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When Caren and Josh contacted me sometime toward the end of June and told me they were having a whirlwind engagement and planning their wedding for Labor Day weekend I was really impressed.  Planning an entire wedding in less than 3 months is not for the faint of heart, but they are an ambitious couple (Caren is currently studying to be a doctor!).  Man did they pull it off.  It was a truly lovely event and from what I could tell, all of their guests just had a total blast. 

Gabby and I started off the day eating some lunch down at Illegal Pete’s on 16th Street where we discovered that the CU vs. CSU game was going on and for Caren and Josh’s sake I was rooting for CSU.  They met each other during college up in Ft. Collins and that is actually where we did their Engagement session too.  (See their E-session here: http://www.apriloharephotography.com/?p=1332)  Unfortunately, CSU did not prevail that day, but who cares?  Caren and Josh were getting married!

After lunch we headed over to the Oxford Club Spa (http://www.oxfordclubspa.com/salon/bridal-services) where the ladies were hanging out and getting beautified.  Caren’s bridesmaids were awesome because they were busy helping her out with some last minute details when we arrived.  When we finished up at the salon everyone headed over to Central Presbyterian Church which is celebrating 150 years in Denver starting in September 2010.  What an amazing church.  I’ve been living in Denver for over 10 years now & photographing weddings for the past 5 and I hadn’t been to this church before.  It is well worth a visit to see it’s stunning stained glass windows.  Really, words can’t describe.  It’s just gorgeous in there.  Check out their website here: http://www.centraldenver.com/

So the gals finished up their preparations in what seemed to be the choir practice area while the guys hung out in the basement.  There wasn’t much time before the ceremony began for pictures so we waited on those until after the ceremony.  After Caren and Josh tied the knot, the bridal party met us at Skyline Park which is just a little slice of grass and flowers and cool sculptures in the heart of downtown Denver on Arapahoe between 15th and 18th street.  We had to hurry though because we didn’t want to leave Caren & Josh’s guests waiting too long at the reception which was held at the Curtis Hotel (http://www.thecurtis.com/).  I have to agree with their website description as being a hotel that has the simple happy-go lucky joy of childhood.  There is definitely a sort of Mod 60’s vibe to the whole place and it’s just an all round unique venue in which to host your wedding reception.  I particularly liked the colorful rainbow lighting they had going on at Caren & Josh’s reception.  It was kind of fun because if I took two pictures of a scene, they would look totally different because of the lighting!  They must also be a really cool place to work with because they let Josh have a carpet of nice lush green grass on the balcony and I noticed more than a few guests chilling on the porch and treating their sore feet to some nice squishy grass:)

Caren & Josh,

Could you be any more impressive?  What a spectacular event you created and in such a short amount of time too!  It was so much fun to get to know the both of you these past couple of months.  Caren, I wish you all the best in your medical studies and Josh, I am definitely going to keep you informed on when G’s basketball league gets started again.  They could use another big guy like you!  I will be in touch soon with the rest of your pictures!

-April

Chilling at the Oxford

I don’t know where all of my brides have been finding all of their super cute boots, but I’m jealous and I love them!

It was hard to capture a photo of Caren not smiling this day:)

Ceremony Shoes

Caren with her bridesmaids

Those bouquets were just GORGEOUS!  Flowers by http://www.bloomdenver.com/ 

Meanwhile…Josh waits patiently in the Church basement.

How pretty!

Caren getting a peek!

Josh sees Caren for the first time that day!

Awww…one of my favorite moments on a wedding day!

Central Presbyterian is HUGE!

Groomsmen being serious during the ceremony

Vows I

Vow II

View from above

Woo hoo!

Love how happy they look here:)

Skyline Park fountain sculpture

I LOVE this one! I think it might be my favorite of the two of them together:)

Caren poses with her little sister and brother

Fun one before we headed over to the reception

Told you the lighting in the Curtis Hotel’s ballroom was pretty!

They walked in and had their first dance

Awwww….

Definitely a lot of great toasts that evening

Such a cute couple:)

How cute is that lil penguin groom’s cake?  Caren’s Mom made it!  Chef Jason from Valley Country Club was the genius behind the main cake.  It was eggless and it tasted fantastic!

Wedding Favor

Caren’s dad dances with her during the parent dances

Awww…there were so many good ones from their dance!

We got so many fun dance shots. Look at how much fun their guests were having:)

You know what song was playing right?

Josh and Caren take a little breather and enjoy the grass

Making their getaway!