 |
Last year, I received a lovely email from Natalie's mom to talk about Natalie's upcoming wedding. Since Natalie was away at school, I met Brenda for coffee at Starbucks to chat about the wedding. Our coffee date wasn't just about Natalie and Jared's wedding though. We talked about everything including college, engagements, wedding details and just LIFE. For those of you that know Brenda, you would know how warm and sincere her heart is. In just about every sentence she speaks, it screams love. It was so refreshing to talk and spend an afternoon over coffee with Brenda, chatting about the little details of life and all the wonderful wedding plans to come. I didn't know Natalie well, but if she was anything like her mom, I knew we would work together well. I was so excited to meet with her and talk about all her ideas for the wedding and get to know her better. Finally, Natalie flew into town and I met with Natalie's family at the Secret Garden, the venue Natalie and Jared chose for the wedding. We walked the grounds and looked at photo opportunities and chatted about exactly what Natalie was looking for. Her eyes would light up as she talked about colors, flowers and her dress, while she thumbed through her notebook of photos she had clipped out of magazines. We left the venue and grabbed some lunch at Chipotle to finish discussing the wedding and contract. Natalie and I chatted about both our fiances and exchanged stories as we both were engaged to be married within weeks of each other. One thing I remember about our conversation was Natalie describing their relationship. She almost couldn't put together the words to describe how she felt about him. Her demeanor said it all. As months passed, Natalie would write such sweet e-mails about her anticipation of the wedding. We became friends and I feel SO honored to have been a part of this wedding.
Natalie and Jared's story is quite simple. They met in college at a local Starbucks and talked for hours. It looks like the initial conversation led into alot more than just a simple greeting at Starbucks. They fell in love.
One thing I adored about working with Natalie and Jared was watching all their emotions unfold throughout the day. They are truly a beautiful couple and Stephen and I felt so blessed to have been a part of this day! To watch a slideshow of the rest of the day, click HERE |
| Natalie and Brenda were SO cute the morning of the wedding at the Secret Garden |
| Natalie has such a contagious laugh. While she read a letter Jared wrote to her, one of the bridesmaids said something to make her laugh. |
| After we took some bridesmaids photos, Natalie wanted to see her dad before walking down to see Jared for the first time. I definitely shed a few tears through the lens this time! |
| Natalie is one of the classiest brides I've shot. She is not only gorgeous but she's such a classy gal in all areas of her life. |
| Jared's reaction to Natalie was priceless. Immediate tears filled his eyes. |
| Jared is REALLY good at getting Natalie to smile. |
| The light was absorbed through the trees and the entire ceremony just glowed of golden light. |
| The speeches were SO cute and I think everyone at one point may have shed a little tear listening to them. Jared's dad stood proud as Jared's best man. |
| Stephanie, Natalie's maid of honor, gave a GREAT speech about her friendship with Natalie. |
| Brenda may hate me for posting this photo but I just couldn't resist! its just TOO cute! |
| Natalie's grandparents won the anniversary dance and cracked a joke when asked what their advice is about marriage. I just LOVE this photo! |
| Last week, Stephen and I met the Cannon family in Old Town Scottsdale for a holiday family shoot. I have to first of all address just how CUTE little Isaac really is. When we first greeted the family, Isaac didn't seem to sure of us. He was shy, silent and would tilt his head as he would stare at us almost like he was trying to figure out what we were doing with our big black boxes that make clicking noises. He didn't seem to sure until we pulled out his favorite toy, THE TICKLE ME ELMO! Who doesn't love Elmo? We had a GREAT time walking around old town with Ishani and David talking about different churches and fellow friends we have in common. It was refreshing to spend an afternoon with such an uplifting positive couple. I have to mention that towards the end of our session, Ishani and David gave us a little advice on marriage as they knew we were just newly married... It means so much to us to connect with a couple outside of photography and Ishani and David's words meant a lot. We just want to say thank you to the Cannon family for your kind hearts and beautiful smiles. You guys TRULY are a beautiful family. Ishani and David are expecting their second child, and I am SURE that he (or she) will be JUST as beautiful as little Isaac. |
| This is one of my favorite photos of the shoot. I was behind a tree with Elmo and we were playing peek a boo while the entire family laughed at me. Thanks to Stephen, we were able to get a GREAT photo! |
| Isaac couldn't keep his eyes off the pretty horses that were on the road. |
| Isaac decided to do a little modeling for us before we ended the shoot... |
A few days ago, Stephen and I had SO much fun photographing Natalie and Reggie in downtown Phoenix! I cannot say enough about how fun this couple truly is and how dang CUTE they are!! Natalie was SO prepared for this shoot. I was so impressed with how she sent me photos of their outfits so we could find a location to match their clothing choice! I think it worked together great! I was even more impressed when Natalie handed me a pink box tied with a hot pink bow full of her special red velvet and cream cheese frosting CUPCAKES! (is your mouth watering yet?) Can you believe that? I'm pretty sure they are the best cupcakes I've ever tasted. Im convinced Natalie and Reggie need to open a cupcake shop! With their awesome personalities and incredible sense of fashion, I'm 100 percent positive their shop would take off.
We took a few moments during the session and chatted about how they both met. Natalie's eyes lit up as she said "online!" Yep! They met at Match.com. Im seriously convinced Match.com is awesome. I mean Natalie and Reg are a perfect example of two adorable people finding love! Natalie mentioned Reg was her first date and last. It was SO much fun to watch these two interact and we fell in love with both of their personalities. They are so full of color and life and it meant so much to us to spend the afternoon with them. We are SO excited to shoot their wedding this coming January! To see more of the day, click HERE |
| I fell in LOVE with Natalie and Reggie's condominium lobby. It was SO full of color! |
I seriously LOVED this area by the complex! There was a lot of broken glass on the ground but it ended up looking like sparkling crystals.
I LOVED that Natalie brought her own flowers for the session. It really added a pop of color! |
| This was my favorite part of the session. BOOK READING! Natalie brought her Harry Potter book and Reggie brought his Batman comic book. It really helped pull out some of their personality! I LOVE it when couples bring things that represent them! |
| Reggie laughed while carrying all the books because Natalie says he usually carries all her shopping bags. :) Just another nice thing the guy should do right? |
| Yes, Stephen was watching for cars! |
| I am proud to announce another feature in Style Me Pretty! Stephen and I are so proud that it's OUR wedding this time! After photographing so many weddings, we had so much fun pulling all our own ideas together. Style Me Pretty was definitely my inspiration blog as well as a few others. I wanted to quickly mention a few of our wonderful vendors that helped our day flow SO smoothly! I don't want to write too much since I want you ALL to link over to Style Me Pretty to read about our day! BUT... first of all, I would like to say a special thank you to our friends Jasmine and JD for documenting our day so perfectly. It's so hard finding a photographer that fits exactly what you are looking for but we felt 100 percent confident that we made the right decision. We were SO thankful to have Jasmine and JD apart of our day and we couldn't be happier with how it all turned out! They are FABULOUS to say the least! I also want to mention our fabulous florist Tamera from AZ Petal Pushers. Her designs are to die for and she is SO talented! I felt she executed EXACTLY what we wanted and she had so many ideas! My cousin Dina also helped with our menus and programs and we had such a great time designing them together! She is one of the most talented artists i've ever seen! We are just so excited to finally be married and want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement! We are glad the planning is over but so proud to see it actually published! Please be sure to click on over to Style Me Pretty and check out the rest of the blog! |
| I attached my grandmas broche so I had a little part of her with me all day. |
| I had my shrug made by Holly Stalder from Etsy. She was SO easy to work with and created exactly what I was looking for! |
| My aunt and I worked on this moss chair after purchasing it at an antique store. |
| Here are just a few of my favorite photos Jasmine and Jd took. I also bought my necklace from Bloomingdales on sale. Sometimes things just look better on than off the rack :) |
| We loved how the reception felt! |
| We found all our bird cages and centerpieces from thrift stores and TJ Maxx ! |
| Everyone should always do a sparkler exit. It always helps with photos! :) |
I'm not even sure where to start.... I have known Tarah for SO many years and it is TRULY an honor to be given the task of documenting her engagement and future wedding. Tarah has always felt like a sister to me. She is truly one of the most beautiful women inside and out that I have ever met. She graces everyone she meets and her heart is the most passionate anyone can find. I sat down for coffee with Tarah a few months back to talk about the wedding and this amazing man she has fallen in love with. There is one thing about Tarah I adore. She is SO down to earth and SO easy to talk to. Everytime she would talk about Joshua, her eyes would light up and she would clinch her palms together with excitement. I had NO doubt she was crazy about him! I couldn't wait to meet Joshua and really get to know them as a couple. One thing I want to mention about Tarah and Joshua is their devout passion for serving others. Tarah was just awarded with a VERY impressive internship as a child life specialist and she has been working between a few different hospitals in the valley. Everytime Tarah talks about her internship, she seems more and more excited about what God will do next in her life! It's evident that she desires to be a tool in the hand of God. I feel inspired just being around her. Besides Joshua serving on the Junior High staff at Scottsdale Bible Church, Joshua and Tarah also serve as teachers of a special needs ministry at SBC. I am blown away by their passion and enormous hearts that are filled with love. Tarah shared with me how they met and it is a true love story.... I just HAVE to share it! Joshua is ALSO such a sweet heart. Its SO evident how much he adores Tarah and I LOVED watching their love unfold behind my lens.
They were introduced at a friends wedding in the summer of 2007. Joshua saw her from a distance and hoped he could be introduced to this blonde, blue eyed beautiful girl. They got to know each other at church, began spending more time together with friends, and their relationship began to grow into something a bit deeper.
One neat thing Tarah mentioned at coffee, was how Joshua proposed. Being a girl, its EASY to fall in love with all these amazing engagement stories but this is by far is one of the best. (Great job JOSHUA!) Joshua flew Tarah to Chicago and propsed in front of the Hancock building which overlooks the entire city. Afterwards, he had a limo waiting downstairs with Tarah's favorite flowers waiting for her. They drove around the cold snowy city of Chicago and enjoyed thinking about their new life together. I could not be more honored to be a part of this upcoming wedding and a part of this couples lives. I can't wait to watch our friendships grow and I couldn't be more happy for you both! Click HERE to see a slideshow! |
| One special fact about Tarah and Joshua is the bike that is in the following photos. Joshua bought Tarah this beach cruiser and surprised her with his amazing green paint job and an adorable basket he attached himself. Can that be ANY CUTER?! |
| No... I havent enhanced either of their eyes... they are just that BLUE! Can you believe how gorgeous they are?! |
| There is something just so sweet about this photo. Its maybe the way he is looking at Tarah's engagement ring or maybe its just how sweetly Tarah is staring back. |
|
Page
1
of 3
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
