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!!

The day after the wedding, Michele and Josh opted for a trash-the-dress shoot.  They were worried that it wouldn't be exciting to us beacuse we are able to do so many of these shoots in beautiful places like Sedona.  On the contrary though.  We love places that are fresh and new for us.  China, Michigan was full of rustic old barns, lovely fields of wildflowers and miles and miles of corn fields ... we have always wanted to do a photo shoot in the corn fields.  This was like being a kid in a candy store to us ... we ate it up!!

There was only one drawback.  People, I have lived in Florida for heaven sakes.  I have trudged through some seriously mosquito infested swamps.  I have even been to Africa and slept along river banks swarming with the blood-sucking creatures, but Michigan ... Michigan in the summer is as bad as any swarm I have ever had the misfortune to be in.  I hate mosquitos ... they love me ...

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!!

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum (a little bit of humor for any theater buffs out there) ...

You see, this wedding story began with Kristel and Logan, who don't reside in CA, making a list of the top places they would like to have a destination wedding.  Ultimately, the Giant Sequoias of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range in CA won out.  Next step - use the internet (a wonderful tool by the way) for all your planning needs.  After nailing down the venue Kristel began her search for a photographer.  She typed in something along the lines of "Wedding Photographers Sierra Nevada" and presto, there we were, Sierra Blanco Photography.  Kristel then emailed us saying that she visited our site, went through the entire thing, fell in love with us, and then realized we were based in AZ, not CA.  She asked if we would travel and with a hearty "HECK YEAH we'll travel" we were soon on our way to photograph a wedding amongst the Giant Sequoias :-)!!

This wedding was held on June 10th and was right up our alley with all the magnificent scenery and dramatic weather!  We were also happy with all the photojournalistic images we got out of this one.  It also rates as our longest one-day event ever ... 15 hours!  Factor all that into the equation and you get a rather long posting.  In fact it was hard narrow it down to what we did.  The whole day and all the details were just so amazing!

The day began with Kristel and Logan enjoying an early morning picnic at Shaver Lake.  Kristel and her friend (who came all the way from Alaska to participate in her good friend's day) then headed down to Fresno to have her hair done.

Side note: I rode in the back seat of the convertible so I could get photos on the winding mountain roads that led down to the city.  After getting what I needed I laid down in a fetal position and did not move.  Once we arrived, Kristel aked me if I had a nice nap to which I exclaimed, "no ... I didn't take a nap, I wanted to die."  I had gotten so car sick that if I had moved or spoken at all during the remainder of the trip, well it would not have been a pretty scene, let's just put it that way.  I got the photos though.  That's dedication :-)!

Meanwhile Logan stayed behind to help get the Elliott House B&B, their reception venue, ready for that evening.  At this point it was slightly overcast but the weather was holding.  After their first meeting, which they did before the ceremony in order to do couple formals, we headed away from the town and into stunning, nearly untouched wilderness.  This is where the weather became it's most dramatic!  Under warm, sunny skies, we stood on a granite outcropping and looked into the distance to witness an advancing wall of seething black clouds.  As the wind picked up, whipping Kristel's cathedral length veil around, we knew we weren't gonna get much more drama than this!!  Kristel and Logan handled the whole thing like pro models and the outcome was stunning!

By the time we made it up to McKinley Grove in the Sierra National Forest for the ceremony, the weather had turned cold under a light mist of rain.  Fortunately, spirits were not dampened and the ceremony went on as planned, under the sheltering canopy of three stately Giant Sequoia trees.  After the ceremony we headed to one last shooting location before the reception.  Kristel had hoped to get some photos at a waterfall and in our scouting the day before we had found the perfect one.  With the rain now intensifying and the temperature yet falling, we all dealt with the discomfort in the name of once-in-a-lifetime photo opps.

It was still very cold at the reception site, but at least the rain hadn't made it that far.  We have to throw in two points ... Kristel's dress and accessories were beautiful and their wedding cake was jaw-dropping!!  Kristel and Logan we cannot express enough how blessed we feel to have been chosen as your wedding photographers.  We loved you both, along with your family and friends and could not have enjoyed the day more.  Thanks for trusting in all our ideas and photo locations and we hope you love these images as much as we do!!

Final side note:  Kristel is quite the photographer herself, so the photography was very important to her.  This makes us feel especially grateful that she chose us and we sincerely hope we exceeded her expectations :-)!

Kristel LOVES detail shots and even helped to set some of these up :-)!

Thanks again guys, it was beautiful!!! 

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 :-)!!