This is such a great week – our second feature on a wedding blog in just two days! When it rains it pours as the saying goes. Funny how that works.

Monique and Josh were married this past October at The Montelucia Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona with the always gorgeous Camelback Mountain as the backdrop. Thank you Lauren Crump of Victoria Canada Weddings and Events for putting on such a beautiful event. When a wedding planner pulls together a bride and groom’s vision, including such lovely details set against amazing scenery, it certainly makes a wedding photographers job that much more enjoyable!

Elizabeth Anne Designs is one of our favorite weddings blogs – very pleased to be featured again!

Please click here to view the full blog post!

It is always fun to see one of our weddings featured on a wedding blog. Our most recent is Angela and George’s wedding from this past October featured on Delightfully Engaged this past week.

Angela and George had such a fun traditional Greek Orthodox wedding – I would have loved to have been a guest! The wedding reception was at Sassi in North Scottsdale, a lovely outdoor cocktail hour with a gorgeous desert backdrop, traditional Greek music, plate breaking – really good plate breaking and lots of traditional greek dancing. What a fun party! And what a sincere, beautiful couple. A beautiful marriage, the next step in their lives together.

Click here to see more pictures and read more about their wedding from my original blog post!

A few things I liked this past week.

…this picture. (I love this intimate moment captured by Keith at The Montelucia Resort & Spa)

…booking our flight to Paris

…being in Las Vegas for the WPPI Photographers annual get together

…receiving a beautiful, heartfelt thank you note from an upcoming bride

…a newborn session with a bride and groom that were married at The Royal Palms almost 3 years ago!

…deciding on the bright and colorful centrally located hotel:  The Saguaro for the location of our upcoming spring workshop on April 22nd – the catered food will be from Jose Garces’ Distrito! My mouth is already watering!

Several months ago, we had the privilege of photographing an intimate wedding in Phoenix. A private home with gorgeous views was the ceremony locale. The bride was stunning in a champagne colored dress. The backdrop was the Phoenix skyline. Their super friendly dogs and their closest friends were the guests. The reception was at El Chorro Lodge in Paradise Valley. All the details combined for a picture perfect wedding for a perfectly lovely couple.

Today, the Arizona Republic featured the wedding on their website: AZ Central Wedding Spotlight.

PS. Keith and I just love El Chorro. Before we ever had the honor of photographing at the beautifully renovated El Chorro, we had stopped in for a drink after a family portrait session at The Sanctuary. We lived just down the street and had driven by the lodge before its renovation twice daily driving our children back and forth to school. (I remember reading an article in the Arizona Republic that described the Lodge’s renovation project – it would be brought back to its original splendor. I just love it when historical spots are fixed rather than torn down.) Wow, did they do a great job.

Sitting in one of the outdoor areas, with a slight breeze and warm sunshine, makes me feel like I am on vacation, not just a mile from home. El Chorro is now a sanctuary in the middle of Lincoln Road, a perfect spot to have a drink, dinner, event or wedding. The lawn has Camelback Mountain as its backdrop, a stunning spot for a wedding ceremony. Lots of outdoor space for cocktail parties, al fresco destination dining, rehearsal dinners and large or small wedding receptions.

We get asked all the time, if we were going to get married in Arizona, where would it be? Wow, there are so many great options. But I have to honestly say, El Chorro is at the top of my list! It was a pleasure to photograph Heidi and Brent’s wedding in such a serene locale.

Every week, our blog will feature a Q&A with a wedding professional. We are excited to feature all sorts of wedding vendors: gorgeous venues, resorts, wedding planners, florists, bakers, bridal salons, travel agents, destination ideas and of course, videographers.

To kick off our new weekly feature, why not start with the best? The most popular. The winner of the The Top Of The Tiara Award from Arizona Bride Magazine this past year. One of our favorite wedding vendors. And apparently, it’s not just us!

Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.  ~Seneca

Truer words were never spoken. We have BIG plans for the summer.  Hint, hint, the above photo (taken by Keith in 2004) might have something to do with it. Stay tuned.

“In the end, it’s not going to matter how many breaths you took, but how many moments took your breath away” – Shing Xiong

After spending time with this couple I get the distinct impression that they live each day to its fullest and love each other like a beautiful love story with many, many moments that are breathtaking!

They have been together for the better part of a decade (click here to see their engagement session at Lake Arrowhead for more of their story) and seem as easy going around each other as you should be after all those years together yet they maintain a sense of excitement, like they just started this fun adventure together.

The genuine emotion of the day displayed itself through intimate moments alone, tears, kind words, laughs, and lots of humor.  A couple so happy together. Another moment, another day in their lives together that took their breath away.

The day started at The Sanctuary. Ollie the Trolley transported everyone to The Paradise Valley Country Club. The bride chose this venue for their stunning view of Camelback Mountain. Such a gorgeous backdrop for the ceremony and wedding celebration. Lauren Crump of Victoria Canada Wedding and Events overlooked no details in making the day just perfect.

{enjoy the digital preview – a sneak peek while we wait for the film!}

Venue: Paradise Valley Country Club

Coordinator:  Victoria Canada Weddings and Events

Flowers: Petal Pusher

Photo booth: The Live Photobooth

Video: Serendipity

Transportation: Ollie the Trolley

DJ:  DJ Slippe

NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

“Life is a flower of which love is the honey” – Victor Hugo

[Sneak peek Part 2, continued from our previous post! We can't wait to get the film back...this is just our digital preview!]

A Jewish wedding is full of meaningful rituals: from signing the Ketubah (the gorgeous wedding contract pictured above), to the chuppah, which symbolically establishes a house in public to represent that the bride and groom’s lives will be spent together, to the breaking of glass, which reminds us that even in the midst of such a happy occasion we should not forget how fragile life truly is.

Tradition. Foundation. Love and partnership. Families joined together. A new beginning.

A successfully festive day.

Mazel Tov!

Click here to see a slideshow of the wedding

Venue:  The Phoenix Art Museum

Coordinator:  Amina Michele – Some Like it Classic Wedding & Event Design

Second Photographer: Ray Talamantes

“Love is life. And if you miss love, you miss life.” Leo Buscaglia

Last week Keith had the good fortune of photographing an absolutely lovely couple. The day was glorious. A Sikh wedding ceremony in the morning followed by a Jewish wedding ceremony in the afternoon. An eventful day dedicated to colorful tradition, love and marriage.

To wed is defined as becoming united in a formal ceremony. When you unite two religions, the end result is a day steeped in traditions accompanied by lots of love.

The Sikh marriage ceremony was performed at the Gurdwara – the Sikh Temple in Glendale.  From the lively Baraat, the groom’s wedding procession to the colorful bride’s Chunni to the groom’s Sehra – exciting Indian wedding rituals that together paint such a joyous and festive wedding story.

Two lovely families joined together through love and tradition.  A blissful union.

Coordinator:  Amina Michele of  Some Like it Classic Wedding and Event Design

(Stay tuned for part 2, the Jewish wedding ceremony at The Phoenix Art Museum)

“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” - Emile Bronte

I could tell that this was exactly true for this special couple. The way the two interact with one another it is obvious that they have found in each other a soul mate, a life long partner. There is nothing more beautiful.

Not a typical Arizona day, a threat of rain hung in the air. The ceremony was at The Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in Scottsdale. This is such a pretty church to photograph a wedding, tons of natural light, ceilings painted in bright colors, stark white walls.

Weddings with Greek traditions are so much fun. The reception at Sassi did not disappoint. Family. Dancing. Traditional Music. Toasts. Plate breaking. Lots of plate breaking. Laughing. Smiles. Happiness filled the room.

To a lifetime of love and happiness.

[The bride has an art background and embraced the idea of Keith incorporating some classic cameras into the day - some medium format, old film cameras - the results were just gorgeous.]