Ali Brannan Photography Blog

Melissa & Dave are Engaged! Denver Wedding Photographer

admin — Tue, 07 May 2013 22:13:35 +0000

We met Melissa and her mom over coffee and I could tell how excited she was the second we stepped foot into the coffee shop. The way she blushed when she said Dave’s name, and her excitement as she ran us through the many details of her wedding day, we just knew they were going to be amazing to photograph

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I absolutely love their proposal story. Check it out… “Dave proposed on Christmas morning (I am a christmas freak) so he wrapped a log in a box and set it out a week ahead of time knowing I would shake it. Then when I opened it on Christmas morning it had a giant log and a note underneath saying look behind the gingerbread man, then on the tree ornament was my ring!”

We cannot wait to photograph their wedding next month at the Boettcher Mansion next month.

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J & C Are Engaged | Denver Wedding Photographer

admin — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:51:04 +0000

I’m a huge believer in fate and that everything happens for a reason. Weddings are all about love and bringing people together, and that is exactly what it did for J & C. They met at a friends wedding, both traveling from out of state. They were sat at the same table, both single, and look what happened

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I can’t say enough good things about the two of them. They are both so incredibly personable and funny, it definitely is going to make their wedding day that much more fun. And lets just all agree that C has amazing taste in engagement rings.

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Letters to Taylor…

admin — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 11:24:39 +0000

I can’t believe Taylor is 7 1/2 months already, it’s got me thinking about where the time has gone, and where it is about to go. Life is too dang short.

Being able to give Taylor special letters from me is so important to me, letters that talk about the here and now, to tell her what I imagine her wedding day to be like, or how excited I am for her to tell me one day that she is pregnant, the way I think she will look when she is a toddler, etc. I’m so excited to be able to give her these letters on these special days in her life and for her to read them. I don’t want to write them as if I wont be here to experience these moments with her, but instead tell her all the things I love about her in this moment

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This is a project that I am seeing through, I plan to write her a letter for the following:

- Every year on her birthday

-The day she is no longer a only child

-Her first day of kindergarten

-Our First Fight

-Her First Kiss

-Her Graduation Day

-Her Wedding Day

-The Day she finds out she’s expecting

I have so many more that I want to add to this list, but it’s a start.

Here’s to the years to come and the memories we will create.

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My sweet little girl, stop growing so quickly.

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Kate & Kevin are Engaged | Denver Wedding Photographer

admin — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 13:18:05 +0000

Typically in the winter time we are pretty slow and catching up on blog posts and emails. Not this year, 2013 so far has been crazy busy with tons of engagement sessions. We love it! We love that we can connect with our couples for a whole 6+ months before their wedding since they did their engagement session early

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We met Kate and Kevin just before the new year, and we instantly fell in love with their story and their love for one another. We are so excited for their wedding this October.

I am so in love with their proposal story, so I want to share it with you all:

Kevin and Kate decided to go hiking one last time before all the
mountains were covered in snow. The two decided that getting one last
leaf peeping hike would be wonderful. Kevin decided on Aspen, CO.
Little did Kate know, he had been planning this weekend for months,
including talking to Kate’s parents two weeks prior.

They woke up Saturday morning to snow. However, Kate refused to bail
on thier original idea to hike the Maroon Bells (lucky for Kevin). The
two put on all their snow gear and headed for the hike. It snowed
pretty steadily but it wasn’t freezing and none snow stuck to the
ground. The snow covered the trees and mountain tops and made for a
beautiful hike. Once Kevin and Kate got to Crater Lake, the two
decided to take a picture. Kevin took a picture with his cell phone
and Kate attempted to take a picture with her camera. Kate quickly
become frustrated with her camera and asked to see the picture that
Kevin took. This is where the magic happened …

Much to her surprise the picture she saw was not of the two of them,
but instead was a backdrop of the Denver Skyline, with a hand holding
up a sign that read “Kate”… The following pictures induded the
words, “Will”, “You”, & “Marry”. The final picture contained the
gleaming faces of the couple with Kevin holding a piece of paper with
the words “Me?” behind Kate’s head. By this point, Kate was tearing up
and Kevin was getting down on one knee. With Kate’s grandmother’s
engagement ring in hand, Kevin asked Kate to marry him. To top it off,
Kevin pulled out a bottle of champange and the two were able to
celebrate their engagment in style with snow covered Marron Bells in
the background.

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Where else can you throw snowballs at each other in winter, and wear short sleeves? lol Gotta love Colorado.

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Hiring a Professional Wedding Planner When You Already Have A On-Site Coordinator | Wedding Vendor Wednesday | Denver Wedding Photographer

admin — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 18:11:07 +0000

After working with Jessica McTaggart from Pink Champagne Events a few times I asked her a question I’m sure she gets often. Why is it beneficial for bride to hire a planner when they already have a on-site coordinator? She was nice enough to write up this blog posts for all brides to be

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As a planning bride it can be hard to understand why you need a professional wedding coordinator when you have an on-site event manager. To be honest, it is best when you can have BOTH! But…while they have several overlapping duties and responsibilities, it is for the tasks outside of that realm where a wedding coordinator is of true importance. Below are lists that contain duties performed by a venue’s on-site coordinator(s) and those performed by a professional wedding coordinator(s).

On-site coordinator – Represents VENUE

Advice from past experience with weddings at their specific venue
Recommending preferred vendors (generally limited to those they work with regularly)
Arranging food tastings and menu planning with on-site caterer (when applicable)
VENUE cost proposal based on your wedding size and budget
Reserving ballroom/meeting space on your behalf and hotel rooms (if at hotel)
Payment and deposit schedule explanations
Overseeing wedding day set-up and break-down at their venue ONLY
Occasionally a sounding board for your ideas relative to the venue
Wedding day timeline for events at the venue ONLY
Floor Plan creation
Present at the rehearsal, in some cases
Point of contact for VENUE related issues only

Professional Wedding Coordinator/Planner/Designer – Represents YOU

Advice from past experience with weddings at your specific venue and all weddings in general
Vendor recommendations based on your budget and personal styles
Arranging food tastings and menu planning with any/all caterers you’re interested in
OVERALL WEDDING cost proposal based on your wedding size and budget
Reserving ballroom/meeting space and guest hotel rooms regardless of which venue you select
Assistance with design and décor concept development
Available as a sound board for ideas
Source of etiquette and traditional information
Coordinating and orchestrating your rehearsal
ALL vendor procurements, including contract negotiations
Overseeing ALL vendors leading up to and on the wedding day
Working with you to create a floor plan, as well as assistance with guest seating arrangements/charts, etc…
Present to coordinate at your ceremony AND reception
Participation in any décor/design assistance at both ceremony AND reception venues
Wedding day timeline for events during the ENTIRE DAY, not just at the venue
Recording of ALL vendor payments and deposits made, along with those due at a later date
Single point of contact for ALL vendors on the wedding day
Arranges transportation from hotel to venue and vice versa
Available for on-going phone calls, emails and in-person vendor meetings, if necessary
Distributes vendor gratuities at the end of the evening
Returns all rental items

While the list of responsibilities for the professional wedding coordinator’s job is limited to those most important, you can see that they cover far more with regard to your wedding day coordination than the venue’s on-site manager. Ultimately, the final decision rests with how comfortable you are in leaving the coordination of the ENTIRE DAY in the hands of someone representing the VENUE.

To finish this post here are some photos of Jessica’s handy work.

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