Results tagged “Destination Wedding” from Destination Wedding Photography - Destination Wedding Photographers, Arizona

Kristy and Carl were married September 26, 2009 in Puerto Penasco, otherwise know as Rocky Point, Mexico.  The chose to have their ceremony and reception in Las Conchas at a beautiful beach front hacienda named Villa Del Ensueno.  The hacienda perfectly highlights the colors and architecture of the local Mexican culture!

 

The entire event was held outdoors with the ceremony taking place on the beach and the reception set up on the spacious back patio complete with full bar.  A Mariachi played as guests arrived for the ceremony and continued through the cocktail hour and sunset.  Then the party began ...  and it was a wild one, going well past midnight!!

 

This was a beautiful event with a beautiful couple and we felt privileged to be a part of it!  The only down side was the rogue heat wave that hit the area that particular weekend.  It was 105 degrees that day with 100 percent humidity and it was the first time that I have ever gotton a heat-related illness at a wedding.  There was a short time where I thought I was going to pass out, but in the end, I pulled through and carried on with he show!  Despite that, it was a truly wonderful wedding ... thank you both for having us!!

 

Lisa and James were married at the Breakers West in West Palm Beach, Florida in October.  For fear of writing a novel, I am going to try to keep this somewhat short and sweet ... the posting is extra long and the photos speak for themselves!

 

From the first contact with Lisa, we instantly hit it off and we eagarly awaited her and Jame's wedding!  The couple lives in Chicago but have family in Florida, which is why they chose West Palm as their wedding destination.  We met the day before the wedding and were amused at some family member's relief that we "showed up" :-).  In all seriousness, both families wecomed us with open arms, and Lisa's family warmly opened up their home to us both on the day of the wedding and for the trash-the-dress shoot the following day.  Everyone was so wonderful to be around.

 

There were many highlights to the wedding day, not the least of which was a traditional Chinese Lion Dance performed immediately after the ceremony as a surprise from Lisa and James to their guests!  It was spectacular to watch and total eye candy for any photographer with all the stunning costumes and colors!  They also had hookahs and a bubble machine at the reception ... what fun.  I LOVE receptions with this much energy, even if I do get smaked around a bit on the dancefloor :-).

 

The next postng will have highlights from their trash-the-dress shoot and you don't want to miss it!  Thank you Lisa and James ... we had an unbelievable time!!

Check out the Lion Dance!  It was a spectacular display!

Amazing!!!

Some Hookah fun :-)!!

I love these cake shots!

 

After leaving Michigan (where we had a wedding over the Labor Day weekend) on our Great American Road Trip, we headed south and west to beautiful Tucson where Patty and Turner were married on September 10th, 2009.  They enjoyed an intimate elopement at Lowes Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson.

 

This exquisite resort is more like a wilderness retreat than a hotel.  It's labyrinth of pathways wind their way through dense desert scrub and saguaro-covered mountainsides with one in particular leading to a rare find as deserts go - a soothing natural waterfall plunging over a shear cliff wall.  This was the setting for the ceremony and it couldn't have been more magical, especially for this couple who hail from Dallas, Texas, opting for a destination wedding in the Sonoran Desert.  And though the teperatures flirted with the century mark, we all had a great time and we were privileged to act as Patty and Turner's witnesses.  We even encountered a curious javelina along one of the pathways during our intitial scouting when we first arrived :-).

 

The only thing we couldn't understand was how Patty and Turner didn't consider themselves to be photogenic ... I know, it's shocking when you view the photos!  These two are about as photogenic as two people can get!  I think they were just being modest ... a good trait by the way :-).  Thank you both so much for having us at your elopement.  We were so happy to be a part of it and you were a wonderful couple to work with and get to know.  It made for a great ending to our Great American Road Trip!  Best wishes!!

We want to thank everyone for their infinite patience while waiting for their blog postings.  Fall season has proven to be one of the busiest we have ever had with 10 weddings since the beginning of September, two of which were destination, not to mention the triple header we have beginning tomorrow and the countless shoots in between, all of which will eventually make their way to the blog.  We haven't forgotten anyone :-).

 

With that, we wanted to go ahead and get things started with our first wedding of the fall season.  We received a wonderful Thank You card in the mail from this couple yesterday and wanted to go ahead and get their posting up.  They have been so patient and I am sure they are dying to see some photos.  Michele and Josh were married Labor Day weekend in St. Clair, Michigan, which was the main reason behind our big road trip.  We first spoke with Josh while we were driving along the slopes of Haleakala in Maui last year scouting for our own wedding.  The two live in Phoenix and were inquiring about an engagement shoot.  Once we were back home we met up for the shoot and the rest is history.

 

Michele is from China, Michigan (a very small town adjacent to St. Clair) and it was her hometown that she and Josh chose for their special day.  It is a very charming town positioned on a pretty little river that overlooks Canada on it's opposite bank.  We absolutely love this couple because they are such genuine people and their families and friends were no exception.  We were treated more like guests than "the photographers" and we had such a great time over the course of the three days we spent there.  They had a trash-the-dress session the day after the wedding and afterwards we went back to Michele's parent's home where we were well fed by her mom while her dad washed our car before we hit the road again ... now come on, you can't beat that for hospitality :-)!!

 

The one thing that really impressed us about this couple was how much fun they had on their wedding day ... doing it just the way they wanted.  They even rented a motor home which Josh's dad used to chauffeur the couple, their wedding party and close friends around town for photos.  They simply played by their own rules instead of the "traditional" rules of a wedding day and had an absolute blast doing it.  We think the photos really portray that :-)!  Thank you both so much for everything and for including us in so many wonderful ways in your special weekend.  We had so much fun!!

We have hit the busy season and I am falling very far behind on my blogging, so for those couples waiting, I promise I will get your shoots up as soon as possible :-).

 

While we were in Florida, Brittany and Stephen had one last shoot - a spectacular Trash-the Dress shoot.  Again, we can't stress enough how much fun these shoots can be ... they are becoming increasingly popular and are highly recommended!!!

 

Bee and Stephen started the shoot in Downtown Orlando in the Church Street Station district ... I personally love the ice cream shots :-).  From there we headed out to Blue Springs State Park where they got down and dirty - and just a little water-logged.

 

Thank you both so much!!  It was such a blast and we just love you guys!  Hope you love them as much as we do :-)!!

We love destination weddings - it is so much fun to travel somewhere new and get to do wedding photography at the same time!  It is also so nice to have a couple that you meet for the very first time on the day of the wedding, yet feel like you have been longtime friends.  This is how it was when we met Alicia and Michael on March 7th.

Their wedding was held at the Mirror Lake Lyceum in Saint Petersburg, Florida and was such a ball.  The historic building (built in the 1920's) was very charming and the architecture was beautiful.  The ceremony was very close to sunset, but we still had a chance to sneak outside during the cocktail hour for a fun little photo shoot :-).

The reception was ... how shall I say ... insane!!  Everyone had a very, very, very good time - no matter the age, it was a good ol' time for all.  We love receptions like this one - never a dull moment :-).  At the end of the night, Alicia and Michael were picked up by a horse drawn carriage and taken on a beautiful midnight ride.  The horse's name was Duke and we loved his hooves - painted with green glitter for St. Patty's Day ... so cute!

Alicia and Michael, thank you so much for choosing us as your wedding photographers!  It was such a pleasure meeting you both and being a part of your wonderful day ... enjoy!!
 

With Armanda and Jon's wedding, Sierra Blanco Photography wraps up it's 2008 year - and what a year it was.  With almost 50 weddings, it was the best year yet!  With that amount of weddings though comes a lot of hard work and stress, and it didn't help to have to plan my own wedding in the midst of it all.  We also had to deal with a client's death shortly after his wedding in one of Arizona's most publicized stories ... never thought we would have to deal with that and I have to say, it was extremely difficult.  Despite everything though, I feel so blessed to do this for a living.  I absolutely love what I do and I love all the wonderful people it brings me in contact with.  It is always such a pleasure to be given the opportunity to document one of the most important days in a couple's lives ... thank you to everyone who entrusted Sierra Blanco to that!  And with that, Sierra Blanco gears up for a great 2009.  You will be seeing a lot of destination weddings this year with seven out-of-state / out-of-country events scheduled already along with our normal locations of Phoenix, Sedona and Flagstaff, so stay tuned!

 

On to Armanda and Jon's wedding.  We really went out with a bang on this one and we have been eagerly awaiting it!  This three day wedding extravaganza was held in Monument Valley at the View Hotel and was a wedding photographer's dream, especially ours.  We love stunning scenic locations and cultural events and this event had it all.  With Armanda's ancestry being Native American, Hispanic, and Anglo-American and much on Jon's family hailing from Boston, there was no shortage of culture.  They did an amazing job of tying together varying aspects of those cultures including Armanda wearing traditional moccasins and beautiful turquoise earrings and the couple being led on the Grand March during the reception culminating in a spectacular fireworks show outside.

 

Yvonne Chavez of Northern Arizona Wedding Planner - www.northernarizonaweddingplanner.com - did an amazing job pulling the whole event together.  Many products from her Touch of Tradition line - www.touchoftradition.com - including her Navajo wedding baskets, flower baskets, ring pillow, guest signing book and album were used in the wedding and helped to tie the theme together beautifully.  A special thank you goes out to Yvonne too for recommending Sierra Blanco Photography for this job ... thanks Yvonne, we love you :-)!

 

The weather cleared out and though it was a bit chilly, the ceremony took place outside.  A very nice touch was the Native American flute player, whose music was both inspiring and moving.  The reception absolutely rocked with the music of the Tobias Rene Band from Albuquerque, New Mexico!

 

Needless to say, this posting is a bit longer than usual, but with a three day event like this one it was just too hard to narrow down any further than this and really get the feel for the grandness of it all.  Armanda and Jon, thank you for choosing Sierra Blanco as your wedding photographer.  It was such a blast and a very memorable event!!!  Enjoy!

Love the moccasins!

Armanda's mother helping her put her veil on.

 

You have to admire the bride who makes time for a short workout before her wedding ceremony :-).

The adorable flower girls and their baskets from Yvonne Chavez's Touch of Tradition line. 

Armanda's father, Art, walking his daughter up the aisle.

Could the view be any more picture perfect for a wedding?

 

In his speach, Art referred to Armanda as not only his daughter, but his business partner and best friend.

This is one of my favorite photos from the day ... it just seems to share the same magical quality as the setting holds.

 

 

The Grand March ended with this spectacular fireworks display.

  

The day after Christmas, we headed up to Monument Valley for Armanda and Jon's wedding (more on the wedding in the next posting.)  It was held at a brand new hotel that has been built inside the park called The View Hotel - www.monumentvalleyview.com/hotel.html .  The grand opening for the hotel will be held next month, so we had the pleasure of being among it's first patrons.  The hotel was built and is owned and operated by Armanda's family and is absolutely stunning!!  Every room has a view of the famous Mittens ... thus the name, The View Hotel.

 

The first day was quite stormy with intermittent snow showers and bitterly cold temperatures.  There was some concern about whether the wedding would be able to take place outside or not.  After the rehearsal, Armanda had a bachelorette party with all of her bridesmaids and I attended to get some photographs of it ... they had a very good time as you will notice :-).

This was the view from our hotel room ... can't beat it.

All the guests arriving for the big weekend.

Armanda and her girls having a LOT of fun :-)! 

I am proud to again say that I placed in another of the WPJA's prestigious competitions.  I won thirteenth place in the "Lit Portrait" category of their Quarter 3 contest.  Thanks to Kelly for being such a wonderful model ... and bride :-)!

 

This past Friday I photographed Julie and Dan's wedding at Boojum Tree in Phoenix.  Let me start by saying that this has quickly become one of my favorite venues.  It is eye candy for any photographer, with more brilliant colors, weathered walls and lush landscaping than can possibly be utilized in a single day of photography.  It was extremely difficult to decide what to use, there was just so much.  Did I mention that I love this venue :-)...

 

Anyhow, moving on.  Julie and Dan were a referral from a past couple (shout out to Jessica and Steven - thanks you two) and they were great to work with!  Julie is really, really, really petite but her smile is big enough to light up any room.  At their first meeting, which we did before the ceremony due to timing (thanks for trusting me on that one guys), Julie gave Dan a beautiful watch ... it was sooo sweet.

 

The reception was amazing also and it was clear that the kids ruled the dancefloor at this wedding, though the adults weren't half bad themselves.  Julie and Dan, thank you so much for choosing me as your wedding photographer.  I had an amazing time and it was great getting to know you both.  Enjoy!