Perhaps one of our favorite couples, we couldn't resist blogging Kristina and Justin's wedding from this past August at Shoshone Point, Grand Canyon!  Days like this and views like these are why we LOVE living in Arizona!  Their wedding took place at the height of the summer monsoons and there are few places more spectacular to witness this annual weather event than the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Every direction offered it's own unique drama being played out through an ever-changing mosaic of light, color and clouds ... simply stunning!

I am once again honored to win awards in the prestigious Wedding Photojournalist Association's (WPJA) quartly contest.  I was really excited this time because three of my photographs placed, all in the top 5!!  I won 3rd place in "Humor" for a photo taken at Angela and Chris' wedding and 4th place in "Cake Cutting" and 5th place in "Kids (Being Kids)", both from Megan and Jeff's wedding.  There were 24,112 entries from around the world in this quarter and from that, 360 finalists were chosen.  That really is an honor.  As always, thank you to my couples for trusting in my vision and allowing me to make these award winning images :-)!

This past Thursday, St.Patrick's Day (it was the only day the couple could plan with their very busy schedules,) we photographed Lynette and Rick's wedding at Saguaro Buttes in Tucson, Arizona.  It was a beautiful day, almost too beautiful - Lynette was really hoping for some clouds for sunset pics :-).  That's OK, we got great shots anyways.  All the details were fantastic and Lynette just looked stunning and Rick very handsome! Plus, this crowd new how to party!!  Thank you both so much for having us as your wedding photographers and we hope you love the sneak peak!

This shoot is the culmination of half a year of planning.  The idea was born of a need to do something outside the box.  Something very creative, whimsical, full of electric color and very high fashion.  We based the theme "loosely" on 'Alice in Wonderland.'  This past Sunday we saw it explode to life and we couldn't have been more pleased with the outcome!!!

Though we did most of the work ourselves, we did have help from two extraordinary people without whom this shoot never would have happened.  They are our Associate Photographer, Angie Gomez, who spent countless hours helping us plan and who donated many great props for the set design and one of our past clients and good friends, Megan Leland (she is 3 months pregnant by the way, congrats again :-),) who is a professional hairstylist and who brought the characters to life through her magical styles!  Her artistry far surpassed my wildest expectations!  Both Angie and Megan also served as our stunning models, and we mean STUNNING!!

Thanks to everyone who participated in this and made our "dream shoot" come true!!  It was a great ride down the rabbit hole :-)!!!

Hair by Megan Leland

Makeup by yours truly :-), Tina Wright

Set Design by Tina Wright, Kevin Juberg and Angie Gomez

Models, Angie Gomez and Megan Leland

Some "behind the scenes" shots :-).

Megan and Jason were married on March 5th, 2011 at the historic Orpheum Lofts Penthouse in downtown Phoenix.  This was such a beautiful wedding, full of vintage style!  They began their preparations at the San Carlos Hotel, another old, historic building downtown.  Megan wore a birdcage veil - very appropriate - and a pair of AWESOME Betsey Johnson shoes!

One note to student photographers out there ... it is considered very poor form, not to mention plain rude, to walk up behind a professional photographer and begin taking photos of a bride and groom on their wedding day, without asking permission from either party!!!  This is a very true story and the couple got very upset with this stranger taking the liberty of snapping their photos.  What's more, when the groom, and myself, told him in no uncertain terms to stop, he continued to follow us and take more photos.  It should go without saying, but this is a GIANT no-no!!

OK, moving on ... the day was amazing and the setting stunning!  By the way, as a gift to all his groomsmen, Jason presented each of them with their very own black-powder pistol.  I don't know much about guns, but I know enough to know these were very special gifts given to obviously very dear friends!  Thank you both so much for having us as your wedding photographers and allowing us to share in your special day ... enjoy the sneak peak!