Planner : Poised Events
Hotel: Halcyon
Venue: Denver Botanic Gardens
Hannah & Ryan picked a perfect day for their wedding at Denver Botanic Gardens. August is the best time of year to witness all of the flowers in bloom. It may be hot but seeing the vibrant colors of the surrounding flower beds are worth it.
The couple got ready at the Halcyon hotel which is also a beautiful wedding venue. The rooftop views of the city are a nice feature. That is where I met Hannah to start my day. After I photographed their first look, we headed over to the Denver Botanic Gardens.
The Denver Botanic Gardens have several different sites for wedding ceremonies. Hannah & Ryan got married at the Romantic Gardens which is located near the front entrance. It’s a great site for larger weddings as it holds more people than the other areas. There’s two gazebos, one on each side of the altar.
The views of the altar from where the guests are seating can have harsh sunlight depending on the time of day for the ceremony. Hannah & Ryan had a later start in the afternoon so I had to battle the sunlight to avoid flare in the photos which was challenging. Fortunately there’s room behind the altar so I squeezed back there to get some alternative views of the couple.
Cocktails were held behind the site at an area called the “Secret Passage.” It’s right next to the indoor banquet room where their reception was held at “Mitchell Hall.“
Mitchell Hall seats up to 330 guests. There’s a large stage which is enough room for a six piece band to play to keep the guests dancing all night long. The dance floor is large as well. I’m able to easily setup two flashes on light stands on each corner.
The couple had a Hora dance so they were lifted high up in the air as they sat in chairs while guests danced around them from below. The dance floor was packed for the rest of the night so I was able to capture a lot of great dance shots. At the end of the night Ryan took off his belt and started a limbo dance party as he and another friend held up the belt with their mouths. It was a fun filled day with lots of great moments.
Read about how I capture a full wedding day like this one here.
