Last month, I had the privilege of capturing Lauren and Jason's wedding at the Bella Rose Estate in Chandler. It's a very dramatic venue and the couple's vibrant personality and color choices fit the scenery perfectly! Congrats, Lauren and Jason, on a truly unique and beautiful wedding! #bellarose #jason #lauren #vibrant #wedding #chandler

So I'm not really sure why this concept took me so long to figure out, since my clients have already ask for it! But late last night I was watching some training on Creative Live by the fabulous Sue Bryce and she laid it out quite simply and I LOVE it! Every gal loves her bridal gown. We spend much the looking for it, trying on one after another...and did I mention the price tag? Then what? After the big day, we hang them in a closet, box them up, and reminisce about the time

Lindsay was a jaw-dropping bride in a gorgeous Eve of Milady gown when she married Chris at the Omni a few months back. We actually ended up doing a second private shoot to showcase her dress in a different setting (The Royal Palms). Here's what Lindsay said when I asked her to pick a few favorite images: Black and White - Sunshine & Love "This is probably my favorite photo because of its beauty and simplicity; its intimacy and simplicity captures what the day- with its month

Over the past few weeks, my “business-brain” has been stuck in over-drive. I shot a fabulous wedding at the Royal Palms last Saturday (more to come on that is Sunday). But for tonight’s blog, I wanted to share the latest steps along my budding-businesswoman journey. I know, I know…most photographers don’t like to think of themselves as “business people.” But hey, if you are shooting, and getting paid for your work, sorry to tell you this, but yes, you are indeed running a bus

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

A few weekends back, I had the chance to shoot Kathy and Bill’s wedding at the Wrigley Mansion. For this particular wedding, I had the chance to shoot in a space I was familiar with (Kathy and Bill had be take their engagement shots here as well). Going into this wedding, I had to very clear goals in mind: 1. Keep the bridal portraits soft 2. Use a new backlighting technique with my flash during the first dance. Specifically, I wanted to be sure that the bridal portraits were

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

I’ve been busy working away on Kathy and Bill’s wedding, so just a quick note here to mention that I ended up trying out a new flash technique at their reception! I’m pretty pleased with the images straight out of camera, but I’m going to “magic” them up a bit in post before sharing. Stay tuned! #wrigley #enagement #weddingplanning #wedding #firstdance #photography #phoenix #weddingphotographer #weddingphotography #photographicstyle #weddings

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

I’m not sure about the rest of you wedding photographers out there in Arizona, but as a millennial business woman, I’ve learned a few tried true and tenets over the last few years: 1. If you aren’t on social media, you might as well not exist 2. You need to be available… really, really available 3. Uber Speed in response = bookings With these concepts in mind, I went into the webinar held by WeddingWire (Can You Hear Me Know?) this past week with a little healthy skepticism.

So, yes, this Sunday post is about 12 hours late, BUT… that’s because I was waiting and hoping for this news! I won my first WedAward today! The WedAwards are part of an International Wedding Photographer competition and this is their Tenth Collection! I am so honored to have won this award or Lesley & Mark’s “Angel in the Cacti” shot : ) #wedding #photography #weddingphotographer #photographer #weddingplanning #ThePhoenician #timeless #weddings

This week, I was lucky enough to be whisked away to glorious San Diego for a mini-vacation with my husband. He worked, I worked, but we got to do it from gas lamp district in southern California, so I have no complaints! Driving in from the airport, I passed the pier where Christy and Scott were married, and it brought back all the amazing memories and beautiful images of that day. And it inspired the Wedding Wednesday blog for this week! Christy is a gorgeous, petite angel I

For Sunday this week, I admit, I'm a little behind on the blogging : ( BUT! I did just send out the newest newsletter to all you lucky followers out there :) Didn't get it? Want it? Check it out at the link below and be sure to sign up to receive all the latest, each month. june's newsletter #destinationwedding #firstdance #countrychic #vendors #timeless #music #engaged #wedding #romantic #photojournalism #photography #weddingphotographer #photographer #weddings #enagement #p

Well, I'm missing a Sunday blog post deadline, but that's only because my dear, sweet friend Amber got MARRIED tonight! It was a really sweet, intimate get together with family and friends. And, I brought my lens along :) Oh, the benefits of having a wedding photographer as a best bud! I'll be sharing some of the images soon. Stay tuned! #romantic #wedding #photography #lighting #weddings #photographer #weddingplanning #photographicstyle #weddingwire #weddingphotographer #wed

Over the past month or so, I’ve had a lot of questions surrounding the “engagement shoot.” Do I include one in my package pricing? Is it really worth it? How much more should a wedding photographer charge for the shoot? The list goes on from there. I’ve gone back and forth on this subject. I know many photographers hesitate to add it into the overall cost of the wedding photography. After all, it’s a whole other day of shooting. You have to travel to the shoot, then it’s an h

Amie, her mother, and her sister actually all made the long drive south from Flagstaff to meet with me after we had emailed a few times about her wedding. She loved my work, but wanted to meet in person to be sure we would be a good fit. Amie was sweet and kind with an infectious smile. After we worked out the details, it was decided that I would be her girl for wedding photography on the big day! The group then made the most of their time in the Valley by finishing their wed

Recently, I’ve been seeing a new trend popping up on social media (Instagram, specifically) that I’m kind of falling in love with. If you spent time and energy making sure that your wedding invitations and your RSVP cards turned out splendidly, why not share them during the wedding? I’ve seen some really beautiful images lately of a copy of the wedding invitation, combined with macro ring shots, or bouquet images. If you’re a bride who’s planning a gorgeous wedding, be sure t

Recently, I’ve been meeting with potential brides that have booked their venue (or are getting ready to) and now, they want a photographer! It seems like more and more, photography is number 1 or 2 on their bridal “to do” list. How phenomenal for me! But with this bump in priority, I’ve also found myself being asked some basic planning questions and the one I get a lot is…”Do I really need a planner?” While I usually say the dreaded "It depends." I've recently come up with so

For wedding Wednesday this week, I thought I’d post a fun, musical tip for brides who don’t have their first dance song picked out yet. Here are some classics and some fun new comers that are making a splash in 2016 1. All of me - Performed by John Legend 2. Terrafin Sea - performed by Ed Sheeran 3. I Don’t Dance - performed by Lee Brice 4. A Thousand Years - performed by Jasmine Thompson 5. Thinking Out Loud - performed by Ed Sheeran 6. Fields of Gold - performed by Eva Cas