Cristi and David’s Boulder Wedding
Cristi and David had a Sunrise Amphitheater wedding high above Boulder in a bit of a drizzle, going down the hill to their wedding reception at Chautauqua Community House, at the base of the Flatirons. The surrounding cottages and streets don’t look like they’ve changed much from the 1930s, and the reception had a timeless feel to it. As a Denver wedding photojournalist, that timeless feel is something I’m very happy to encounter.
If you haven’t been to Sunrise Amphitheater, it’s a simple yet extraordinary place. It’s surprisingly high, given how close it is to downtown Boulder. There is a feeling of floating above the city below, in absolute silence. There is a psychological transition that happens as you wind up the hillsides. You get the sense of being in another place, far removed, suspended in time. There is an anticipatory energy for the guests I’ve not seen equaled in far more opulent settings.
Cristi preparing at the Boulderado Hotel.
Who doesn’t feel this way? I maintain a small, quiet presence, as I want things to unfold naturally, as if I wasn’t there. Sometimes that means I might make a single frame over the course of several minutes. It’s the difference between quietly sharing space with someone and feeling like you’re constantly on display. I’m acutely aware of the ways I change when there’s a camera around, so I do everything I can to minimize my presence. In documentary wedding photography, less is often more.
The officiant takes shelter from a downpour and discusses shifting timelines with Cristi, waiting in a car down the road. After a half hour, the deluge turned to a drizzle and everyone headed for the amphitheater.
First kiss with a twist.
White umbrellas, yes please. Black umbrellas can turn the couple into silhouettes. Graphic, perhaps, but I really want to see their faces.
I was quite happy with the drizzle. It forced people to have cocktails in the picnic pavilion, where the light was beautiful.
Chautauqua was just a short, winding ride down the hill.
When I do take posed pictures, I think of them as an opportunity to make a portrait that doesn’t scream “wedding photography”. I imagine people looking at the image 50 years from now and what would be important to them. Perhaps a sense of each person at this point in time in their lives, a sense that could be obscured by interactions done for the sake of the camera. Trends come and go, but I want these pictures to be timeless.
Toasts on the sidewalk, at the bottom of the steps.
