Romantic Phoenix Wedding Session

Boy oh boy do I love Phoenix and all of Arizona in general! It’s our second home so when I had another opportunity to shoot a wedding session in Phoenix this month I was thrilled to be going back.

Every once an a while you meet a couple who you are like… “I need to be friends with them and we should probably have BBQ’s and play dates with our kids”. That’s how cool Tamara and Kyle are.

I had the pleasure of meeting Tamara quite some time ago when she began her wedding planning. Through the year we chatted frequently online about her wedding and got to know each other a bit better. When we finally met in person to talk about doing a special couples session for their wedding, Tamara showed up with a beautiful floral arrangement with succulents that she had made for me. (Cactus and Succulents happen to be my favorites, how did she know… ;)) That’s the kind of person she is. Incredibly kind and sweet (and talented, you should check out her company Beyond Measure). I met her husband Kyle the day of our session and it was so clear to me that he’s absolutely smitten with Tamara and that he’s equally funny and kind as she is.

 

From Tamara:

I was best friends with Kyle’s sister before we ever met.  It was September when I organized a baby shower for her first born son (who is now 8 years old!). I phoned Kyle to invite him to the shower. She gave me his number and I didn’t think much of it, considering he was my BFFs brother – he was a bit off limits. But we started texting; he was hilarious and made me laugh… I couldn’t help but want to talk to him more. It was less then 4 months before we were basically living together. December came, and we spent our first Christmas together with his family, then New Years Eve and for the past 8 years every holiday since.

 

Our Engagement:

 

We had our baby girl – Emalyn Rose Marie in October 2013.  On my first Mothers Day, May 2014 our family had their annual Mother’s Day Family get together & BBQ. My whole family, from parents, Aunts, Uncles, & Grandparents were there, along with Kyle’s sister and family! I made a cake for everyone and was super excited to show it off. My aunt wanted to take some photos before we cut it, Kyle ran over and asked to have a picture as well. The next thing we knew, he set the cake down and got down on one knee with the ring in his hand. He said he knew I wanted to have photos taken of him proposing and this was the perfect opportunity. The ONLY person who knew that day, was his sister. It was a complete surprise to everyone and especially me! I love that our entire family was there to witness such a special moment on such a special day (and it saved us from a ton of phone calls to let family know haha)

 

Favorite wedding moments:

• One of my most favorite and most memorable moments was coming down the spiral staircase to meet my father, who was waiting to walk me down the isle. I was calm the entire time from makeup, hair, getting my dress on etc. But I got to the bottom of those stairs and my dad was there, crying. All of a sudden the emotions hit me…I was about to walk down the isle, and he was giving me away to my new Husband, in front of everyone we love.
• The speeches. We already knew we picked the most amazing friends and family to be in our wedding party, but it was so touching to hear the words they had each taken the time to write and say about us.
• Kyle’s favorite moment was the first dance. With his out of town work schedule, we didn’t have much time to plan or perfect a first dance, but before we left we squeezed in 2 private lessons to our song. Our dance wasn’t perfect, but it was so much fun and we loved being able to have those few minutes just to ourselves to talk and be us.

 

Tips for Brides to Be: Ask for help! My biggest mistake was taking on too much myself. I just didn’t want to bother anyone with my heaps of DIY crafts I wanted to do.

Hire a Coordinator. Just do it. Our venue included an event coordinator, so I can’t say what planning would be like without one, but I can say that the entire planning process and day of was SO stress free. I didn’t feel like I had to burden my bridesmaids or family with setting up, taking down etc. Everyone kept telling me they couldn’t believe how calm I was the whole day, but it was all thanks to our venue for handling everything. I knew we were in good hands and I had literally nothing to worry about!

Honeymoon: We decided not to plan a honeymoon right away. Instead we spent just over 2 weeks in Arizona to enjoy some much-needed family time in the sun and poolside! Nothing beats plus 30 weather and palm trees.

 

Okay….if you aren’t teary eyed already, check out their session below!

xo,

Nicole Sarah

 

 

Vendors:

Bridal gown: Dennis Basso for Kleinfeld NY Bridal

Groom’s tux: EPH Apparel 

Flowers: Zuzu’s Petals Floral Studio 

Stationery): Smitten on Paper 

Rings & Jewelry: Bride – Blue Nile, Swarovski & Nadri (Nordstrom)

Groom – Shane &  Co. Scottsdale