Gilbert Arizona Wedding Inspiration - She's a Peach

There’s something about weddings that people seem to love. Is it seeing the beautiful venues? Gorgeous flower arrangements? Extravagant decorations, maybe, or rich, opulent cakes? Maybe it’s seeing the bride and groom (or any combination thereof!) all dressed up and happy with their loved ones.

Instead, it’s probably a little bit of everything, with peoples’ favorites differing. Everyone has a favorite part of their own. For me, it’s seeing the groom laying eyes on his bride for the very first time. His face says it all: love, joy, hope for the future. That, for me, is the priceless moment. Words can describe what that feeling looks like, but not what it’s actually like to experience knowing you’re about to say your vows with the love of your life: only the wedding itself can come close to showing the world your love for your spouse.

It’s not all about me, or us at Wander Back, though. Today, we want to share a few pieces of the wedding world we love in general, from venues to cakes to accoutrements. We’ll start with our models, Morgan and Cory.

We talk a lot on our blog about how easy peoples’ love is to see. To a degree, that’s pretty obvious in a lot of couples, and we hope that every engaged couple would show it--it means that they’re close, that they trust each other, that they’re ready to be together for the rest of their lives. In Cory and Morgan’s case, it shows itself as an absolute ease with each other. Sure, part of it was verbal, with Morgan (who is also a make up artist) mentioning multiple times how lucky she is to have found Cory, that he’d do anything to make her smile, to support her passion, and to be there for her for better or worse, but it’s the little things that show through. Changing poses, holding them, looking at each other--all of them were done with grace and fluidity, as if they were utterly natural things to do. Between shots, too, they joked and made funny faces, goofing around the entire time. That ability to switch between goofy and businesslike, that comfort with one another: that’s what shows true love.

Society likes to keep it secret, but let’s be real for a moment… weddings aren’t only about love. Love is the centerpiece, the cornerstone, the duct tape and paper clips of a relationship: it’s there to hold everything together, through bad and good, but venues and cakes and dinner are all important too. After all, there’s a reason couples go over everything until it’s painstakingly perfect, and “perfect” is a great word to describe Sutton Farms, this shoot’s venue. It’s a quaint, quiet venue in Gilbert, Arizona, a wonderful place to settle down and celebrate. Between the giant gray farm door, the garden bursting with color, and the verdant grass field, it was the only place that we could think of for a Southern Belle-themed styled shoot. Anyone who loves farmhouse-style decor (like I do!) would fall in love with Sutton Farms. AZ Florations provided the adorable flower arrangements, a curtain of petals alongside the farm door providing sublime backing for Morgan and Cory. The pink, peach, and orange flowers really brought a pop of color that complemented Morgan’s dark eyes, and her hair--styled by Elle Clare Hair--was pinned up perfectly, a marvelous mix of classic and modern hairstyles. Standing out among the gray and peach and orange and pink was the starkly simple white dress provided by Ariel Miles Photography: like Morgan’s hair, it was a modern style with callbacks to classic couture. Between the dress, the hairstyle, and the makeup by Bri Jarvis, the styles brought to this photoshoot are absolute standouts among those we’ve seen.

With all the magic brought from our couple and their stylists, we almost forgot to talk about the food--you can’t forget food! The cakes by Amour De Sucre were downright mouthwatering: smooth white fondant provided an amazing backdrop for peach slices, with syrup dripping in perfect rivulets, cutting lines of brilliant peachy-orange down its tiers. Decadent Macaron’s delicacies matched the floral hues perfectly, luster dust and rustic handmade designs finishing their gorgeous pastries. Our mouths were watering the entire shoot--we couldn’t wait to dig in!

This was one of our favorite shoots, not just for the food, but for the combination of it all. We’re so glad we got to be a part of it, and we couldn’t have done it without Meraki Wedding Co’s planning and Material Girls Weddings’ decorations. To them, to the others we’ve mentioned, and especially to Morgan and Cory: thank you so much for putting this event together! We are forever grateful to have worked with you.

Vendors:
Coordinator: Meraki Wedding Co
Model: Morgan & Cory
Decor: Material Girl Weddings
Florals: AZ Florations
Macarons: Decadent Macaron
Cake: Amour De Sucre
Venue: Sutton Farms
Dress: Ariel Miles Photography
Hair: Ella Clare Hair
MUA:Bri Jarvis

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Salt River Engagement - Courtney & Trent

The stereotype of our generation is that we’re nothing without our phones, and honestly? Sometimes that’s true. We shot for the first time at the Arizona Salt River, and when we got there, we had a surprise: our phones had no reception. Considering how many people like to visit the river, we had no clue how we were going to find our newest clients, Courtney and Trent…

… but as luck would have it, as we exited the car, up walked the most adorable couple. We talk a lot about fate that brings couples together, but in this case, fate brought us together with Courtney and Trent instead! We didn’t have to search or stress or hope they didn’t think we abandoned them--it all fell into place.

Really, that describes Courtney and Trent, too. Even with other photographers around, even with no clue where to go, we were able to find spots that helped us showcase the love that Trent and Courtney share. They made the shoot a breeze, always stopping right where the best spots were; they even kicked off their socks and shoes to brave the river, and it’s not exactly the warmest it’ll be just yet! It wasn’t just their spontaneity that helped, either, given that they spent half the time roasting each other in the way that playful couples do. Between the embarrassing, silly stories, our mini-hike, and a few icy splashes here and there, it was obvious how comfortable Courtney and Trent are with one another even around new people. With them and the way the photos came out, we couldn’t have asked for a better day.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention their love story, though, and it sounds like it’s straight out of a John Hughes movie. Picture it: high schoolers. Not the cafeteria, though--think of a classroom, with the wood-and-metal desks in imperfect rows, scratches up and down their surfaces left behind by generations of students, the whiteboard up at the front. It wasn’t passing notes, though, that brought these two together. Instead, Trent liked to cheat off Courtney in third-period Spanish! Yet somehow, they fell in love, and we’re happy for their unique union. It definitely passes with an A plus!

It wasn’t just their meet-cute that was special. Their engagement was pretty darn cute, too: a sandy beach, sparkling blue water, and a little bit of distraction made for something memorable. Trent was ready to propose during their beach vacation, and of course, Courtney wasn’t in on it. He spent their time at the beach pointing out couples walking the sand, wondering if they were married or simply dating. He was lucky enough to see a few proposals, even, and definitely made it obvious he was looking, making Courtney gawk with him.

And then, one day, they were alone.

And Trent pointed.

“Look!” he said. “They’re getting engaged!”

Courtney followed his finger, turning to look behind her, but there was nobody there. Her eyebrows knitted in confusion, and she spun back around only to realize Trent had dropped down to one knee, something in his hand--

She was wrong. A couple was getting engaged.

They were.

We love hearing each of our couples’ one-of-a-kind engagement stories, and this was no exception. The schoolyard playfulness Trent brought to the equation comes through in their relationship, and we just know they have the kind of love that will last a lifetime. These two high school sweethearts really warmed our hearts, and we can’t thank them enough for letting us be a part of their lives. Congrats, Courtney and Trent! Thank you so much--we know your wedding day will be spectacular. We wish you the best of luck!

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Papago Park Engagement - Rebecca & Nicholas

They say that time flies when you’re having fun, but for Nicholas and Rebecca, it’s not just time: it’s their love itself. What brought them together is probably one of the most adventurous careers there is: they both fly planes for a living. Just as flight school was the foundation for their knowledge and livelihoods, it was also the foundation for their relationship. The town of Prescott, Arizona, isn’t the largest one out there--in case you didn’t know, it only has about 42,000 people. That’s about a quarter of the size of Tempe, Arizona, which houses another school, Arizona State University.

What we mean to say is that Prescott isn’t exactly big.. but the world is. Of all the places to go to flight school, Rebecca and Nicholas managed to find each other in Prescott. Strangely enough, after making eyes at each other throughout their classes, they found out that they come from close areas in Los Angeles and even managed to have several friends in common! Of all the schools they could have gone to, the friends they’d had, the hometowns they could have possibly been from, these two found each other in tiny little Prescott. Our job is the wedding industry, so we get the pleasure of meeting many couples that have found their way together, but there’s truly something to be said about the serendipity at work here: what Rebecca and Nicholas share is unique.

If you’ve read our blog before, you know that we’ve mentioned another small Arizona town before: Sedona. When it comes to population, it is to Prescott what Prescott is to Tempe: tiny. Tiny, and gorgeous. Red sandstone sits majestic overlooking the area, shrubs and rivers and high-desert trees cutting through them to form a place that some people consider mystical. After five years of love and growth, Nicholas realized that Rebecca is the one he wants to spend his life with, and in the middle of a verdant, secluded trail, Nicholas did the thing: he got down on a single knee, held up the velvet box, and asked Rebecca to be his life’s co-pilot.

Do we have to tell you she said yes? ;)

We were thrilled when they chose Papago Park for their engagement shoot. It’s almost a little slice of Sedona in the sprawling metropolis that is Phoenix… just with a few more saguaros. The boulders and desert vegetation helped maintain the feel of Sedona right in the heart of the Phoenix area, and it was that little slice of magic that made our shoot truly an extension of Nicholas’ and Rebecca’s engagement. Even the warm April weather--yes, warm!--couldn’t keep these two down: it was nothing but love and happiness, with a side of adventure as they wandered the Papago paths.

We really couldn’t get enough of their love story, telling us fun tales of the times they found out what they had in common. It really helped that they helped each other into every pose, too: you can tell Rebecca and Nicholas are honestly at ease with each other in a way only love can bring.

Between the tales of romantic connections these two shared with us, the imagery of their Sedona engagement, and the lighthearted love on display, we’re so glad we got to work with Nicholas and Rebecca. All of our couples have such different stories, and theirs was just as unique. Thank you, Nicholas and Rebecca, for letting us be a part of your journey. We wish you all the love in the world--and in the air, too!

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