Shannon with her son while doing her wedding preparations at Halcyon Hotel.

Shannon’s son while she gets ready for the wedding at the Denver Botanic Gardens. I don’t know what he’s thinking. I like the ambiguity of photography, pictures that suggest or raise questions, that hold something back.

Shannon and her son walking to the wedding ceremony in the Solarium at the Denver Botanic Gardens.

Shannon’s son speaks during the ceremony.

If you get past 75% capacity, the Solarium can be a very tight space. Try to leave as much room in the front as possible, and leave some breathing room between the officiant and the door. Whether the officiant had his weight on his left or right foot meant the difference between getting a picture or not. Yes, you can always take pictures from the back, but then every picture ends up looking the same. Whether it’s a ceremony or reception site, “capacity” and “comfortably accommodates” are very different. Pay attention to the latter.

Squeezing down the aisle. If there isn’t enough room for two, who gets to walk in front?

Making their way to the Wright Room, in the same building as the large glass tropical conservatory.

The reception was held in The Wright Room at the gardens, which has a sort of understated, minimalist interior with medium-dark concrete slabs and soft daylight from the north. It works well for photos, and of course it’s nicely air conditioned in the summer!

Dueling toasts.

Practicing for the mandatory post-wedding sobriety test. I suppose it helps that it was an afternoon reception.

Life imitates art, I suppose. Fortunately he kept his clothes on.

Even if it’s a long day, I tend to stick around, especially if the couple are the last to leave.

There doesn’t have to be a big sendoff, and I just photograph things however they naturally occur. But isn’t it nice when someone else already carried all your things to the car?