Bella + Jonas’s Wedding at Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms
Venue: Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms | Catering: El Sabor | Florals, music and cake: family and friends | Day of coordination: Maddie Busch | Photography: Two One Photography
Bella and Jonas got married at Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms, and I have been thinking about their day ever since. Not because of any one photograph, but because of how much of it they built around other people. The groomsmen. The friends who danced. Her dad, who was not there and was somehow in every part of it.
There were 160 guests, nine on each side of the wedding party, and a couple who told me up front they do not take many photos and would need help. By the end of the night they were the most natural people in the room.
The Morning in the School House
Bella got ready in the little school house on the Chatfield property with nine bridesmaids in matching pajamas. Her dress hung outside in the trees. Her rings sat on a branch. And on the table with the invitation suite were two vow books, his and hers, waiting for later.
This one stopped me. A photo album her mom and dad made, sitting out with the rest of the morning’s things.
The Part Where She Iced the Groomsmen
Bella wanted a first look with the groomsmen instead of with Jonas, and she did not go into it empty handed. She lined up nine bottles, walked up behind nine guys in suits who had no idea, and when they turned around she was standing there in her wedding dress holding the evidence.
Every one of them went down on a knee in the grass. It is one of the funniest sequences I have ever shot at a wedding, and she planned the entire thing weeks in advance.
Hands on Her Shoulders
Before anybody walked anywhere, the bridesmaids circled Bella and put their hands on her and prayed over her. The groomsmen did the same thing for Jonas on the other side of the property. Nobody performed it for the camera. I just stood at the edge of the room and stayed out of the way.
Private Vows, Back to Back
Then they found each other in the garden by the water, stood back to back so he would not see her, and read what they had written. Just the two of them, the hydrangeas, and me far enough away to be invisible.
If you are deciding whether to do this, do it. The ceremony belongs to everybody. This part belongs only to the two of you, and you will not get another twenty minutes alone like it on a wedding day.
Nine and Nine
A Yellow Flower for Her Dad
Bella’s dad passed away before her wedding. She did two things about it that I will not forget.
The first is that a family friend, Andy Dunn, walked her down the aisle. The second is that every single person in the wedding party carried a yellow flower, and as each of them reached the front they placed it in a vase. By the time the aisle was empty the vase was full, and it sat there for the whole ceremony where her dad would have been sitting.
Nobody explained it to the guests. They did not have to.
Communion Under the Gazebo
They took communion together in the middle of the ceremony, at a small table under the wooden gazebo, with 160 people watching and neither of them looking at anybody but each other. There was a prayer over them from both sets of parents before it.
Golden Hour in the Field
Bella had asked for two things when it came to portraits. The garden with the little waterfall, and the big field at golden hour. We got both, and the second one gave us the light of the whole day.
Dinner in the Barn
Dinner was in the barn, and it was El Sabor, which is a restaurant and not a caterer, and it was the right call. Baby’s breath, gold candlesticks, and table numbers that were framed photos of Bella and Jonas growing up. They also went table to table for a photo with every single group of guests, which is a thing more couples should steal.
The Surprise
Bella had one more thing planned that Jonas knew nothing about. She put a chair in the middle of the barn, sat him down in it, and then she and what looked like half the guest list came out in sunglasses and performed a full choreographed dance at him.
She had asked me months ahead to make sure I got it, and to not breathe a word. His face in these is the whole reason I do this job.
Bella’s Advice
I ask every couple to leave something behind for the people planning right now. Hers is the single most practical piece of advice I have ever been given, and I have started passing it along.
Do a dress rehearsal. Practice walking, sitting, and using the restroom in your dress before the big day.
Thinking About Chatfield Farms?
Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms gives you four completely different looks without anyone getting in a car. The gardens and the little waterfall, the gazebo, the white barn, and a huge open field that turns gold about ninety minutes before sunset. That field is the reason to build your timeline backward from the light.
If you are looking at dates there and want help with a timeline, reach out through my contact page. Two One Photography is based in Castle Pines, Colorado, and photographs weddings throughout Littleton, Castle Rock, Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs and the Colorado mountain towns.
September 29, 2026
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