Matt + Karly / Sunrise Sedona Intimate Wedding

Happy Black Friday friends!

It is a wonderful time of year to reflect and dwell on how we have been blessed and are so grateful for the people and things we have … then we eat a lot of food then go buy more things to be thankful for. Haha. I jest.

I woke up at 4:15am to meet up with my mom-in-law and new sister-in-law and we crushed Black Friday. So now I’m blogging before lunch and a nap. I hope your Thanksgiving were filling but also fulfilling. If you were left feeling a little emotionally or spiritually empty, can I encourage you to spend time talking to God today and sharing with Him what you are thankful for. Try to name 30, 40, if not 50 people or things. It is such a beautiful remedy to bring joy into our hearts.

Anywho, here is about this wedding that I’m really thankful for. This is Matt + Karly’s intimate wedding at Bell Rock in Sedona at sunrise.

What’s particularly neat about this couple is that Karly and I went to elementary school together. Her now husband Matt and herself meet in Arizona at college, started their lives together near where Cam and I live, and back in the spring found themselves planning this shindig.

Cameron and I adore these intimate weddings. We love traditional weddings too, but there is something about the setting, the people being surrounded by nature, not the other way around, that really inspired us. We had the best time driving around Sedona after the sunrise ceremony and exploring Oak Creek and getting coffee.

Karly was a swimmer from elementary through college ( I believe ). And I thought it was so fitting that she wore Rainbow Sandals and wound up going in the water in her wedding dress. It was beautiful, it was so her. And it was so sweet to see her and her husband enjoying nature so much on their wedding day. After our few hours together, they went back to a reception at their AirBnb, and we went back to Phoenix. This was one of the most relaxed and enjoyable wedding experiences we have ever had as photographers.

If you’re interested in an intimate wedding ceremony, and value nature showing off, please hit us up. We would love to help plan out your day like we did with Karly + Matt.

FOR (ALMOST) ENGAGED COUPLES

The difference between an elopement and an intimate wedding to many professionals is about how many people are invited, not necessarily how much time is given to planning.

This wedding, though it was planned quickly is technically an intimate wedding, because of how many people were there.
Now if it was just them and less than 5 people, I would say it was an elopement. You could spend two years planning an elopement. And you could gather friends and get married tomorrow.

Morning Stroll with Musician Tori Fleming

This beautiful soul has become one of my favorite artists to collaborate with. If you’re following along my photographer journey, Tori + I went to college together. Fun fact! We actually we're in Women’s Choir together. BUT she had the voice of Adele’s angel cousin and I was really good at swaying on the risers.

Anywho, we started working together the summer after we graduated. I wanted to not just shoot weddings (still true!) and she needed some photo work. Our first collab was for a shoot for Angelic Magazine. That was fun.

Since then I’ve followed this woman through clubs and bars as she tore up Hollywood and beyond with her stunning talent + soulful lyrics.

Tori loves the Lord and His people. I will always love that she intentionally chose not to write Christian music so she could be used to reach people where the Church can’t always.

This was a very early San Diego morning where we met up, got some coffee, and strolled, caught up, and created some more social media content for Tori.

She really wanted to express more of her personality not just her rad modeling skills. But I’m pretty biased. She’s one of my favorite models. Very thankful for this friend. Enjoy our overcast morning together.

If you are in need of some lifestyle creative content, feel free to hit me up! I love collaborating with bloggers, musicians, artists, and small business owners. Whether you need more content for your gym, coffee shop, or jewelry business, or you want to tell the story behind your product, message me. I’m all about photographing people + what they are passionate about.

Ian + Lisa / You Are My Sunshine - Desert Sunset Engagement

This little foothills trail has become one of my favorite places to shoot in Phoenix. I’ve done at least 10 shoots here in the past year and it is different EVERYTIME. There is a lot of diversity as well as a lot of interesting levels as you walk deeper into the valley.

This first photo was taken within the first 5 minutes of the shoot. LIKE…. C’mon. It’s stunning. I would hang it in our home, but Cameron and I agreed that’s a little weird. Ha.

This is Ian and Lisa. They are precious. They met at PayPal, where they both still work. They are incredibly sweet and kind to each other. I love how Lisa makes Ian’s face light up. And I love how sweet Lisa glows around him. But even more so, they are equally in love with their baby girl, Kaia as they are with each other and it is PRECIOUS. Kaia and Ian are best friends. She got her demeanor and some of her facial features from her daddy. Only Lisa and his baby girl can produce the biggest smile on Ian’s face. Please enjoy these!

FOR FUTURE COUPLES

Protip I learned from this shoot. If you want to bring your children to an engagement shoot, I 20/10 recommend bringing someone who can hold the baby. I am only required to bring a second shooter to *most weddings so it is not a good idea to bank that your photographer or their second shooter can be on baby or doggy duty. IF you ask ahead of time, totally fine. But try to get a friend so we can do our part in capturing romantic photos of just you two!

I will say in the last year I have held a baby in one arm while shooting with the other and it was very empowering and terrifying all at the same time. God-willing a little window into Cam and my future. But not any time soon, mom….