Mike and I photographed Adriana and Brian’s wedding Saturday in Avon, near Vail and Beaver Creek. You might remember Ana and Brian from their urban photo shoot in Denver earlier this summer. Their wedding took place at the grand Westin Resort, with an outdoor ceremony along the river. They are adorable together, and didn’t stop kissing and cuddling all day. I couldn’t help but grin whenever I looked at them. Congratulations, Ana and Brian!

The Westin Riverfront Resort, with views of Beaver Creek ski slopes

The best man with the rings

Alex was bored while waiting for the festivities to begin.

Ana’s stepmother seeing her in her gown

The flowers were assortments of sunflowers and colorful Colorado wildflowers.

The ceremony took place on the Westin lawn, with a mountain backdrop.

During the ceremony, the string quartet played Edelweis in tribute to Ana’s mother.

Just pronounced husband and wife

Immediately after the ceremony

Heading to the reception

A vivid double rainbow appeared during dinner.

During the toasts

First dance

Photographers: Charlotte and Mike of Charlotte Geary Photography
Venue: Westin Riverfront Resort

Yesterday I photographed the engagement portraits of Tracy and John, who are getting married later this year in Denver. Tracy is a wedding photographer, too, so it was a fun change for her to be on the other side of the camera. She and John completely lit up in each other’s arms, and I can’t wait to see them on their wedding day.

John and Tracy recently moved here from St. Louis, so this arch was a shadow of their past.

I love wandering around urban areas and discovering things like this flower mural.

I’ve been looking forward to this wedding all summer, because I knew it would be creative and cool. Lauren and Brett are the owners of the Modbo Gallery downtown, and you might recognize them from their engagement session earlier this summer. They included their artistic skills and stylish creativity in many ways on Saturday. They even hosted their own reception, by closing down the alley behind the art gallery and celebrating under the stars.

Lauren and Brett scheduled a lot of time for posed photos, and as a result, they have lots of gorgeous pictures of the two of them together. If you love these kinds of pictures as much as I do, please make sure to schedule plenty of time on your own wedding day. You won’t regret it.

Congratulations, Lauren and Brett!

Lauren wore a birdcage veil with a peacock feather accent.

She wore a vintage, tea length dress.

Brett and Lauren had a moment together in a private courtyard before the ceremony.

The Fountain Valley School chapel

The chapel was decorated in lime green with peacock feathers, along with a grand piano – the perfect touch for Lauren, who is a classical pianist.

Lauren’s bouquet was one of the coolest I’d ever seen. She made it out of her family’s heirloom brooches.

The school’s art studio was unlocked, so we went inside and Lauren and Brett climbed up on the tables!

American Gothic

They drove to the reception in an antique yellow Mustang.

Their beautiful rings on Brett’s illustration of the two of them.

This little girl was hilarious! While the band was on a break, she took over the microphone and sang the alphabet song to the entire crowd, while banging on the piano keys. After everyone applauded, she said, “For my next number…” I don’t know what she said next, because I was laughing too hard to hear it.

First dance

First dance under an almost full moon

The reception continued into the night, with the back alleys closed off for guests. A multimedia slideshow was projected onto the neighboring buildings. This particular image was also framed and displayed in the gallery. It is Brett’s illustration of one of my engagement portraits. Totally cool!

Ceremony: Fountain Valley School
Reception: The Modbo

Yesterday I photographed my friend Holly’s family! Holly and Matt Pacione are wonderful photographers here in Colorado Springs, so I was honored when they asked me to take their family’s portraits. It was also a ton of fun, because their kids are adorable, and as you’ll see, we all had a blast exploring Red Rock Canyon.

Yesterday evening I met with Courtney for her senior portrait session in Palmer Park. After a few pictures in the park, we headed to downtown Colorado Springs to continue her portraits as the sun set. It was the best of both sides of Colorado Springs – nature and city.

Congratulations, Courtney! I wish you the best for your senior year and beyond.

I hope that this account will be place for people to learn more about me and the way that I do things. I have a lot of frequently asked questions, so if there’s something you want to know, don’t be afraid to ask. You might even help out someone else by asking.

http://www.formspring.me/charlottegeary

Saturday was the perfect day for a mountain wedding, and the Wild Basin Lodge is a gem. Danielle and Jeff got married there alongside a stream, and then celebrated with a dinner for 40 of their closest friends. I loved how the wedding preparations were a group effort — the cake, flowers, music, and decor were all created by their friends and family.

The staff at Wild Basin Lodge were excellent to work with, and took great care of Jesse and me. They even offered to accommodate any of our dietary restrictions or allergies, which is a rare treat for wedding vendors. I was truly impressed by the level of their service. Highly recommended.

The venue sits alongside a mountain stream. (Photo by Jesse)

Danielle and the ladies spent the first part of the day getting their makeup done on their balcony.

The view from the balcony

Danielle had propped a photo of Jeff on her mirror to keep her company as she got ready.

Flower girl Gracie on her tip toes.

Danielle carried her grandmother’s necklace around the base of her bouquet of lilies.

Meanwhile, Jeff and the guys got ready in a nearby cabin. (Photo by Jesse)

Yogi and Rudy got dressed up for the occasion.

A photo of Danielle’s recently deceased father stood in the chair that would have been his. Danielle’s brother walked her down the aisle.

The ceremony took place in an amphitheater along the river.

The adorable flower girl wore a brown dress and a pale pink floral headband.

The reception was arranged with two long tables that joined at a sweetheart table in the middle.

The entire meal was vegetarian! I’m not usually able to try a little bit of everything, but this time I did, and it was delicious!

First dance

Photographer: Charlotte Geary
Second photographer: Jesse Starr
Venue: Wild Basin Lodge

Sarah and Mike got married last weekend at First Congregational Church in downtown Colorado Springs. I was thrilled when they scheduled time to have their photos taken after the ceremony at the Garden of the Gods, and I love the results. They even included their dog and cat in the photos, so obviously I loved this wedding!

Thanks, Sarah and Mike! I hope you’re loving Costa Rica as much as I did last week.

Sarah was all smiles as she got ready. (Photo by Stephanie)

Sarah’s cat, MJ, stopped by to give her a pre-ceremony cuddle.

Sarah wore green shoes that matched her bridesmaids’ gowns.

Sarah

Mike

Mike’s green and yellow boutonniere included the a pine cone, the perfect Colorado touch.

A green color scheme is so fun for summer weddings.

The groomsmen wore green ties with green and yellow boutonnieres.

Sarah and her dad, just before walking down the aisle (Photos by Stephanie)

The bridesmaids’ reactions to Sarah walking down the aisle

A group prayer for Sarah and Mike

As the newlyweds celebrated outside the church, Mike gave me a thumbs-up.

A post-ceremony high-five from the best man.

One of my favorites

Their dog, Molly, met us at the Garden of the Gods for some photos.

(Photo by Stephanie)

I loved how the sun was shining in rays over the mountains.

This is another of my favorites, especially because it was a candid moment.

First dance

Their ski cake topper was adorable!

Their band, Gentle Rain, put on a great show all night. (Photo by Stephanie)

(Photo by Stephanie)

Photographer: Charlotte Geary
Second photographer: Stephanie Brauer
Ceremony: First Congregational Church
Reception: Julie Penrose Hall
Band: Gentle Rain

Here’s the final set of our photos from Costa Rica. On our last day of the trip, we took a boat tour through a mangrove forest near the town of Damas. The tour gave us a close-up view of snakes, birds, and lots of monkeys. One of the monkeys even jumped on our boat!

This boa constrictor was so close that I could have reached out and touched it — just about a foot away!!

The tour guide found this small snake and let me hold it. It was so smooth that it actually felt soft to the touch.

This monkey came up to us for a closer look, and then jumped right on top of the boat!

I love the curly tail in this one.

A man outside his waterfront home

Mike

Me

Last Sunday Mike and I spent the day at Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica. The park is famous for its gorgeous beaches and abundant wildlife. Of course I loved the monkeys! We saw capuchins and squirrel monkeys, as well as iguanas, raccoons, and lots of other animals.

Central American squirrel monkey

A raccoon thief playing tug-of-war, and winning

This iguana was lounging on a log by the beach.

Mike with the iguana. (Notice that Mike carried my camera backpack the whole trip. Aw, thanks, Mike!)

Leaping monkeys

This monkey raided a trash can near the beach and ran off with a treasure.

A little frog poked his head out to say hi.

Last weekend Mike and I spent an afternoon hiking through Rainmaker Park, a series of trails and rope bridges through the rain forest. It was one of my favorite days of the trip, and certainly a great one for beautiful photo opportunities.

After a steep climb, we encountered a series of rope bridges across the canopy. Some of them were 200 feet above the ground!

I’m not sure what was happening here, but I assume that the bridge wobbled and scared me!

One of the creepy, crawly things we discovered. A centipede, I presume?

A poison dart frog

Mike and I just got home from a week on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. July 30th was our fifth anniversary, so we decided to take a vacation/babymoon to celebrate. We wanted to go someplace warm and tropical, and completely different from our normal daily routine. Mike wanted a beach, and I wanted monkeys. So Costa Rica it was!

We stayed at a miniature resort called the Blue Banyan Inn, near the town of Quepos and Manuel Antonio National Park. The Blue Banyan is a bed-and-breakfast owned by an American-Canadian couple named Jim and Barbara. The Inn has just four cottages, a pool, and a restaurant where they served a delicious breakfast each morning. It’s quite a bit out of town, nestled in the rolling hills of the rainforest. The only sounds were those of the birds, insects, and frogs. The peaceful tranquility was divine, especially during a rare break from my busiest time of year.

One of the greatest aspects of the Blue Banyan Inn is that is also the site of an animal sanctuary operated by a non-profit organization called Kids Saving the Rainforest. Barbara and Jim and the volunteers take care of 22 marmoset monkeys at the sanctuary, including these four orphaned babies. Every morning they would bring the four babies to the hotel, and let me keep an eye on them as they prepared breakfast. These baby monkeys were absolutely adorable, and one of my favorite parts of the whole trip.

I’ll be posting our Costa Rica photos in four sets, starting with these photos of our hotel and the monkey sanctuary. Stay tuned for more!

The road to the hotel — it was located about 15 minutes outside of town, along a dirt road through a palm forest. At this particular moment, we were following Jim and Barbara and their dog, Darla.

Our beautiful cottage

Mike and me

The pool at the hotel. The building to the far left is our cottage — we had the one closest to the pool, with the best views of the rainforest. The building in the middle is the restaurant.

Our cottage. We loved sitting on the front porch during the late afternoon rain showers, watching the forest.

The Birds and Butterflies restaurant at the hotel, where we ate delicious banana pancakes for breakfast each morning. Almost all the restaurants in the area had no walls! Very cool.

The inside of the restaurant. Mike taught me how to play chess during our trip, and we’d sit there during the evenings and enjoy some relaxing chess slaughter (Mike’s way better than me… so far!)

Each morning, Barbara and Jim would bring the four orphaned monkeys to breakfast, and let us play with them. These two were the youngest, at only six weeks old.

Barbara and Goober. Because baby monkeys spend their first several months riding on their mothers’ backs, these little orphans loved to sit on Barbara’s head and cling to her hair. Goober was a total mama’s boy, and would cry for her until she placed him comfortably on her head.

Here she has a couple monkeys on her head.

One of the littlest babies crawled onto my shoulder and took a nap. CUTE.

This little guy was disappointed that my orange juice glass was empty.

Trying to steal Mike’s coffee (also empty).

Standing next to our cottage. The scenery behind me was the view from our front porch.

Tiki, the hotel’s bilingual macaw.

Tiki would greet us at breakfast each morning with a cheery “Hola!” When we left for the day, he’d call out “Bye!”

Can you tell that I loved the monkeys?

One morning, we tagged along with Barbara as she fed the monkeys at the sanctuary.

Some of the monkey enclosures, all built and designed by the kid volunteers.

Some of the marmosets in the enclosures, getting their breakfast.

The stereotype seems to be true… monkeys love some bananas.

Here’s Barbara’s husband, Jim, the co-owner of the hotel.

Tiki in the blue banyan tree for which the hotel is named.

Mike with Maxime, one of the dogs who live at the hotel.

Maxime and Darla are best friends who kiss each other on the face all day. I’ve never seen two dogs so affectionate toward each other.

Happiness

Last weekend I photographed two weddings at one of my favorite venues: Timber Ridge, on the top of a mountain in Keystone. Chris and Dave got married Sunday, surrounded by the Colorado mountains that Chris loves so much. She grew up here in Colorado, but now she and Dave live out of the country. This destination wedding was a great way for her to introduce Dave and their guests to the spectacular scenery of her home state.

Chris and Dave, I’m so happy for you both, and I’m jealous of your incredible honeymoon adventure!

The ride to the wedding was Dave’s first time in a gondola! (Photo by Jesse)

Timber Ridge is an elegant log cabin at the top of the mountain.

Chris’ hat and birdcage veil

At the ceremony

(Photo by Jesse)

Ned from Keystone Resorts makes the most beautiful cakes.

First dance

During the later hours of the evening, they served a fondue bar. Cool idea!

Singing along to “Rocky Mountain High”

The full moon of July 25th was one of the reasons they chose it to be their wedding date. My favorite thing about a full moon is the way that it lights up the mountains throughout the night.

Photographer: Charlotte Geary
Second photographer: Jesse Starr
Venue: Timber Ridge
DJ: DJ Guy

Kasey and Dave got married Saturday with a destination wedding on the top of a mountain. Timber Ridge is a venue that sits 11,444 feet above sea level, high above Keystone. Even the trip to Timber Ridge is fun — it takes 30 minutes to get there by two gondola rides. It’s an impressive location for a wedding, and I’m sure Kasey’s family from Texas loved the adventure.

Congratulations, Kasey and Dave!

The gondola to Timber Ridge

The view from the gondola

(Photo by Jesse)

Timber Ridge

The venue was decorated with white calla lilies and purple ribbons.

A thunderstorm closed down the gondola before the guests were able to arrive. Some of the bridesmaids did a rain dance to bring out the sunshine. (It worked!)

A toast before the ceremony

A high five for the ring bearer

This woman was sketching the ceremony. What a great gift idea.

The bridesmaids wore purple strapless dresses and carried long bouquets of calla lilies.

This one cracks me up! A mysterious dog with a bow around her neck wandered past us during the portraits. I love the look on Dave’s face! (Photo by Jesse)

Dave carried her back up the hill (which is no easy feat at such high altitude!)

First dance

Bouquet toss

(Photo by Jesse)

(Photo by Jesse)

Photographer: Charlotte Geary
Second photographer: Jesse Starr
Venue: Timber Ridge

I’ve been so busy this summer that I haven’t stopped to share my recent albums. I’ve had some gorgeous books go through lately! I love this guest book from Carrie and Pete’s ranch engagement session. The book contains white space for guests to sign at the wedding — it’s a personalized and beautiful alternative to the traditional guest book. They are always a huge hit at weddings.

The book opens flat with sturdy, matte pages that are easy to write on.

Marlayna is an outdoorsy senior at Vista Ridge High School, who wanted a mountain setting for her senior portraits. She chose my favorite local park, Red Rock Canyon Open Space, which gave us great locations and beautiful evening light. Good luck to you, Marlayna, as you finish high school!

Jane and Ben got married Saturday in Denver, on one of the hottest days of the year. They included many Korean traditions into their wedding, including formal attire that Jane’s parents brought from Korea. The reception took place at the dramatic and striking Cable Center, at the campus of the University of Denver. Congratulations, Jane and Ben!

Jane and Ben began the day in traditional Korean hanbok.

(Photo by Jesse)

Jane’s purse matched her gown

Jane and Ben changed into their Western wedding gown and tuxedo.

(Photo by Jesse)

We headed to a nearby park for some portraits. Here’s proof that it’s not always snowy in Colorado!

The best man and matron of honor were Johan and Grace, whose wedding I photographed in 2007. It was great to see them!

I love the architecture of Bethany Lutheran Church, with its blue stained glass and timber ceilings.

Jane wiped a tear as Ben placed her ring on her finger.

Husband and wife

The reception took place at the Cable Center.

The Cable Center features a wall of TV screens, which Jane and Ben used for a slideshow of their engagement portraits during dinner.

Ben and Jane during the toasts.

Ben and Jane presented a slideshow with a tribute to each of their parents. Here are Jane and her mother watching the show.

The audience watching the slideshow.

First dance

Father-daughter dance

Photographer: Charlotte Geary Photography
Second photographer: Jesse Starr
Ceremony: Bethany Lutheran Church
Reception: Cable Center

Yesterday evening I met up with Adriana and Brian in Lodo for their engagement session. We scheduled the shoot so that we’d end up with some nighttime photos like this one, which of course I loved! Adriana and Brian are a playful and affectionate couple who were so easy to photograph. I can’t wait until their wedding in the mountains next month!

Erin and Gabe got married Saturday in Denver, and it was the kind of fun day that slips by too quickly. They had a dual Lutheran-Catholic ceremony at St. Paul’s Church downtown, and a reception at the Doubletree Hotel in Greenwood Village. Gabe is a photographer, too, so he made sure that they had some great photo opportunities throughout the day. They scheduled a break between the ceremony and reception, and explored a bar and a park downtown with their wedding party. I highly recommend this idea to future couples!

Congratulations, Erin and Gabe! What a fun day!

The ladies got ready at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church/

Erin fastened her grandmother’s ring to the base of her bouquet.

(Photo by Jesse)

A Lutheran pastor and a Catholic priest greeted them at the altar.

What a hilarious moment! Just minutes after the ceremony, Gabe changed his Facebook relationship status. (Photo by Jesse)

The wedding party headed to the Cruise Room in LoDo for some drinks.

Next we all headed to Civic Center Park to take pictures on this sunny day.

(Photo by Jesse)

One of my favorites

I loved their cake topper and blue and orange color scheme.

First dance

The Wedding March (photo by Jesse)

Photographer: Charlotte Geary
Second photographer: Jesse Starr
Ceremony: St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
Reception: Doubletree Denver Tech Center
DJ: Favio Twedt of A Music Plus

Lindsey, Kyle, and big brother Greyson welcomed little Peyton four weeks ago. They asked me to photograph their adorable family before Kyle has to be stationed abroad this summer. Lindsey, thank you for asking me to do this for you. Kyle, I wish you the best in your new adventure.