Stanley Hotel Wedding Photography

Another great wedding at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO. Jackie and Tim had a small, intimate wedding in the rose garden. It's such an elegant venue. Wishing them all the best!!

Stanley Hotel Wedding-Again!

Another awesome wedding at the historic Stanley Hotel in Estes Park with Andrea and Clay. They were terrific at posing and super fun to work with. It's always a nice treat to do portraits before the ceremony. We were able to cover some ground and get some interesting locations on this rather large property. Congratulations to you both and thank you!! Your love is beautiful!

Peaceful Valley Wedding

Love this shot from last night's wedding at Peaceful Valley Ranch of Rob and Nancy.

Stanley Hotel Wedding

Beautiful Saturday morning wedding at the Stanley Hotel for Aemii and Ron. Such joy in this couple, a real pleasure to photograph! Thanks you two!

The Royal Wedding

I did not think I cared much about the Royal Wedding, particularly in light of the opposing news of the tornadoes. But I did watch some of it on the news this morning in the 9 am hour and then again on the 5 pm news. (Did not wake up at 4 am to see it live) But it moved me in that way that the promise of love always moves me at each and every wedding I am privileged to photograph. Even in the grand scale of this royal wedding, and the media exploitation, this hope could be felt. The thing I am grateful for that we have at 'normal' weddings, is the ability to express the love more! I missed seeing hugs and arms around each other. It was hard to watch this young couple, not be able to hold hands or hug or kiss for more than a second or 2. The formality is intense and I am so glad we get to express it and I get to photograph it!! So here are some photos from the years past of hugs and arms wrapped in love!
A toast to couples everywhere in love: married, partnered, just getting to know each other... Here are some words from the sermon by the Bishop of London at the Royal wedding today:
“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” So said St. Catherine of Siena whose festival day it is today. Marriage is intended to be a way in which man and woman help each other to become what God meant each one to be, their deepest and truest selves. A spiritual life grows as love finds its centre beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover this; the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life."

What's In A Name?

My daughter chose to add my last name of Colombo to her last name last Friday. We also learned from Ralph, that COLOMBO means "dove". We like this meaning :)
We went to court, made it official with the law, and had a ceremony with her oldest friends and their famililes. Nick Meima of Wedding For You performed this brief ceremony in our home. He is a wonderful celebrant who performs ceremonies of all kinds. He is also a colleague and friend of mine and it was wonderful to create a ritual to mark this moment in our lives. And ceremony, whether it's a wedding or a funeral or a name change, to me means transformation for the people involved. We bore witness to change, to a young girl taking a stand for herself, connecting to both sides of her families, and feeling more like herself. There is power and a great gift of energy we share when we invite others to participate in our ritual and personal transformation. It is one of the reasons I so love photographing weddings. It is such an honor to witness a couple committing to each other in front of their people; being seen. It is a great gift to me each and every time I bear witness - thank you again and again to my clients for this privilege. And thank you to my daughter, Maya Luna Colombo Hamilton, for taking a stand, for being herself and for sharing with all of us the gift of this moment. My heart is full and I give thanks!