Wedding Photography by Dreamtime Images » Destination wedding photographer near Denver, Colorado

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Welcome to the Dreamtime Images blog - thanks for stopping by! Dreamtime is run by me, Nathan Welton, the guy in the tree over to the right. My wedding images have won nearly two dozen international awards and have appeared in numerous magazines and blogs. I've been fortunate enough to shoot weddings everywhere from Napa to the Florida Keys to Belize to Norway. I'm an Our World Photographer for Sigma, one of the world's largest camera manufacturers, and I'm also a profoundly lucky husband who recently married the love of his life.

My wife, who's Scandinavian, and I split our time between Norway and Colorado, and I'm currently booking weddings worldwide for 2011 and 2012. In my free time, I shoot landscapes and outdoor sports. You can swing by my Outdoor and Lifestyle Photography blog to check out some of my latest images.

Feel free to drop a line to set up a time to chat or even Skype -- I'd love to meet you and hear all about your big day.

LARKSPUR WEDDING PHOTOS :: Vail, Colorado Photography :: Sarah and Aaron

September 28, 2011

Sarah and Aaron were married in a beautiful and emotional ceremony on the Larkspur Lawn in Vail this summer, and had a lively reception in the restaurant right afterward. The weather was gorgeous, and the Gore Range seemed so big and close you could almost touch the snow-capped peaks. I was honored to get to photograph such a deep connection between Sarah and Aaron. My wife helped me out with this wedding, snagging some of my favorite images from the day.

Thanks to Carolyn Moorman at Artisan Events for planning this great evening; Fred at a Great Time DJ for keeping the party rockin, the Larkspur Restaurant, and Petals of Provence for the great flower arrangements.

COLORADO ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS :: Estes Park :: Megan and Paul

August 29, 2011

It’s usually toward the end of August when my life gets the busiest, and this year is no exception. I’ve been busily editing and have had a hard time freeing up time to blog, but here’s a quick peek at Megan and Paul’s recent engagement session in Estes Park. We shot at a favorite place of mine called Lilly Mountain, amongst some gorgeous rock formations with awesome views out over the Continental Divide.

These two are getting married in Colorado in December and I can’t wait to shoot their wedding; they’ve got the best attitudes ever. I called Megan the morning of our shoot to tell her that the weather looked ominous and to ask if she wanted to reschedule, and she said no. They wanted to wing it! So they drove up to Estes and we ventured out into a storm full of rain, thunder and lightning. Megan brought along an umbrella, but it promptly fell apart and was happily cast aside. As a result, all three of us wound up drenched — the only thing dry was my camera, which I’d wrapped up in a garbage bag. Our efforts were beyond worthwhile, though, because every so often the clouds parted and the rain stopped and some of Colorado’s most epic evening light came streaming onto us.

When night fell, we ran down Lilly Mountain as thunder boomed overhead. At one point, an 8-pronged lighting bolt hit about a half mile away and made us run a little faster

Here are just a few of the shots we got in our storm.

Congrats, guys, see you in a few months! Next time you’re in town you have to come by for a drink!!

SURPRISE MARRIAGE PROPOSAL PICTURES :: Colorado :: David and Claire

August 5, 2011

Here’s something that doesn’t happen every day: Not only did I get to photograph a wedding proposal, but one of a fellow photographer, and one with a photography theme. Fun proposal photos to follow…

David first contacted me a few weeks before he and his now-fiance Claire, an awesome children’s photographer in Dallas, were headed out to Aspen on a little trip. He planned on proposing to her either on the 3rd of the 5th of July, sometime early in the morning at the Maroon Bells. I was shooting on the 2nd in Vail, so after a gorgeous wedding, my wife and I hopped in the car and headed off toward Aspen so we could catch David and Claire early the next morning.

The morning-of, I sent David an SMS telling him what we’d be wearing, but I was scared to do it. What if he was in the shower or something, and Claire saw? I deliberated on how and when to contact him, and while I was staring at my phone, an SMS arrived from him. So I quickly responded and hit him right back, since I knew he’d be in front of his phone.

We arrived at the Bells and as luck would have it, wound up parking right next to each other. I saw David while I was unpacking my monster 500mm wildlife lens, and followed him into the men’s room where we hatched the final plan. It was all a little seat-of-the-pants, so it was good to finalize plans face to face. In the bathroom. Kinda weird.

Anyway, he left and wandered off to meet Claire. We decided that it was going to happen at 9am, so Rannveig (my wife) and I followed them to the lakeshore. David and Claire sat down on a rock, Rannveig camped out in the bushes with the 500mm, and I wandered up behind them with a 70-200 and pretended to be taking pictures of the mountains. Every time Claire so much as turned her head, I looked away and started off into the hills. I felt like a bit of a peeping Tom, but whatever, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

David had Claire on his right side, and his phone in his left pocket. As the hour approached, he kept leaning over to check the time. 8:59:00? Check. 8:59:15? Check. 8:59:30? Check. One last time he checked, and then it all began.

First, he stole Claire’s camera and took some pictures. I think he was getting warmed up…

Then, he told her he had a gift. A camera!

It was an old Brownie Bullet camera, and he’d hollowed out the inside and made a small ring box. He carefully positioned the ring so that the diamond shined through a little red window on the back, where I think the film label used to go. Here’s what it looked like. Clever, David! You get major points for this!

Next, he handed it to her and had her take a picture or two. He was hoping she’d see the diamond, but it didn’t work out that way. Claire handed it back. It didn’t work!

So… David had to take charge. He also tried to take a picture with it, but that didn’t work… So he just opened it up and got down on one knee.

Here it comes! Wait for it… Wait for it…

Will you marry me?

She said yes!

Afterward, we approached them (Claire had figured we were just bigtime camera geeks) and introduced ourselves, and we spent the next little bit shooting some engagement photos. Didn’t wait long to get engagement pictures done!

Congratulations!! Totally stoked for you! Thanks for inviting me along for such a big part of your lives!

FOUR SEASONS VAIL WEDDING PICTURES | Larkspur Lawn Ceremony | Blaire and Scott

August 4, 2011

Blaire and Scott had one of the most memorable weddings of the year with a gorgeous ceremony on the Larkspur Restaurant’s lawn, followed by an absolutely rockin’ reception at the Four Seasons in Vail that went well into the night. Scott was almost thrown out of his chair during the horah dance (see the shot below) by his incredibly enthusiastic friends, who partied hard amidst the incredible flowers and purple decor. It was just so outrageously cool to be there shooting everything. Everyone was having so much fun, and there was a great sense of connection between Blaire, Scott and their family and friends. I’d been looking forward to the event for months.

We all first met back in March when I returned to Colorado from Norway for a couple of weddings, so it was fun to reconnect. I shot their engagement photos in Vail on a bluebird spring day, and the weather followed us into the summer. The Larkspur has an incredible back lawn with views up to the Gore Range, and Blaire and Scott’s big day was one of four in a row I shot there. The others will be online soon!

Also, I’d like to give a shout out to all the folks who helped make this wedding so special: Vintage Magnolia for the flowers, Vail wedding planning by I Do, and great lighting and decor by Pink Monkey Solutions.

Blaire, Scott, a hearty congratulations to you both! Give a shot next time you’re in Colorado!

BOULDER ENGAGEMENT PHOTOGRAPHY :: Buttonrock Reservoir, Colorado :: Amy & Matt

July 17, 2011

Amy and Matt are getting married in just a few weeks at Red Rocks, so we spent a recent afternoon traipsing around Buttonrock Reservoir outside of Lyons. Somehow during our engagement session we got onto the topic of ghosts — I think there’s a ghost in my house — and Amy listened intently. Turns out she’s got some family members who have experience in dealing with spirits. I’m definitely going to be all ears when we meet at the wedding!

The long and the short of my ghost story is that Jerry’s Wife (the ghost who came with the house) seems to like to flood things. When I moved in, despite having what I thought was a thorough home inspection, the roof leaked and every window leaked. Then the water heater blew up and flooded the basement, which lead to a 2 year remodel. Just a few months after it was finished, the dishwasher blew up and flooded the whole house, so I had to remodel the basement again, as well as the main floor. Then, while we were in Scandinavia last winter, Jerry’s Wife came along and flooded our bathroom in Norway as well as the livingroom of the unit downstairs. Damn!!

Turns out that my wife’s brother’s fiance, Maja, met Jerry’s Wife once while meditating here. Maja and Jerry’s wife communicated, and Maja learned that the ghost died in the upstairs bathroom, was kind of depressed, and the bathroom was painted red. When Maja told me this, I kind of shrugged it off, since, at the time, I didn’t believe in spirits and ghosts. Fast forward a year to the time I met a neighbor who told me that Jerry’s wife died in the upstairs bathroom. WEIRD. Fast forward another year to when I remodeled the upstairs bathroom: when I took the light switch cover plate off, the paint underneath it was red.

WEIRD, WERID, WEIRD.

Nothing’s flooded in about six months. Maybe I’ve got something coming, since the flood schedule is about one per year. Or maybe the ghost has finally found peace. Or maybe she’s just stuck in Norway!

Anyway, sorry for getting distraction. Back to our regular programming…

Amy, Matt — See you soon!! Stoked to shoot your celebration