I won’t even get started on my obsession with the American Southwest, except to say that I am, well, obsessed with it.  I have similar feelings about Christina and Paul’s wedding.  The setting at Juniper Well Ranch in Skull Valley Arizona, the rustic details, the creative floral arrangements, the pies, the mountains and horses and vineyards, the wedding party attire, the honey favors, the lace and burlap and linen decorations, the window frames, the everything.  This wedding simply made my heart sing.

To top it off … the details and the beauty of this wedding weren’t even the best part.  Christina and Paul have hearts of gold.  I can’t believe that I met them only hours before their wedding … I adored them from the start.  Likewise, their friends and family were all exceptionally warm, kind, awesome and wonderful to be around.  But I’ll stop obsessing and let you have a look for yourself.

Christina and Paul had a cigar lounge for their guests.  Love it.

Adore these two!!  So glad we got a photo together.  Taken by the awesome Katy.

Speaking of Katy, I need to give her a little shout-out because she was hugely instrumental in me shooting this wedding.  Because of her, I was able to shoot two of my favorite weddings this season.  She’s an amazing wedding planner.  Even though that’s not her profession, I kinda think it should be ;) Thanks, Katy!!

Christina and Paul … wow, thank you thank you thank you for flying me down to Arizona to shoot your wedding.  Some weddings are simply magical and yours most definitely was.  Congratulations — you two are beautiful!!

Vendor shout-out//  Event coordination: The amazing and friendly Fetu, Clay and Angela with Starstruck Events; Catering: Jube’s BBQ; Pies: Rock Springs Cafe; Flowers: Flowers by Request; DJ:  Paul Hurt of Prescott DJ Service; Hair: Erin Fink for Sachi Salon; Dress: Lea Ann Belter; Shoes: Love by Enzoani; Ceremony music: Phoenix String Quartet.

So exciting!!  If you’re a bride, you know about Style Me Pretty.  If not, you need to head over there for mega doses of wedding inspiration pronto.

I’m honored that Haley and Danny’s wedding is being featured as a cover story on Style Me Pretty today!  This wedding was personal and gorgeous with plenty of eye-catching details and the nicest people ever.  Go check it out HERE.

You can see my original blog post about Haley and Danny’s wedding HERE.

This was one awesome wedding.  Art museum rooftop, bright sun that faded into a big orange glow over dinner, creative and gorgeous food (yes, I was in photography heaven), and smiles coming from everyone.

When I first met Lindsay I thought she was constantly grinning because I had a camera.  But on her wedding day I realized that she is just the happiest girl alive and everyone can feel that warm energy radiating from her.  It’s completely genuine.  Jonathan is equally warm and he adores Lindsay.  Everyone can see they both respect and care for each other deeply.  I feel honored to have captured their day.

A special thanks to Jenny for making Lindsay look beyond gorgeous all day long:

Let the party begin.  I could have photographed the food for days if not caught-up in the whirlwind pace that is a wedding :)

Not only are Jonathan and Lindsay warm people … so are their families and friends.  I enjoyed being surrounded by that energy all day.  Mayor Dave was in attendance and he actually declared the day “Jonathan and Lindsay Day.”  There was a signed and sealed document and everything :)

Jonathan and Lindsay, thank you for letting me be a part of your day.  It was truly beautiful.  Congratulations and I hope you are enjoying your honeymoon!

Shout-out to the vendors:  Ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner etc all took place at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art and Fresco (this food was to die for).  Flowers by my fave florist, daffodil*parker (seriously, I recommend them to all my brides; I simply adore them).  Make-up by Jenny.  I will definitely find out the name of the DJ who was classy, played awesome music (maybe in part due to Jonathan having a radio show) and was not your typical annoying DJ :)

I LOVE Day After sessions.  Erin and John wanted their wedding day to unfold naturally without any formal photos.  They wanted to spend more time with their guests and truly take-in their day.  So one week later they put their (awesome) wedding clothes back on and made time for some portraits with me.  We had a blast!  And Erin wore cowboy boots … how could it get any better than that?

Erin and John are genuine, gracious and fun.  One of my favorite parts of the session was driving down a rural road to the second location only to be surrounded (I mean, surrounded) by thousands of huge, fairy-tale-like dragon flies.  It was magical, ethereal, lovely.  I can’t believe I didn’t capture it on camera but I was completely lost in the wonder of it.

Congratulations, Erin and John!  Thanks for setting aside some time after your wedding day to get some portraits.  I had a great time!

Photographers’ note:  I got a tilt shift lens, as you can see in a few of the photos above :)  So far I only have a handle on using it in non-backlit situations, but I’m excited that all the ethereal loveliness I envision in my head can come to life straight out of camera!

What photographer doesn’t love shooting in Milwaukee?  Every turn yields something amazing … crumbling walls, historic architecture, water, reflecting sun.  Love it.

Alicia and Mike were married in Milwaukee on Saturday and they got ready at the Iron Horse Hotel.  Easily one of the coolest hotels I’ve seen.

Reactions during speeches … always my favorite part of the reception.

Mike and Alicia’s ceremony was held at Calvary Presbyterian Church and the reception was at Renaissance Place.  We headed to the historic third ward for photos … right where we shot their engagement session last year September (ignore the fact that I used a fish eye lens if you go back and look at that session — I was still figuring out my style!).  That area is overflowing with inspiration, but sometimes you have to leave the beaten path.  We saw no less than a half dozen other wedding parties shooting in the same area.

Mike and Alicia are two seemingly opposites who attract each other.  Alicia is more shy while Mike is super outgoing.  After shooting their engagement session I knew they’d be awesome to work with at the wedding.  Their entire huge wedding party was also really nice and awesome.  Sometimes it’s hard to get a huge wedding party’s attention, but these guys were nothing but great.  And I loved them for it!

Congrats, Mike and Alicia!  Thanks for being sweet and nice and letting me be a part of it all :)