Because the moment I am about to describe is sacred.  It’s a moment that I hope to hold fresh in my mind until he returns home to me. Because you see, it was our last moment together.  Our last moment together before I boarded a plane and flew west and he [...]]]> This is not a post I want to rush through.

Because the moment I am about to describe is sacred.  It’s a moment that I hope to hold fresh in my mind until he returns home to me. Because you see, it was our last moment together.  Our last moment together before I boarded a plane and flew west and he boarded a plane that would take him east.  A moment that would be strong enough to get us through the 7,000 miles that would soon separate us.

So with tears lining my eyes as I write, you can see that this is not a moment, a post, that I want to rush through.

It was a warm, spring day in April.  I wore a long flowing dress to match my long hair that fell limp to the North Carolina humidity.  We drove hand in hand on an adventure to the ocean.  We didn’t know exactly where we were going, but we trusted the little blue line on our iPhone map to lead us to the water.  We were expecting a beach.  Me, I was imaging rugged, paint chipped white picket fences lining our path along the sand.  Withering in the wind amongst tall grass.  The sound of the waves crashing against rocks.

Unfortunately, we reached the end of our little blue line on our iPhone map to discover quite the opposite.  Though we were technically at the ocean, it looked more like a lake.  There was no beach but tall trees and a green, grassy park butted up against the water.

We exchanged glances and smirks.  Maybe a chuckle or a wise comment under our breath.  Neither of us really said a lot, wanting not to taint our last moments together with disappointment.

So we did what anyone would do at a park.  We found a nice park bench and cuddled up, enjoying the warmth of the sun beating down on us and the pressures of all that lie ahead lift — if only for this moment.

In our usual, human Tetris puzzle, my head rested upon his shoulder, his arm framing us, we sat still for a while until the sun became too much to handle, pushing us to find a shade tree.

We walked leisure through the grass until John stopped, crossed his legs and plumped down in the fresh, green grass.  Naturally, I laid down and rested my head in his lap.  I looked straight up at him, catching his eyes from underneath his sunglasses.

We were silent for what seemed like hours, just enjoying the breeze and the fresh air.

Naturally, it was me who broke that silence.

“Hey sweetheart?” I asked quietly and slowly.

“What’s your biggest fear when it comes to us?”

I could feel his posture soften.

He looked down at me, my head in his lap, and took a deep breath.

Exhaling everything out, as if he was surrendering to this thought stored in the back of his mind,”That you’ll never know how much I care.”

Here we are a couple of weeks later and I’m still humbled by his words.  That behind his quiet and tough exterior, behind all the knowledge need for battle, there is a sweetness.  A concerned heart.  A heart that worries that I will never know how much he cares about me.

***

We’d like to dedicate this post to all the men and women who fight for our freedom.
Especially to those who have or will be in front of our camera.

Casey and LeAnne
Ryan and Emily
Jason and Cherie
Jon and Elise
JP and Tonya
Tory and Tom
Levi and Amber
Jeremiah and Lizzy
Heath and Allison

Thank you for your service and support at home.  For giving a little piece of yourselves so that we may be free.

You’ll never know how much we care.

Melissa and Chuckie are our 2012 Free Wedding Giveaway winners!  We met up this past weekend for what was the coldest day of May, at least so far!  I think it was in the mid 40s when we did [...]]]> Good morning and happy Thursday!  The weekend is allllmost here and we have a fantastic engagement session to help pass the time.

Melissa and Chuckie are our 2012 Free Wedding Giveaway winners!  We met up this past weekend for what was the coldest day of May, at least so far!  I think it was in the mid 40s when we did these images.   Though covered in goosebumps, these two didn’t hide their hearts. Melissa and Chuckie are both warm and open about their lives, their work, and their Skate Church ministry.  I can’t wait for their Steamboat Springs wedding in June!  It’s going to be tricked out with hubcaps and tools, as these two LOVE working on cars together!  More of that below. :-)

Until then, here’s a brief excerpt of Melissa and Chuckie’s story from the Giveaway contest submission:

My [Melissa's] parents have made to commitment to pay for our wedding.  That seems simple and straight forward enough, but I have a little, really quite frankly, a lot of a different story than most girls.  My parents, my mom and dad, have only been my family for the last five years.  They adopted and took me in when I was 17 years old.  Being young themselves with three very young children of their own, they went against everything and even though they were not in an opportune spot to take in a teenager, they decided to raise me up as best as they could.  They quite honestly saved my life.  My parents are missionaries and my dad is a pastor of a crisis youth ministry, they have always done the best they can with what they have, but I know that it is hard.  They have taken it in full stride and have decided to pay for a wedding, that before I came into the picture, they were not planning on taking on for a very long time for my young sisters.  But life was put on the fast track for them when I came along with proms, graduations, cars, college, boys, and now a wedding, and I would love to help them with that. My dad not only giving me away but also officiating our wedding is a wonderful picture of the family I am now apart of.  Winning the photography for our wedding would be a blessing beyond what you would know, both for Chuckie and I, but also my family.

Winning this photography package would be a dream come true because it would not only be having the opportunity to have beautiful wedding photos, but be able to help my family with covering our wedding.  Having these pictures of our wedding is a testament of how far not only myself, but Chuckie and I have come and grown.  Life has dealt an interesting hand of cards and we are so excited to start this new chapter of our lives and we would love to have and blessed with amazing photos to remember and not forget where we started!

M+C, I adore you.  I know Jesie will adore you.  Thank for your transparency, easy going attitudes, and friendship.

xoxo,
René

He worked long hours and was gone from home a lot.  As a little girl, I remember having to play outside often during the day cause dad was sleeping.  He got called to work at all hours of the night.

All across Colorado he transported coal.  And in his free time?  He took care [...]]]> My dad was an engineer for the railroad.

He worked long hours and was gone from home a lot.  As a little girl, I remember having to play outside often during the day cause dad was sleeping.  He got called to work at all hours of the night.

All across Colorado he transported coal.  And in his free time?  He took care of our five-acre farm.  He bailed hay, he tended the animals, he remodeled our house.

My daddy is the hardest working man I know.  And he’ll tell you he worked is tail off all year for this one week.  This one week where he took his kids to the happiest place on earth.  One week where we made some of the best Tate family memories.

Disneyland was opened in 1955, my dad married my mom in 1963 and they’ve been making family memories at Disney ever since.

This image is of my sister, Gina, and brother, Troy, in Disneyland.
Circa 1970

Fast forward 22 years later.  This image is of me and my brother, Kevin, in Disney World.
Though Kevin and I are nearly 20 years apart in age from Gina and Troy,
the resemblance is remarkable.  Those pigtails… they never go out of style. ;-)
Circa 1992 

Still with my hair in braids, I love Disney just as much as I did 20 years ago.
May 8th 2012 

Mom and Dad, though the rides may change, new characters are introduced, Walt Disney World is still the happiest place on earth cause you are there.  Thank you for yet another wonderful vacation of Tate family memories.

I love you,
René

Now, I don’t know if I necessarily agree with the “always” part, but more often than not, through the grace of God, things eventually seem to fall into place.

One really neat opportunity that He provided was the chance to photograph a wedding with Jesie always says, “Tater, you’re the luckiest girl I know.  Things always just work out for you.”

One really neat opportunity that He provided was the chance to photograph a wedding with Justin and Mary Marantz in Disney World.

The Marantz’ and I go way back.  I was in the audience at one of their very first speaking engagements at PartnerCon 2008.  I was so inspired, never before hearing another photographer talk about their craft they way I did.  I went up to my hotel room where my best friend was hanging out and started crying.  Tears of joy.  Tears of hope.  Hope that I had what it takes to achieve my dreams.

Fast forward four years.

I’ve followed the Marantz’ witty blog and hung out with them on numerous occasions at their home in Connecticut, at conferences in New Orleans, and charity shoots in Vegas.  Oh, I even introduced them to Rio margaritas in Denver.   Though, through all our interactions the one thing missing has been missing one thing: a wedding.

Shooting a wedding with the Marantz’ has always been a dream of mine.  Jes and I look up to them so much.

As fate would have it, our Disney vacations overlapped and it just so happened J&M were down a second shooter and asked if I’d like to help out.

What a truly terrific experience and very affirming one at that.  As a matter of fact, I was very encouraged to see that we handle our wedding days very similarly to how the Marantz’ do.

Jesie and I just love Justin and Mary and are very grateful for their friendship, mentorship, and continual support of us.  So, Justin and Mary, thank you for being you!  Thank you for believing in Jesie and me and believing in me day of Tricia and Josh’s wedding.

I guess dreams really do come true in Disney World…

***

Do check out their blog about the lovely Josh and Tricia who we photographed at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn.

I hope your week is off to a great start.  This past weekend was perfect — just the right about of family time, a chance to create some beautiful images, play time with my new 70-200 lens, and all the laundry a girl could do. :-) Plus, I started packing for a little Disney vacation and was [...]]]> Good morning!  Happy Monday!

I hope your week is off to a great start.  This past weekend was perfect — just the right about of family time, a chance to create some beautiful images, play time with my new 70-200 lens, and all the laundry a girl could do. :-) Plus, I started packing for a little Disney vacation and was asked to second shoot a wedding with a photography team whom I deeply respect.  It’s a big deal.  More on that later…

Until then, I have such a treat for you.  Jessica, Matt, and I met up in my hometown of Cañon City this weekend.  These two are from Denver, but when they told me they just loved wine and wanted a winery feel, I knew just the place:  The Abbey Winery.  These guys get extra points for driving two hours for this session, but I believe it was worth every mile.  Lately, we’ve been having super warm and sunny days and this Saturday was so chilly and windy!  I was really envisioning last weekend’s 75 degree day and golden light, but this weekend?  We got the storm clouds without the storm.  And just you wait… this shoot got better and better and better as the day went on.  Definitely one of my favorite engagement sessions. :-)

Enjoy this couple – this couple who are so carefree, classy, and whose chemistry is off the charts.

Jess and Matt – Love you guys!!  June 2nd can’t come fast enough.  It’s going to be party!

xoxo,
René

The sun kept playing peek-a-boo with the storm clouds.

These next three are some of my favorites!

Um… can we take a minute and just soak in that SKY?

The future Mrs. Cook.

LOVE.

Yes, seven years ago.

She gave me a phone interview.  I was an applicant for a leadership program at the University of Colorado.  We hit it off instantly; our conversation felt nothing [...]]]> It was about this time of year that I met Shannon.  This time of year, seven years ago.  Wow.  Writing that looks more baffling that it sounded in my head.

Yes, seven years ago.

She gave me a phone interview.  I was an applicant for a leadership program at the University of Colorado.  We hit it off instantly; our conversation felt nothing like a stuffy phone interview.  A few weeks later, she offered to take me to coffee and prep me for my in-person interview.  Again, our conversation felt easy and light.

Because that’s Shannon… she makes it easy.  Easy to be around.  Easy to laugh.  Easy to smile.  Easy to share your heart.

A few weeks passed and I received a call that I’d been accepted into this program.  And the mentor who I was paired with?  Shannon.

It was actually Shannon who struck the match.  Who lit the fire beneath me and gave me reason to believe, seven years ago, that I had an eye for this thing called “photography.”

It was actually Shannon who was first to compliment my work.  Who was first to refer me.

Shannon: the beautiful, driven, and dedicated friend who first accepted me when I started my college career.

And for that I will forever be endebted to her.

Shannon, thank you.  Thank you for being bold, being perceptive, and being a friend – encouraging me every step of the way.  I love you, girl.

****

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s my pleasure to introduce to you, Miss Shannon Coker, who believe it or not, has never been in front of my camera in the seven years I’ve known her.

R: In 3 words, how would describe RTP’s style?
S: Effortless. Creative. Classic.

R: Anything you’ve always wanted to know about me and/or Jesie?
S: Your wedding morning routine, what’s the first thing that you think of when you get up? Is a cup of Joe a must? What does that look like?? How do you psych yourselves up?
R: Oh this is a blog post just waiting to happen!  Stand by.  But in the meantime, I can tell you it includes Fernando Ortega, freshly ground coffee, and a lot of prayer.

R: Favorite blog post?
S: The personal ones. Of course, the huge wedding blogs are awesome sauce but when you shed light onto your beliefs, your own love story and where you’re challenging yourself and your business…those are my favorite because I always take something away on how I can be better or what I could be doing to have a stronger faith in the Lord, etc.

R: How could we improve our blogging?  What would you like to see more of? 
S: Well, more frequently of course because its addicting! :) I can’t say I’d like to see more of one thing or another, everything is fabulous…maybe just MORE! :) More photos! I do have to say, the video posts are super fun too!
R: Duly noted! Duly noted.

These two are absolutely wonderful people.  I am so blessed to have had the chance to work with [...]]]> Hey hey!  Happy weekend! Hope your Saturday is off to a great start.  We have our maternity and family shootout today, but I wanted to take a minute and share the second half of Pearlly and Huson’s engagement session with you!

These two are absolutely wonderful people.  I am so blessed to have had the chance to work with them.  They smile more than anyone I know and are up for adventure.  As my boyfriend is just beginning a deployment, Pearlly has been extra thoughtful in checking in on me. How lucky am I to have support from near and far?  And that’s Pearlly and Huson: thoughtful.  Their shoots came out perfect because they were so prepared!

I hope you enjoy viewing this as much as I enjoyed shooting them! :-D

Pearlly and Huson, what a fun weekend.  Love you guys.  We’re lifers!

With joy,
René

 We began the day at Huson’s host family’s house where he called “home” while attended the Academy.

Later that afternoon we hit up the Air Force Academy for these incredible shots.

You two looked absolutely exquisite!

I have to be honest… I’ve been dreaming about our Maternity and Young Family Shoot Out.  Literally, dreaming about it.  Maybe it’s because I’m super excited about this styled shoot, or because I’ve thought through every detail right down to the ribbon around the peach lemonade jar.  Either way, you should know this shoot is going to be stunning!

By [...]]]> Hello everyone!

I have to be honest… I’ve been dreaming about our Maternity and Young Family Shoot Out.  Literally, dreaming about it.  Maybe it’s because I’m super excited about this styled shoot, or because I’ve thought through every detail right down to the ribbon around the peach lemonade jar.  Either way, you should know this shoot is going to be stunning!

By now, I’m sure you’ve heard about our Maternity and Young Family Shoot Out on April 14^th.  If this is the first time you’re hearing about it, take a look HERE to learn more about the style of this shoot.  It’s going to be beautiful with lots of soft grays, greens, peaches and creams… perfect to ring in the spring.  We’ve got adorable flags, mason jars, umbrellas, peach popsicles and all kinds of props to make this shoot really stand out.

Now a styled shoot is only as good as its wardrobe. :)  Think soft, muted, airy and… spring-y!  Light pinks, greens, grays, browns, and creams will look great.  Take a look at the inspiration board below to get a better idea of wardrobe that will compliment the style of this shoot.  Wear things that make you feel great.  And accessorize!  Great accessories do so much for your images.  Hair pieces, scarves, jewelry, shoes, hats.  You know what René always says, “The difference is in the details.”  And it’s so true!

Thank you so much to the families who have already reserved their slot!  We still have a slot or two open if you’re interested!  Each shoot will be 45 minutes long and $99.  With the style of this shoot including props, wardrobe and the personality from each family, we’ll create a body of work I know you’ll love!

Can’t wait,
Jesie

Number one: I will always have a fear of the unknown — which is probably a blog post for later.

And number two: expect the unexpected.

You never know what kind of cards you’ll be dealt.  You’ll never know the stories you’ll get to capture.  Or the places you’ll go.  I feel [...]]]> There are two things I’ve learned to accept as a photographer.

Number one: I will always have a fear of the unknown — which is probably a blog post for later.

And number two: expect the unexpected.

You never know what kind of cards you’ll be dealt.  You’ll never know the stories you’ll get to capture.  Or the places you’ll go.  I feel so incredibly blessed to have this career.  I praise God everyday for such a fulfilling and unique career.  For each and everyone of our couples who bring life to our images.   I am so often in awe of the unexpected people, places, and stories I encounter.

One day I got an unexpected, unique request for a session from the sweetest, most cheerful girl.  As cheerful as one could be through email, anyway.  Pearlly emailed me a couple months ago, soon after her February engagement to Huson, and told me her desire to have engagement pictures taken in the snow and also at the Air Force Academy.

Pearlly and Huson have been dating for nearly six years and what a story they have.  They both call Singapore home and met there when Huson was home on leave from his international exchange experience at the United State Air Force Academy.  He attended the Academy for four years, met Pearlly two years into it, graduated in 2008, and since then has been all over the globe training with the Republic Singapore Air Force.  After graduation, his career as an F-16 pilot took him to Australia, Canada, and now to Arizona. Over the last several years, they’ve managed to have a thriving and fulfilling relationship while Pearlly remained in Singapore.  Only recently did she join Huson in his journeys in Arizona and this past February, he popped the question.

They are planning a New Years Eve wedding in Singapore and in the meantime, their first step was to get some engagement portraits done in Colorado where Huson spent so much of his time and Pearlly often visited.  But these aren’t your typical engagement session.  First, we broke up our time together into two days and three different sessions.  And second, in the Singaporean culture, it is custom to get casual and formal portraits done to have on display at the wedding banquet — very similar to what we know as bridal portraits, but with the groom too.

We started our time together in Keystone, Colorado where these two hit the slopes (and Pearlly once broke her wrist!).  After a few casual portraits at the basin, Pearlly and Huson changed into some beautiful formal wear for an adventure on top of the slopes.

Stay tuned for part II’s Air Force Academy session and more about who this couple is and why I love them so much. :-)

With joy,
René

Our gondola ride was picture perfect!

The views at the top were even better.

And because these two love snowboarding, I knew I had to recruit a boarder to help me get this shot for them.

Ugh, I love this shot!  Pearlly, you are so gorgeous.  Period.

Love!

Just wait until you see part II!