Cassandra Nelson and Marshal Grace were married on November 7th, 2009
in Peoria, Arizona
And I was so honored to photograph the wedding!

This being my first visit to Arizona, I was pretty fascinated by all the details I found. In complete tourist style, I toted my camera everywhere I went. Here are just a few of those details:

So how in the world did I land a gig so far away you ask ... well ...
The following photo explains it all. This is Valerie, Cassandra and Heather. They were roomies and best friends in college. Heather and I went to high school together. I photographed her Gatlinburg wedding in 2007. Val and Cass were two of Heather's bridesmaids and they were such fun girls. We got along so well that when Val was planning her wedding in St. Augustine earlier this year, I was honored when she ask me to come all the way down for her event. I love to travel so that was awesome of course! I got to know the group a little more in St. Augustine ... and voila ... Cass got engaged and I had a ticket to Arizona. I just LOVE these girls!

The morning of the wedding ... the girls got ready at The Cibola Vista Resort
This is also where I stayed ... and this resort was wonderful! I had so much fun playing with all of Cass's details on the property.

This is Cass's dress hanging from a Palo Verde ... its Arizona's state tree.

Cassandra's hair was done by Bri Butler Price. She did a wonderful job!

Cass ... seriously beautiful.

Cassandra made time for some bridal portraits at the Cibola Vista Resort before we headed to the wedding site. This kind of time with my brides makes me so happy! And the results make my brides so happy ... right Cass?!!

I want to say this next one is my favorite portrait of Cass ... but I really could say that about every one of them. How in the world do I choose a favorite? Please let me know which one you love most.

Cassandra has LOADS of personality and photographing her was so fun ... she gave me so many different looks ...

She's playful ...

She is smokin ...

She's happy and lovely ...

Pensive ...

Thoughtful ...

Elegant ...

On to the man of the day ... Marshall ... the groom.

This ring inscription made me so happy! One of my favorite moments of the day was when Cass put the ring on Marshall during the ceremony she actually showed him the inscription before she put the ring on his finger. It was a surprise for him and she wanted to make sure he read it. You can see that photo if you stick around for the slide show at the bottom of this post.

Oh gosh! Don't let me forget Christina!!!!
So ... how in the world was I going to take Lauren (my second shooter) with me to Arizona? It just wasn't going to work. So I put out a craigslist ad and crossed my fingers. After weeding out a lot of weirdos ... I found Christina Briner and I knew she would be perfect!

I was right!!! Christina and I worked so well together. She was so patient and a total life saver several times when I had noodles for brains. On top of that she took beautiful photos! Thank you Christina!!!!

Here are a couple of Christina's images of Cassandra and her dad just before the ceremony ...

The ceremony and reception were held at the Trilogy at Vistancia Resort. This place was gorgeous.

That laugh ... love it!

I love this clever shot of the guys by Christina:

Cass and Marshall's families and friends have a wonderful sense of humor. Case and point:

I'm a huge fan of suspenders and I was so excited that the guys didn't wear coats to cover them up. Here is a cute little shot to show them off!

Am I weird? This one is one of my top five favorites from the whole wedding.

I don't really love posting the posed family portraits on my blog because I don't think it really showcases what I do best. I mean, anyone can stand people in a line and take a picture right?

Well, I'm showing the next two images because they are each a perfect example of the traditional family portrait paired with a something real. These two are my idea of a perfect family photo! Frame them!

Christina did a great job because she captured everything that was going on around me but not necessarily exactly the same thing I was shooting. This was her shot of Marshall's mom watching while I did the portraits of the bride and groom.

This next one is also one of my top favorites ...
Complete love ...

Thanks again to Christina! I love this shot of me!

Cassandra and Marshall surprised all their guests with a choreographed first dance. Cassandra was so nervous beforehand ... but they both did a lovely job!

I've never seen anyone smash a cake like this. Watch the slide show to see those crazy shots!

On her first throw ... Cassandra's bouquet landed in the light fixture. I am NOT kidding. It was hilarious and I still bust out laughing when I think about it. On her second throw there were girls crawling in the floor. Again, see the slide show - we're almost there.

This is one of the longest blog posts I have ever done! You are welcome for the eye candy and now, my friends, I expect comments and lots of them!!

p.s. read below if you need info on Christmas cards and/or ordering deadlines.

Thanks!