Grant Oakes

Yesterday I was heading into a lunch appointment and I got a call from Paula Haddock who co-hosts the consumer advocate program with Tom Martino.  They needed a photographer to go on the show and give helpful tips to brides looking for a wedding photographer.  The problem was the show is aired live and was at 9:00 am the next day!  I said okay and then went into scramble mode, getting images printed and framed, hair cut, etc.  The interview went well and for those of you that didn’t get to see it this morning you can view it on their website at http://www.martino.tv/videobeta/4f2a2046-d090-45ee-a59b-c90b5f190cc0/News/Grant-Oakes-Photography

Amy Grant had a concert at the Paramount Theater this evening and I was asked by Lutheran Family Services to photograph a few guests after the show in the VIP Lounge.  I have to admit that I have only heard of Amy yet have not followed her music career.  She has a very beautiful, subtle voice and has a wonderful, inviting stage presence.  During the photo session she showed genuine interest in the people that came to be photographed with her, taking her time with each one despite having to catch a late flight to her next concert.

Just moments ago I received an email from the editor of Destination I Do magazine informing me that my featured wedding is in the next issue and will be on the news stands soon.  I photographed Shannon and Brody’s wedding last year at Nygard Cay, the personal residence of Peter Nygard, fashion designer extraordinare from Canada.  Below is a screen shot of the article.

This is the first wedding that Steve Crecelius and I have had the opportunity to work together under our new strategic alliance, LuxArt Images.  Crystal and Russ had a wedding fit for a King and Queen.  The ceremony took place at Montview Presbyterian Church with the reception at Mile High Station.  The decor was beautifully done by Design Works and the dinner was fabulously prepared (as usual) by Epicurean Catering.  Dance Trax provided the DJ service and the energy level they maintained was great!  Linda Whittaker of  Sir Chocolate had a really neat colored chocolate buckets that the kids could paint with on chocolate hearts.  This wedding was one phenomenal experience.  It’s too bad we weren’t able to hitch a ride with the couple to Bora Bora and document the honeymoon.  To see the highlights slide show of this incredible wedding click here.

A few years ago I had the privilege of meeting Steve Crecelius, a photographer that had a huge reputation in the upper social circles in Colorado.  We quickly became friends, not only because of our shared craft but also our mutual feelings about life, family and ethics.  We both thought out loud how great it would be to be able to work together so we launched a partnership called LuxArt Images, to bring our respective talents and assets in such a way as to cater to clients that want nothing short of the worlds finest.  We made our official debute last night.

Claudia and John’s wedding took place at Three Trees Chapel and this was the first time we photographed there.  Biscuits and Berrys catered it and Xpansion Audio provided the music.  This was Amber Conner’s wedding and I came along to assist.  Claudia’s sister Angie was one of the brides maids and was in the hospital, therefore wasn’t able to attend.  She did get to text message her and share some images from the wedding that she was able to enjoy.  As a symbolic gesture her bouquet was placed on a stand where she would have stood during the service.  To see a short slide show of the wedding click here

My wife’s nephew, Kyle tied the knot today and I photographed it along with a little help from my 14 year old grandson, Tyler.  Stacey and Kyle couldn’t have been happier.  Ceremony was at Orchard Rd Community Center and the reception was at the American Legion Hall.  There’s a beautiful park that we stopped by in between  since the weather was mild for an early February afternoon.  Even my granddaughter, Lauren joined in the dancing.

Linda and I finished training for dialysis on Tuesday and had our first run at home, which didn’t turn out so well.  Twice the vein wound up getting infiltrated and so we had to cut short dialysis after only  15 minutes.  We’ll try again tomorrow.  Hopefully things will go much smoother as time goes on and she can start feeling better.

Wow, what a cool bash the staff at the Hotel Jerome in Aspen threw this evening.  They wanted to have the theme based on the era the hotel was built so everyone came in costume including the staff and supporting vendors. Since I “shoot” people for a living I decided to be a gun slinger.  If you want to see what you missed just Click Here.

Well, we closed out the wedding season with a bang!  Margaret and Andy’s wedding was a grand gala, planned by Meg’s sister, Katie and it was superb!  Both families were fantastic and so warm and caring.  As usual, the staff at the Grand Hyatt was excellent!  Our good friends, Lisa and Henry Mares provided the video services and I had plenty of help with my assistant, Brian Ness backing up our files and building the album we gave the couple at the end of the evening.  The final slide shows how they felt.  My good friend Steve Tinetti was my second shooter along with one of my associate photographers, Amber Conner.  Fastlane Productions provided the lighting and projected our images as a slide show to entertain the guests.  To see the highlights of this final wedding for 2009 click here.