Mar

Real Arizona Wedding: Brandi and Brendan

categories: bridal fashions, destination weddings and honeymoons, fabulous reception sites, floral inspiration, photography, real weddings, Sedona, Sedona Weddings

Brendan and Brandi had a clear vision for their day- they wanted to share one of their favorite places with their closest family and friends. That place is magical, beautiful and rustic Sedona. L’Auberge de Sedona provided the perfect setting to celebrate and since Brandi is involved in event planning, she knew exactly what she wanted for the look of her destination weekend. The result is intimate, classic and simply gorgeous.

I really love how the floral designs are so natural and lush; the colors and textures are so beautiful

Brandi and Brendan chose Shanandoah Sterling to officiate part of their ceremony- she is a master of blending traditions and a couple’s desire to personalize their ceremony. Needless to say, her ceremonies are very special. You can read read more about her approach to weddings ceremonies here.

Kind of in love with this s’more!

Brandi tells us more about her wedding and the details that made it her dream weekend:

We kept our celebration small in order to accommodate an entire weekend full of activities for our guests. We all enjoyed Pink Jeep Tours the morning of the wedding, and horseback rides and a Cowboy cookout the day after.

Our wedding weekend fell exactly six years from when we first met, which added another special element to the occasion. Fortunately, I own a special events company on the East Coast and had plenty of ideas in advance about the look I wanted for our big day. Working from across the country with a vendor list provided by L’Auberge, I was able to establish relationships with a team of experts with whom I felt comfortable and was able to orchestrate each detail the way I’d hoped. The combination of L’Auberge, Bliss, White Tie, hair and makeup magician Patricia Vega, our superb officiant Shanandoah Sterling and of course, Cameron and Jamelle made for a seamless and even relaxing planning experience. I have to say I miss them all now that the wedding is over!

Our wedding was a group vacation with a romantic twist. Everyone will always remember their visit to Sedona and the love and beauty that was all around. As the bride and planner, I will never forget the many text messages of photos I received simultaneously as our guests first set their eyes upon Sedona on the shuttle ride from Phoenix. I could feel their excitement and knew our wedding weekend would be a once in a lifetime experience, not just for us but for our loved ones as well.

Congratulations Brandi and Brendan and thank you for sharing your day with us!

Brandi and Brendan’s Real Arizona Wedding Team:

Ceremony and Reception Site: L’Auberge de Sedona

Photographer: Cameron + Kelly Studio

Bridal Gown Store: Exquisite Bride, Jim Hjelm

Bridesmaids Dresses: Nieman Marcus

Suits: Jones New York

Florist: Bliss Extraordinary Floral

Invitations: Engraved Images, William Arthur

Cake: Sedona Cake Couture

Ceremony Musicians: Brian David, guitarist

Make-up Artist and Hair Stylist: Le Petit Salon, Patricia Vega

Officiant: Sterling Weddings

Rentals: La Tavola, via Bliss Extraordinary Floral

Transportation: White Tie Transportation

Happy Planning from your Arizona Wedding Blog!

Kelly

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tags: Arizona Wedding Blog, Cream Wedding, Sedona Wedding
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Feb

From Our Pages: Underwater Wedding Fashion Shoot

categories: bridal fashions, photography

Arizonans know the key to survival in the desert is water so we decided to embrace this idea and play around with an underwater wedding fashion shoot. The team came together to create some really unique images that I think you’ll find refreshing! Here’s the lovely Kyle who was in for a new modeling experience; I love her water- inspired make up by Linda Wagner.

She’s channeling her inner mermaid

Stuart of Eyes2See Photography and I chatted about the shoot for a bit and here are some of his insights:

KG: Can you tell me a little bit about your experience with the underwater shoot?

ST: Let me tell you this was one of the most exciting photo shoots I have been on in a long time. I had to pinch myself a few times when we actually all got in the water to start making pictures. Their was a lot on the line when considering the number of people that came together to make this opportunity happen. So needless to say I felt an incredible amount of pressure to produce a set of images that everyone would be excited by.

KG: What were your initial thoughts when brainstorming the concept?

ST: When Fran asked me to discuss concepts for a unique photo shoot for the magazine I was excited to pitch the idea of an underwater fashion shoot. Little did I know that her son had been asking her to do an underwater shoot for years. We started talking over ideas and trying to find inspiration. It became clear that this was going to be a large undertaking to actually make images that were high fashion and yet spoke to the grace and elegance of the wedding world.

KG: What was the main challenge for the shoot?

ST: We wanted a picture that looked like high fashion yet had a dreamy whimsical feeling while being underwater.The very concept of the shoot was challenging. Because I didn’t want anything to be a surprise I ran a test shoot several days before and realized that a challenge we would face was having enough time underwater to make decent pictures. The model had to hold her breath and keep her eyes open while still looking natural and dreamy. Finding a great location was one of our other big hurdles. When the Phoenician Resort offered us the use of their newly restored Mother of Pearl pool I almost jumped out of my skin with excitement. Their pool is one of the most beautiful in Arizona. Another challenge was handling the learning curve of underwater photography equipment, and combining that with fashion lighting. Nothing makes me nervous like expensive camera equipment and lighting gear in a pool that I’m swimming in. Thankfully we had a lot of help with securing our lighting equipment next to the pool and some great help from Darren Samuel and my assistant with our lights in the pool. Thankfully we kept our gear and everyone involved safe.

KG: What did you like best about the shoot?

ST: We successfully took underwater taking pictures with a beautiful model. Need I say more?! In all honesty the best part of the day came at the very end of the shoot. I was at my wits end. It was getting cold and dark and I was frustrated with what we had so far. We all focused our efforts for one more set of images and sure enough when we all came back up to the surface we had a few really incredible shots. When we pushed ourselves past our comfort zone we finally gelled as a team. I think the results are better than I imagined.

I think Kyle liked playing “ballerina” in the water- everything is graceful x10. This is my favorite shot by Stuart Thurlkill of Eyes2See Photography.

I had just a few more questions for Stuart:

KG: Would you ever do another shoot like this again?

ST: YES!!! It was an absolutely incredible experience. I am actually shooting an underwater business portrait at an amazing pool at the Palms Place hotel in Las Vegas in a week. We will then return to Phoenix to do some group shots underwater as well.

KG: What would your dream shoot be?

ST: I really enjoy photographing in places that I haven’t been before. I love to be pushed to color outside the lines and to challenge my preconceived notions. For me the dream shoot is one that has both technical challenge and incredible subject matter. Preferably it would be with a team of people that enjoy the adrenaline rush of the creative process as much as I do.

I think the photos turned out incredibly beautiful. I can’t imagine how hard it was for everyone to perform under water but some how they all came out rock stars! Thanks Stuart!

This video from Serendipity Videography shows the team effort it took to make these images happen. The video is for the whole cover shoot but at 2:34 is where the water fun happens!