USAF Academy Chapel + The Club at Flying Horse Wedding | Lance & Marianne

This is the United States Air Force Academy Chapel here in Colorado Springs.  Star Trek anyone?  Just me?  My husband is an officer in the Air Force and I know it’s Air Force cadets who roam the property at the Academy, but I can’t help but picture James Kirk, Spock and Uhura a la the newest Star Trek movie in their bright red cadet uniforms!  It’s a marvel of a structure and I was so thrilled to be there.  Before Gary and I moved to the Springs I discovered the Chapel online and mentioned how I’d love to shoot a wedding there–it’s fabulous how things happen!  A local photographer found me online on The [b] School and asked if I’d like to work with her on this wedding — and my first wedding at the Academy Chapel was on!  I loved being with Heidi Leigh for the day, to see her post about the wedding with a few of my shots sprinkled in, click here.

The bride, Marianne is a JAG officer in the Air Force and Lance is doing his residency in the Midwest — since I’m an Air Force Wife and the daughter of a doctor, I felt especially connected to these two!  This was a destination wedding for them since almost nobody in attendance actually lives here in Colorado Springs.  Planning from far away can be difficult, but every detail of the day was wonderful :)

While Heidi photographed the girls getting their makeup done at The Spa at the Broadmoor, I hung out with the guys at Cheyenne Mountain Resort to capture their preparations for the day.  Each one was so welcoming and personable — I really enjoy getting to know people and spending a wedding day with a group is such an honor.  I’m truly happy to be doing this work.

Meet Lance there on the right. . . Lance and Tom (below) are both in their residencies currently, Tom is working toward becoming a forensic psychiatrist like Dr. Wong on Law & Order: SVU (can’t help making the comparison, SVU is a favorite of mine). Love, love love Marianne’s Badgley Mischka d’orsay pumps . . . and her beautiful lace dress and beaded belt by Lea Ann Betler Bridal. Meet Marianne :)This is one of those venues where you walk in and just want to wander and appreciate it all, which is exactly what I did.  I had to get a ring shot with the gorgeous colorful light that was pouring in from the stained glass windows . . . Marianne and her bridesmaids were tucked away out of sight in the rear of the chapel.  Hair styling was by family member Dorothy Fox who has actually worked in Hollywood as a hairstylist for big productions like Seabiscuit, Catch Me if You Can, Hook and even the original Charlie’s Angels!I really loved the florals, such a wonderful job by Beautiful Expressions. Around this point in the day my primary camera had a shutter malfunction and took itself out of commission. . . while I was not happy, things moved along smoothly because I had my back-up camera ready to take over.  I troubleshot my primary camera, the Nikon D7000, periodically for the next few hours to no avail. . . meanwhile shooting with my secondary camera alone for the rest of the day.  My backup camera was the first DSLR I ever used and not nearly as advanced as the D7000, so I felt a bit limited by its abilities at times during the day, particularly ISO and white balance.  Thank goodness for Lightroom and Photoshop and the ability to really work with the images, as well as for RAW format!

I was tempted to leave this part out of the blog post so as not to concern future clients, but these things happen.  My D7000 was sent off to Nikon for repair (the shutter mechanisms were replaced free of charge) and I’ve added a second D7000 to my camera bag and am thrilled to know that my backup and primary are now the same body.  It seriously puts a big smile on my face :)

The reception was held at the b-eau-tiful Club at Flying Horse just east of the Academy.  Sunset photos are my favorite!
It felt like being in Italy. . . (which it looks like we may experience for the first time in May of next year–eeeee!)I really loved the decor for the reception, in fact Gary and I had the same Chocolate Pintuck Linens at our own wedding reception :)The event coordination was by Monique Wasson of Bliss Weddings & Events and the cake by Sweet Daphne’s Confections.Lance and his mom during their dance while Lance’s sister looks on :)The Club at Flying Horse has this amazing wine tower. . . Lance and Marianne’s guests really knew how to have a good time, I love dancing pictures!  Chris Gardner of Blue Moon Entertainment kept the party going flawlessly. Marianne’s mom and dad getting in on the fun!Next to wed?? :)

All in all it was a wonderful day that I’m thankful to have been part of!

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