We are in that magical space between spring and summer here in the desert! If you're planning on taking advantage of this gorgeous weather and booking an engagement session, you have to check out my top picks for locations around the valley. Click the image below, sign up for the newsletter, and vwalla! A list of perfect locales will flutter it's way to your in box! sign me up! #arizona #engagement #perfectphotospots

I can’t really remember a couple that was more full of energy and excitement on their wedding day than Sydney and Jett. Jett is a MLB player and he and Sydney is a counselor at a Catholic School. They had just recently moved to Arizona from California when I met them, over a year ago, to talk about their big day. The two met while working at the Boys and Girls club, during one of Jett’s off seasons and he surprised with her a proposal in front of the love sign here in Scotts

Eeek! Another posting deadline missed. But, in my defense, I did fly back from San Francisco last night AND it was the midseason premiere of the Walking Dead (I had to see the battle against Negan start!) So I’m sure you all forgive this one being a little late : ) Tonight, I wanted to share an insight I’ve had over the past year of shooting weddings. And it’s an insight into a mistake that I made as a bride, six years ago when I married my sweetie. I remember talking with my

So here's the thing about first looks: You're probably think that since I'm a photographer, this is gonna be a post all about light, and yes! Having a first look makes it a lot easier to capture amazing couple shots before the ceremony. Yep, you'll get gorgeous soft light, it opens up a lot of shooting areas around the venue, the benefits from a photographic perspective go on and on. But there's another element about the first look that I think a lot of brides overlook. And t

Tonight, the blog is graced with the love story of Melissa and Ryan! But it doesn’t actually start with those two. Melissa’s dad, Graham, is the one who first contacted me. He found me on WeddingWire and told me he was actually in New Zealand (!) but that since he was a photographer in his own right, he had been tasked with finding the wedding photographer for his daughter’s big day. We chatted over email a bit, he sent my work off to the couple, and POOF! it was a magical, d

I was lucky enough to meet these two at the WeddingWire Fall Fete this past October, where they entered to win a free engagement shoot I gave away : ) I was beyond stoked when I drew their name out of the entry box! Ted and “Edy” actually met 10 years ago at a restaurant. They dated for a while, but at the time, Ted was in business school and Edy was a flight attendant. Their hectic busy schedules just didn’t leave a whole lot of time for love at that point. The, five years l

Been busy snapping away at back to back weddings the past few weekends, but wanted to share some fun captures :) Mel and Ryan had a little desert storm drop in on their wedding ceremony, but that's good luck! And it left us with an incredible desert storm sky for their couple shots! (stay tuned for more). My obsession with gorgeous window light and veils has continued! There really isn't anything more intoxicating than a bride wrapped in the translucent, sheer shell of a veil

Laurel and Justin actually found me on Facebook! Gotta love my fellow millennials : ) When she first reached out, I found out that they were actually based in Chicago and that their wedding at the Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch would be a destination wedding for most of their friends and family. The couple flew out to meet vendors and get a feel for the Valley a few months later. I met them at the Cartel Coffee shop in Scottsdale and loved how prepared Laurel was! I fou

It might just be happening to me, but I’m starting to see a trend running through several of my recent wedding bookings . . . indoor ceremony locations! (Cue the scary, dramatic music) Maybe now that it's cooling off for our wedding season here in Arizona, I'll be seeing less of it, but for now, let's talk about how to deal : ) There are a couple reasons most wedding photographers aren’t huge fans of indoor ceremony locations, but the main one is that usually, indoor locatio

Woohoo! Wedding season is well underway and I’ve been busy capturing my couple’s smooches, laughs and tears. Because the hustle and bustle that happens before the big day is always pretty chaotic, I always try to send my brides a little checklist. If they are avid email-checkers, like me, I email it. If they are married to their phone (an who isn’t!?) I send it as a text. If their heads are ready to explode and I think that one more “reminder” might just make them scream, I s

Just a very quick post tonight (I'm a little worn out from this weekend!). I was so honored to be the photographer for a stunning wedding at St. Catherine of Sienna's Catholic Church on Saturday. The ceremony was a classic, Latin Mass, and the reception was at one of my favorite spots in the valley (the Royal Palms). In getting my artistic-mind right for this shoot, I was watching one of Jerry Ghionis's many Chapter Indexes, and I found out that I have a new obsession...veils

1. Hire a local planner Wedding planners are marvelous. They are like little fairy-godmothers that swoop in and fix things you never dreamed would need fixing. On my wedding day, I had carefully planned out all the little details. That included hand writing little seating cards for all my guests with antique playing card faces (my husband and I are Texas Hold'em players). Well, on the day of, it was really windy. So windy that all those perfectly laid out little cards blew ri

Man! I seem to be missing blogging due dates left an right these past few weeks. But that’s because I’ve been busy working away on some post processing of Kathy and Bill's wedding, playing with Wyatt, and melting in the Arizona Heat! But enough excuses : ) For this late Wedding Wednesday post, I want to tell you about the latest step in my artistic journey. A few weeks back, I posted about the struggle I was having trying to decide which type of wedding photographer I wanted

For #SneakPeakSunday, I’m sharing with you just a few images of the stunning wedding I was privileged to capture this weekend! Even in the sweltering heat of the Arizona summer, Kathy and Bill made the beauty of their day look effortless. Stay tuned for more images throughout the next several weeks as they work their way through post. Congrats you two! Can’t wait to share these all with you :) #lighting #wrigley #timeless #Scottsdale #weddings #weddingphotographer #phoenix #r

This #weddingwednesday, I’d like to share the story of the Lori and Andrew, the sweet couple I had the pleasure of meeting this past spring. Lori found me, as so many of my brides do, on WeddingWire and asked if we could meet up in person to discuss the details with her fiancé, Andrew. I met the couple at Inside the Bungalow, a quaint little coffee shop / event site in downtown Mesa, just off of Main street. I remember thinking that the whole place had a sort of shabby chic f