Behind the Scenes with Drake & CO Photography and Films

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Congratulations to all of our wonderful couples and a bit thank you to all of our 2nd shooters and assistants for making our jobs so much fun.

Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Wedding | Michelle and Dan's Winter Colorado Wedding

Venue - Mt. Princeton Hot SpringsFlorist - Palmer's Flowers

Cake - Sam's club (we just bought a variety)

DJ -  Continental Divide Productions

Dress - Essence of Australia

Photography - Drake Busch Photography (Drake + Ashley Busch)

How did you meet each other? We met working at an outdoor science school in the woods of Southern California.

What was the best memory of your wedding day? This is really hard, getting married was absolutely amazing. Dan's favorite memory was just after the ceremony was done and we were officially married. Well that, or getting lifted in the chairs. Michelle's favorite memory was sitting down for dinner together, looking around and seeing all of our friends and family. But really the whole day was unforgettable.

What would be some advice you would give to future couples as they plan their wedding day? Don't worry about the food too much, your not going to eat it. The people you invited, your friends and family, are the most important part of the wedding day.

Where did you go on your honeymoon?  Where did you stay and what were a couple activities you enjoyed.  Would you recommend to other couples?

We went to Kauai, Maui, Oahu, and the Big Island of Hawaii.  The whole trip was amazing, but the highlights included snorkeling, whale watching, a helicopter tour, mountain biking down a 11,000 foot volcano, driving convertibles, seeing the glow of lava at night, and just general hiking and exploring the beaches and jungle.

We also went to the South island of New Zealand where we kayaked, saw dolphins jump and fur seals play, saw numerous glaciers and fjords, went backpacking, canyoneering, mountain biking, caving, and wine and beer tasting.

We stayed mostly in vacation rentals in Hawaii and then rented a campervan for New Zealand. Definitely would recommend both places for a honeymoon

Vail Donovan Pavilion Wedding | Annie + Justin's Vail Colorado Winter Wedding

Venue: The Donovan Pavilion  (Justin proposed right outside of the pavilion in March 2015!)

Musicians/DJ: Trading Post Duo, John and Briana Wirt (absolutely phenomenal!)

Caterer and Wedding Coordinator: The Gourmet Cowboy, Sarah Biggs (she coordinates their catering services and also offers planning services, she was truly responsible for how well everything went that day! Plus she is lovely to work with.)

Flowers and Aspen Arch: A Secret Garden and Vintage Magnolia

Light-Up Birch Trees: Restoration Hardware

Dress: Priscilla of Boston

Faux Fur Wraps: Restoration Hardware

Jewelry: Elizabeth Blair (a designer based out of Harbor Springs, Michigan)

How did you two meet? Justin and I met online! We went on our first date in October of 2013 at a brewery in Denver.

What was the best memory from your wedding day? The best memory of our wedding day was our "first look" photos during the day before the ceremony.  It was an opportunity for Justin and I to step away from everyone else, be outside in the beautiful, snowy woods near Gore Creek in Vail, and spend some time together just the two of us (plus Drake and Ashley of course, who captured the moment! Those are our favorite photos from the entire day.)

Do you have any advice for future couples getting married?

The best advice we can give in terms of wedding planning is to keep things simple and let the vendors do what they do best.  Everyone we worked with truly knew how to do an excellent job, and when we followed their recommendations everything turned out wonderfully.  We genuinely felt that things were all taken care of for us and we are so glad we didn't try to over-manage the event!

Where did you go on your honeymoon? We went to South Africa and the Seychelles for our honeymoon! We don't often get a lot of time off to travel so we decided to just go for it and do a big international trip.  We did a safari at Ngala Safari Lodge in Kruger National Park, which was indescribably impressive and awe-inspiring, and then we stayed at the Banyan Tree Resort in the Seychelles.

Cable Center Denver Wedding Day | Mary and Kevin's Cable Center Wedding

Venue: The Cable Center DenverCaterer: Footers Catering Cake: Cake Crumbs Bakery Dress: Little White Dress Bridal Belt: Red Magnolia on Etsy Hair: Danelle McCright, based out of Salon on the Parkway in Littleton Groomsmen suits: Men's Warehouse Ceremony Music: Austin Trotter and Klaus Larson of the Bell Hours  along with my cousin Lee Thomas Wedding website: http://www.mywedding.com/burnsinlove15 DJ: DJ Crisp (Christopher Keith, based out of Breckenridge) Ceremony chairs and cocktail hour tables: Event Rents Our day-of coordinator was just a friend of a friend Bridesmaid dresses and my shoes from Amazon, my earrings from Deja Blue, the liquor from CostCo (none of which are very exciting haha) Veil: Bride's Mother's Photography: Drake Busch Photography (Drake & Dawn Sparks)

How did you two meet? We met at the Front Porch, a bar on 15th and Lawrence downtown. It was a Tuesday night. I had just been to a show at Comedy Works with some friends, and Kevin was meeting his friend Gary for a drink. I am a pretty outgoing person, so I saw a good-looking guy and decided to talk to him. Kevin had often told his friends that the girl he would marry would be one who would buy him a drink, which I did that night. 

What is the best memory from your wedding day? That whole day was awesome! I loved our entrance into the reception, down those cool stairs at the Cable Center. We really liked the cake cutting, since we decided not to announce it; it was just a moment with the two of us and not a bunch of people watching. Our dance floor was hopping right away and never really died down throughout the night. 

Do you have any advice for future couples? Make your weeding your own. If something is important to you but isn't traditional, do it anyway. If something is traditional but you don't find it meaningful, skip it. You're never going to 100% please all of your guests, so make yourself happy and you won't have any regrets. Also, if you have many guests coming in from out of town, add an extra event. Your wedding day is action-packed, and it can be difficult to spend time with all of your guests. Something extra the day before or the day after mean more time with the people who want to celebrate you. We had a field day on Friday afternoon in Ruby Hill Park where we played semi-competitive games and brought in Biker Jim's food truck. It was great opportunity for us to spend more time with friends and family, plus our guests had a chance to mingle, which I think helped open up the dance floor at the reception. Also, after the rehearsal dinner, we told all of our guests that we would be at a local bar. It was really relaxed and relaxing. We even got the bar to extend their happy hour deals to our guests. The field day was pretty low-cost and the rehearsal afterparty was free, and they both provided great chances for us to see our loved ones and for friends and family to come together. 

Where did you go on your honeymoon?  What activities did you do while there? we spent 9 days in Dubrovnik, Croatia and 3 days in Paris. We stayed in apartments that we found on AirBnB. We loved Croatia! Everyone was so friendly; they were excited to have us there and wanted to tell us all about their city and their country. There were lovely beaches, lots of delicious seafood, and sunshine every day. While in Croatia, we took a day trip to Montenegro, which is about a 45 minute drive south, and a day trip to 3 of the Elaphite Islands. Our favorite restaurant was the Taj Mahal, which serves traditional Bosnian food. In Paris, we saw a lot of the tourist spots: Notre Dame, Sacre Couer, Saint Chapelle, the Eiffel Tower at sunset, the Arc de Triomphe, a night biking tour with a company called Fat Tire Tours (not connected with the beer, unfortunately), and a walking street art tour with Underground Paris. Croatia was amazing in pretty much every way and we highly recommend it. Paris is a charming, beautiful city, but definitely less friendly than Dubrovnik.

Crooked Willow Farms Wedding | Kari and Ben's Crooked Willow Farms Wedding Day

Venue: Crooked Willow Farms, Larkspur ColoradoWedding planner - Claire (We Tie the Knots) Venue coordinator - Britney - CWF coordinator Florist - Kimball Floral Caterer - Liz (Biscuits & Berries) Cake - chantilly (Whole Foods) Ice cream truck - high Point Creamery DJ - Marcus (Encore Events & Entertainment) Dress - Wtoo Persiphone Shoes - Lyla Wedge (Jessica Simpson) Jewelry - grandma's pearl bracelet Photography - Drake Busch Photography (Drake and Ashley)

How did you two meet? Kari had just moved to Denver and was invited to a birthday party at Wash Park by one of her new roommates. While kicking a soccer ball around, Ben asked Kari if she had ever played soccer-tennis before. Much to his surprise, Kari responded that she had and soon after they made plans for their first soccer-tennis game :)

What was your favorite memory from your wedding day? We loved everything about our ceremony! The beautiful scenery, Troy's message about marriage, and being surrounded by our friends and families.What would be some advice you would give to future couples as they plan their wedding day? Come up with a few things that represent who you are, and what's important to you, and incorporate those things into your wedding. With everything else, be flexible!Where did you go on your honeymoon?  Where did you stay and what were a couple activities you enjoyed.  Would you recommend to other couples? We honeymooned in Negril, Jamaica at Sunset at the Palms resort and would definitely recommend it to other couples! It's beautiful and relaxing, and you get to stay in little "tree houses". We enjoyed snorkeling with our local captain because he knew where all the best fish and reefs were located.