First Look Before Their Shove Chapel Wedding
Ashleigh and David decided to first look before their Shove Chapel wedding on the campus of Colorado College. Not everyone thinks having a “first look” on your wedding day is the way to go, but I always defer to the couple to decide whether to see each other before the ceremony.
Here’s what Ashleigh and David’s first look looked like during their Shove Chapel wedding. I love the excitement and passion they shared with each other in these first few moments.




Don’t Keep Your Guests Waiting
During my meeting with a wedding couple, they often share horror stories about photographers at other weddings they’ve attended. The story I hear the most is the ‘waiting on the photographer’ story. It goes something like this: “We waited an hour for the couple to arrive at their reception because the photographer took so long.” Another version of it goes like this: “I was in the wedding party and we spent so long taking pictures that we were late to the reception.” The photographer always takes the blame here. But actually, it’s the couple that made the choice to have photos taken at these times, and the consequences were that everyone ran late.
Keep Things Relaxed and Fun
I love doing portraits of the couple before their wedding ceremony because it’s more fun. When I’m pressed for time afterwards, I end up ordering rather than suggesting. To illustrate, here’s a fun photograph of Ashleigh and David. This only happened because we had the time to do it. Consider that if you make the investment in professional photography, the odds are very good that your pictures will be better if you give yourself the time to have some fun.

Make A Grand Exit
Because Ashleigh and David saw each other before their ceremony they were able to make an exit in a getaway car to their reception. Consider the pictures that don’t happen because you’re taking time away from something else to do your family photographs.

I hope these tips help you avoid the bad photography experiences I hear so much about and that you get to enjoy your wedding day that much more!