A Summer Rose Sachs Wedding for Teresa & Nelson

Congratulations to Teresa and Nelson! It was an honor to photograph their wedding day. I was a bit nervous – there was a 20 minute rain delay – but once the storm cleared it was beautiful light and a beautiful sunset.

This was the third time I have photographed a wedding at Rose Sachs. In fact I helped another photographer photograph a wedding at Rose Sachs that very same morning. It is located half way between Salt Lake City and Park City and it is a gorgeous location.

I am going to start off with one of my favorite photographs – I usually show these chronologically – but I am going to tell this story a little differently.

Getting ready photographs aren’t necessary but they help tell a story. Of course it is important for the bride and groom and the people involved to be comfortable with a photographer in the area. Often times I just wait outside and wait till people are dressed enough for some “getting ready photos.”

The groom wore a kilt from his family’s history and they used YouTube as a checklist for the proper way to wear a kilt.

The wedding ceremony was presided by a Buddhist priest/monk and so it is a good thing that Rose Sachs had a Buddha statue already there.

This is one of the first Buddhist wedding ceremonies that I have had the opportunity to photograph. It is really cool to witness different cultures and different religious ceremonies. That same morning I had helped photograph a Chinese wedding ceremony which included the tea and red envelopes.

Getting to photograph the rings as they are exchanged can be a challenge. Couples don’t always turn the hands to show the rings. And I won’t get so close to be a distraction – fortunately there was room where I could get a great shot of the rings being exchanged.

I have some new and improved software that I use to create the perfect black and white photograph. It gives me so much control – I can even imitate popular black and white film! I can definitely add all the drama I want! Occasionally I will photograph with actual film cameras but when it counts I am going digital because of the flexibility, creative control and quality.

And then time for wedding portraits! We started in front of the Rose Sachs waterfall and then moved to the area that was having some amazing clouds and sunset. The light was beautiful but also disappearing quickly.

I saw these clouds and colors and knew I needed to move people over quickly. The early storms had left way for a beautiful sunset and colors in the sky.

Here are some of the wedding details. I always go for the flowers, cake, wedding rings, decorations, food. The details are always important – you design a great wedding and the details help tell that story. And if you ever want a wedding published in the magazine you have to have amazing detail photographs. So I always shoot hoping that things look like a magazine.

I really like photographing wedding rings. I see it as a miniature version of the bride and groom and we place them in unique locations.

There are the traditional activities of cake cutting, the garter belt, and the tossing of the bouquet. They had the groom toss the bouquet and then the bride removed a part of the kilt setup.

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