I had a great time photographing Cierra and Colby’s engagement session a few months back – and the wedding date was finally here!  When you have unusual names like Colby and Cierra, I think you were meant to meet and marry one day – their names just seem to sound perfect together.  This was my second weekend in a row at Stillwell House, but a completely different look.  I LOVE how each bride brings her own personality and design style to her wedding.  The photo above shows the first time I’ve ever seen old window panes used for the guest seating – what an amazing idea!  It definitely brought together Cierra’s country vintage planning inspiration.  Mason jars, pops of yellow color, and argyle socks for all the groomsmen.  Even the chairs for the ceremony were a pale yellow.  Cierra and Colby did a first look before their ceremony at Stillwell House, so we had plenty of time for a nice walk over to Congress Street for some fun photos.  The groomsmen were engineers and lawyers; I was not expecting a rowdy party.  Once again I was proved wrong…the engineers and lawyers were the 1st ones on the dance floor and last ones remaining at the end of a great night.

Ceremony and Reception at The Stillwell House, Tucson, AZ;  Dress by Mon Cheri;  Shoes by Anne Klein;  Flowers by Casa Adobes Flowers;  Music by Andrew Warner;  Video by Garrett Moldrem

Sometimes I think the colors in the Barrio are what drew me to Tucson in the first place.  The colors just jump out and almost overwhelm the senses.  Whenever people say that Tucson is too brown – I just want to put them in their car, put Meyer or Cushing Street into their GPS and push go – they really haven’t seen Tucson yet at all.

Abby and Ben grew up just a few miles apart from each other in Nogales, but they never met until years later.  Instant attraction, and now a wedding this summer.  They had booked me sight unseen to photograph their wedding, but thought an engagement shoot would be a great way to intro ourselves.  And it was .  We decided to meet up downtown at El Charro and head into the barrio.  (you’ll spot me right away – I’ll be small person carrying a very large camera)   Like a blind date, I’m all nervous – Will I like them?  I hope we click….will they like me?  I always start off with a few standard things to warm people up and get a feel for who they are as a couple.  I’d say it took a whole maybe 3  minutes for us to find a groove and then it stopped being work and started being fun!  Abby and Ben are attracted to bright colors so we were in the perfect place.   And thank you to the very nice man (I am so sorry to say I forgot your name 30 minutes later – I really should have written it down.  But thank you for letting us crash your courtyard.  It was painted the most wonderful happy blue and the bougainvillea was a stunning pink against that blue background.  Your courtyard made me want to come back and sit there every day – I am leaving you a bottle of wine as a thank you the next time I drop by…

Dear Abby and Ben – I am hoping you love your photos as much as I do – I cannot wait until I see you again at your wedding this summer!  I really do have the greatest job ever.

Stillwell House is a gorgeous downtown Tucson wedding venue that brings a historic 1901 Territorial style former inn together with beautiful garden courtyards and a hip urban scene only a block away.  I had the pleasure of being at Stillwell House for the entire month of April – no intentional planning there, it was just the way the wedding dates fell.  So when I say I got to experience Stillwell House, I really did!  Allyssa and Sam wanted a garden meets countryside feel to their spring wedding at the Stillwell House.  The colors Allyssa selected were bursting with yellows and golds – Tangelo Sunshine was the color of the bridesmaid dresses.  Gold bridesmaid shoes  picked up the gold trim running through the dresses and the other gold accents were scattered throughout the decor.  And the food, the food, the food!  Stillwell House is known for their food, and for good reason.  Plus, Allyssa and Sam chose to have an Arizona desert theme in their specially chosen menu.  Prickly pear margaritas were the signature drink, followed by Marinated prickly pear barbeque chicken with seared apples.  And then the cake – alternating layers of prickly pear and red velvet.  I’m a cake fiend – I had to try it.  It was as wonderful as it sounds and I woke up wanting another piece the next morning.

Dress by Sophia Tolli (Maya Palace); Ceremony and Reception at Stillwell House, Tucson Arizona; Music by Benny and Casey of Classy DeeJays

The waterfall at Loews Ventana canyon was the beautiful setting for Jamie and Julia’s spring wedding in Tucson.  Julia and Jamie met five years ago when she was studying in New Zealand.   A 5 year transcontinental romance finally resulted in Jamie’s family and friends flying over from New Zealand to join Julia’s Tucson family in celebrating their wedding day.  After 5 years of commuting between New Zealand and the United States, these guys probably have enough frequent flyer miles for 1st class tickets to the moon – it’s 6500 miles each way!   The fabulous Anne Bryan of Creative Events helped Julia pull elements from Jamie’s New Zealand home together with elements of the desert.  A favorite New Zealand symbol, the fiddlefern (koru) adorned the boutonniere while succulents blended among the roses and other bright colors in Julia’s bouquet.  The wedding ceremony took place under the same handmade chuppah that Julia’s mother, Emily, had married under years ago.  This touching ceremony was followed by a brunch reception  at the Flying V Bar & Grill at Loews where more succulents decorated the tables in gorgeous desert themed centerpieces and omelets were made to order.  And as if commuting from New Zealand wasn’t enough  Jamie was next heading to Boston the run in the Boston Marathon.  I have no idea where this couple get all their energy, but I would love to try tapping into some of it!

Ceremony and Reception at Loews Ventana Canyon and the Flying V Bar & Grill, Tucson, Arizona; Event planning and coordination by Anne Bryan of Creative Events; Flowers by Patty Hunter; Ceremony by Rabbi Stephanie Aaron;

Heather and Brian met about an hour before their wedding ceremony at Saguaro Buttes on a beautiful day, with white puffy clouds just beginning to roll in before the storm that followed the next day.  Heather and Brian had never kissed each other on the lips until their wedding day.  As part of their Christian faith, they had decided to save that moment for their wedding.  This was a first for me and something I am so glad they didn’t tell me about until after that kiss, because I might have dropped my camera from the nervousness otherwise!  Luckily, I didn’t know, and their 1st kiss is forever recorded on the hill at Saguaro Buttes.   The amazing skies and perfectly cool windy weather seemed to make everyone lighthearted and ready for the fun of the day.  I asked Heather what her planning inspiration was for her wedding and her reply was “just my heart ♥”.  I think that says it perfectly.

Ceremony and Reception at Saguaro Buttes, Tucson, Arizona;  Video by Caleb Jackson;  Flowers by Lourdes Acciani

Reflections at the Buttes has a beautiful backdrop of the Pusch Ridge Mountains behind the ceremony location.  A lush tropical oasis with a dramatic desert background.  The first thing I noticed when I popped in to photograph Anthony and the guys before the wedding ceremony was the SHOES.  Now I hardly ever notice guys shoes – no one really does.  They are usually black and uncomfortable.  Not these!  Tan and white top-siders – boat shoes in the desert.  Not one groomsman was complaining about his shoes or his feet all day.  And they totally fit in with Michelle’s organic and rustic theme – with a little bit of Vineyard thrown in.  A rustic twig ring bearer pillow, bits of burlap style ribbon wrapped around the bouquets, muted shades of green and golds.  Michelle was one of the calmest brides ever…the only time I even saw a twinge of nervousness was just before she put the dress on.  And that disappeared as soon as she saw Anthony just a few minutes ever.  A beautiful couple, wonderful families, a perfect evening.

Ceremony and Reception at Reflections at the Buttes, Tucson, Arizona

As soon as I saw Kellen’s ring bearer shoes, I burst out laughing and knew I wanted to photograph them with his mom Jannine’s wedding shoes.  How perfect are those little red chucks?  I want a pair just like them.  Jannine and Scott’s wedding day was a perfect February day.  Sunny and warm, an ideal day for a desert wedding at the JW Marriot Starr Pass Resort in Tucson.  The event manager, Agustina, took us on a great golf cart tour of the grounds – without her help I don’t think we could have zipped through the photos so quickly!  I LOVED the 4th Street Sring band who played during the ceremony and then again for the cocktail hour.  They were fabulous!  After a very personal and touching ceremony performed by Scott’s friend, Josh, a sunset cocktail hour was held on one of the patios at the Starr Pass Resort.  Gorgeous small details made this wedding sweet and personal, such as the heart shaped birdseed guest favors and a wooden box handcrafted by the bride’s father that contained a bottle of pear wine.

update – I just bought myself red chucks

Ceremony and Reception at JW Marriot Starr Pass;  Ceremony Musicians, 4th Street String Band;  Dress by Nicole Miller; Shoes by Nina and Converse; Flowers by Posh Petals

first look

runaway ringbearer

I photographed Ciera and Colby’s engagement session a while back, but was so busy with weddings that I never got around to blogging this beautiful couple and their engagement photos!  With the wedding just around the corner now, it seems like this is as a good time as ever .  A fun cruise around the Barrio Historico gave me time to talk with Ciera and Colby and get to know them better – another online dating couple!  They have a wonderful spring wedding planned at Stillwell House in Tucson.  After sticking to cool shady spots for awhile, waiting for the evening cool-down, we headed up to Gates Pass to catch another gorgeous desert sunset.  Gates Pass was pretty busy this evening, but we managed to snag a prime viewing spot to watch the sunset as the yellows and golds faded into deep blues and purples.

Lindsay and David did their engagement shoot on a warm (hot?) summer day in Tucson, but a beautiful 60 degree day was what they were looking for at their December wedding.  And that’s exactly what they got!  A mariachi band escorted Lindsay down the aisle  at Saguaro Buttes in Tucson.  I think that everyone should have a mariachi band – so much fun!  A beautiful ceremony was conducted by Pastor Dave Hallstrom; full of laughter and just a couple of tears.  David was actually the one to pick the color purple that Lindsay designed the wedding details around.  All he asked for was to get married and have some purple, somehow, somewhere in the wedding day.  I’m loving this couple, loving full moon’s ,and loving mariachi bands right now!

Ceremony and Reception at Saguaro Buttes, Tucson, Arizona;  Ceremony by Pastor Dave Hallstrom;  Dress by Casablanca

a little white-out helps a shaving mishap...

The color purple, feathers and crystals -  Samantha and Joe’s wedding was a luscious combo of color and style!  The tables were gorgeous.  Silver candelabras, purple feathers wrapped around candlelit globes and held on by crystal encrusted bands.  The final effect was breathtaking.  Samantha was one of the first brides I met when I first arrived in Tucson Arizona.  She hired me before the floors were even set in my studio – we had to meet up at Starbucks!   A handkerchief with lipstick from Samantha’s late mother was one of those simple yet breathtaking touches that Samantha kept close to her all evening.  The rooftop patio at the Westward Look Resort was a perfect setting for the sunset ceremony of this fun loving couple.  Friends and family drifted back and forth throughout the night between the packed dance floor inside the Sonoran Ballroom and the never ending cocktail party on the outdoor terrace.

Dress by Gigi of San Francisco; Flowers by Stephanie Edelbrock; Wedding Ceremony by David Mahon; Ceremony and Reception at Westward Look Resort