  Her gorgeous gown and adorable shoes were purchased at my favorite local wedding boutique, Something New Boutique.  Enjoy a small sampling of their big day.

This couple’s story amazes me.  They met in 2004 at the fitness facility where they were both employed.

They were in the middle of planning a beautiful destination wedding in Mexico for 11/11/11 when the bride discovered changes and discomfort in her jaw.  Her doctor discovered she had what is known as ICR (Idiopathic Condylar Resorption) which is essentially a condition that effects the jaw joints.  It causes facial changes because the jaw is literally regressing backward.  As it regressed backward it was slowly and continually closing her airway.  So, this life threatening problem could only be treated with surgery, a surgery that would cost over one hundred thousand dollars and that her insurance would barely cover.  As you can only imagine, this put any wedding planning to a halt and the focus solely on the bride’s health as this surgery needed to take place relatively soon after her diagnosis.  The only solution that they could see happening to avoid drowning in debt was to rapidly speed up the wedding date so that the bride could carry on her fiance’s much better insurance that would cover the medical bills.  Their dreams of having a destination wedding were crushed.  They now had to quickly find a venue, florist, officiant, caterer and photographer, not to mention hope that their guests could rearrange their schedules to be able to attend at a shorter notice.  This all could not have happened so smoothly without the incredible help of their wedding planner, Sandy, with SM Events.  She helped turn their dream destination wedding into a dream local wedding in such a short period of time that one would never know of the time constraints involved.

Cheers to a beautiful occasion celebrating the meaning of “for better or worse, in sickness and in health.”

I’m happy to share that Andrea has fully recovered and is doing well.

Venue: The Club at Flying Horse

Last week (when it was NOT below zero!) I had the pleasure of hanging out with my July wedding couple for their engagement session. We headed to Manitou for some fun/urban backdrops. I love engagement sessions as it provides a chance for the couple and I to get to know each other better and allows for them to get comfortable in front of the camera so they can really BRING IT on their wedding day. Enjoy your sneak peek. More to view on my facebook fan page!

It recently dawned on me that I’ve completely forgot to blog about our Rock The Dress photo shoot!  Also known as “Trash The Dress”, Rock The Dress is simply a chance for brides to wear their dress again (it’s too expensive to only wear once, right?!) and in a location that was different from their wedding day.  We chose to go downtown Colorado Springs for some fun urban shots.  Thanks to Andy Mitchell with Alpine Studios for putting together the following video.  If you’re interested in a Rock The Dress session please contact me for more details.

Trash the dress from Alpine Studio LLC on Vimeo.

I met this amazing couple at a wedding event up in Denver.  We had dinner together and chatted a bit about their wedding plans only to find out they still needed a photographer!  I was so honored to be given the opportunity to share in their celebration.  Their beautiful ceremony and reception took place at the Denver Botanic Gardens.  I couldn’t have chosen a more perfect location for them, nor could I have called for better weather.

Here is just a small sampling of some of my many favorite photos from the day.  I witnessed nothing short of love, happiness and laughter with this gang.  Thanks again you guys for throwing such a fantastic party…oh, and for hiring The Makery! (hehehe).

This couple was such a joy to photograph.  Not only were they incredibly nice and laid back but were so comfortable in front of the camera and really made my job easy.

In the next couple of weeks or so, you will notice significant changes to my website.  I have recently teamed up with Denver photographer, Lisa Hodnet, of Lisa Hodnet Photography and together have formed Elite Weddings!  That’s right…I am now Jamie Smith Photography and Elite Weddings.  My portrait web address will stay the same…I am simply going to add a tab onto my home page where you can click to enter into the wedding site.

With our combined years of marketing and photography experience, Lisa and I will make quite the power team in this wedding business venture.  I am so excited to see what God has planned for us and we both look forward to keeping you up to date with our latest news and wedding photos.  Please visit our new (but still under construction) site at www.elitewed.com And, be sure to become a fan of Elite Weddings on facebook here!

Visit our booth on Sunday, January 17th at the Colorado Bridal Show, located at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center from noon-4pm and enter to win some amazing prizes!

In an effort to help jump start our wedding business, I am asking you to recommend any and all engaged couples you know about Elite Weddings (especially those getting hitched in Hawaii or Tahiti).  For the first three wedding referrals I receive, I will offer a complementary portrait session along with one digital file.  That’s a value of over $200!  Ya can’t beat that!