FALL LEAVES, A GOLD AND ICON-FILLED CHURCH, & TUSCAN RECEPTION AT KNOEBEL EVENTS WITH GREEK DANCING
AXEL + JULIANNA
Holy Protection of the Mother of God Byzantine Catholic Church was a sight to behold in so many ways. On the outside, it didn’t stand out from its position on the corner of a neighborhood, as it was hardly bigger than any of the homes around it. But as you walk in, gold and ornate icons fill the entire space, which was standing room only.
Julianna was getting ready with her ladies downstairs, and as they finished a few things, I got to make one of my absolute favorite flat lay set ups that I’ve ever done, and I only left the scene of creating these detail images in excitement because it was time for the bride to get dressed!
I had Julianna get dressed in the corner of a room with some sort of carpeting on the wall. It was one of those moments that I was just happy that she trusted my vision, because the coloring and depth behind these photos was exactly what I had hoped for.
Shortly after this, the ceremony was underway. After the bridal party walked in,
Julianna walked into the back of the church to meet Axel for their betrothal ceremony,
where there was plenty of emotion on his face and they were met by the priest, who blessed and put on each of their wedding bands.
Hymns were sung and words were spoken beautifully, until the crowning of the couple happened, which was my favorite part of the ceremony.
Axel, then Julianna, were crowned with unique flower crowns tied together with a ribbon. This tradition is only common in the eastern Catholic rites, and was amazing to witness.
They then did the dance of Isaiah, led hand in hand by the priest around the table where they had said their vows.
After receiving the Eucharist together and some final words and blessings, the couple joyfully walked out of the church to bagpipes played by a close friend, and we soon went back inside to do a few portraits in the church.
We headed to the University of Denver where the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management had set up a gorgeous social hour and huge room of dining tables for the reception, decorated with all kinds of sweet details. J & A chose to give little bells to each person for ringing to coax them into kissing at the head table, and donuts lined a huge dessert table.
As the social hour went on, we did
as many portraits of both the wedding party and the couple as possible in the amazing fall golden hour light and in front of giant trees with yellowing leaves.
Just feast your eyes on the glory of October in Colorado!
The first dances of the night were cute, as can be expected from families as wholesome as these.
After Axel and his mom did a non-traditional, quick-tempo song, the fun really began. Julianna’s brothers led the entire room to gather into a massive circle and taught us all a few easy steps of Greek Dancing. People laughed until they cried, tripped over their feet, and actually even began to successfully dance the dances and count the steps.
As this is my longest blog to date, I will end with a massive
congratulations
& these sunset photos that we took walking around campus. A bit of experimental motion blur (as requested) created a whimsical mood and a nostalgic warmth to these final photos taken that evening.
