As you can pretty much tell by looking at it, our blog page has undergone a major overhaul this past week.  We’re super excited about the new look and features!  Here are some of the highlights:

• BIG BIG BIG photos!  Our previous blog only allowed us to post photos at 600 pixels wide, but now we get to post at 900 pixels wide!  YAY!  We like big photos :-)
• At the top left hand side of the blog you’ll see a Twitter Updates box where you can always see what we’re up to via the social messaging utility Twitter.  If you’re a Twitter user, feel free to follow both of our feeds by clicking on the menu links under “Simply Knot”.
• On top of the comment box at the end of each post you’ll see a few little icons with ways you can interact with our blog content.  My favorite is the Facebook post icon that lets you automatically post the entry on your Facebook or send it in a message to your Facebook friends!

Exciting stuff :-)  Let us know what you think of our new blog by leaving us lots of comment love below!  Thanks for reading.

On Saturday we had the pleasure of shooting the Valentine’s Day wedding of Cory & Christina!  You may remember them from their engagement session in downtown Phoenix.  Cory asked Christina to marry him on the big screen at a Phoenix Suns game . . . on Valentine’s Day of course!  So it was so very fitting that they chose this day one year later to make it official.  The gorgeous weather and suroundings at the Japanese Friendship Garden made for a lovely (and love FILLED) day.  Here are a few of our favorites from their big day:

Lots of beautiful details – the dress.

The shoes – LOVED the sparkles!

The lovely bride :-)  I have to say, Christina was pretty much the calmest bride ever!  When we got there to start shooting her getting ready, she was pretty much ready to get into her dress . . . AHEAD of schedule!  That NEVER happens!  There’s a ton more of her with a big smile on her face, but I thought this one captured such a sweet, peaceful expression.

Ryan snagged this one as Christina was getting ready to get in the car and head to the garden to meet Cory.  I just love the colors – the sky, the red car.  Call me crazy, but I seriously think the whole image has a feeling of excitement and anticipation for what’s to come!

Christina & the girls.

Cory & his guys.

This first look is probably going to go down in history for us as one of the most sweet and heartfelt we’ve had a chance to be a part of :-)  Cory’s expression when he first saw his bride was just priceless!

There were definatly some tears :-)  SO SWEET!!!

When they were ready to start taking portraits, Christina turned to us and said, “Thank you so much for making us see each other first!”  We thought this was so cute and funny!   Now, I wouldn’t say that we MADE them see each other before their ceremony, but we do strongly encourage our clients to make this choice.  And this is exactly why!  They were so overjoyed to have shared such a special and intimate moment without the pressure of a crowd watching and the need to start the ceremony.  After that point they were able to just relax and enjoy each other – and of course, more time for the party afterwards!  We’ve never had a client that regretted their decision and in fact, like Christina & Cory, so many of them are grateful to have had such a memorable moment.

A few portraits of the lovebirds . . .

Ryan came up with the idea to shoot their sillouette through the walls of the tea house.  LOVE it!  He is always so good at coming up with creative, outside the box ideas like this :-)

Before the ceremony started, the girls got together an prayed for Christina – it was a really lovley and touching moment.

A few shots from the ceremony.

Mr. & Mrs. Boston!

And then, off to the PARTY!  Here are a few shots from their first dance.

Probably the most hillarious thing we’ve ever seen at a reception – when Cory went in to retrieve the garter, Christina was in for a little surprise . . .

They ended up with Octupletts before that pesky garter showed up!  Ha ha ha!  Love it!  Their reception was a such great party – The rest of the night was spent doing a lot of this:

Check out the slideshow for more great images from their wedding!  Christina & Cory – we had a blast with you guys!  Thanks for giving us a Valentine’s Day to remember :-)

Last Saturday we met Rachel & Manny in downtown Gilbert for their engagement session.  We first met with this couple WAY back in June so we’ve been looking forward to our chance to reconnect and spend some time getting to know them.  All of us were a little scared that our session might get rained out, but lucky for us, the rain stayed away until that evening.  In fact, it was kind of bright out for most of the session . . . and WINDY!  They were great to work with and we had so much fun wandering around downtown with them!  Here are some of our favorites from their session:

Loved Rachel’s belt buckle :-)  What e-session would be complete without a little love?

One of my favorites from the whole session . . .

Rachel & Manny first met as players on the same co-ed softball league.  They knew of each other for a while and then a mutual friend decided that they needed a little push and set them up.  Rachel told us that going into their first date she “didn’t really think she would like him” (ha ha ha – can’t tell by looking at them now, huh?), but they ended up hitting it off and becoming inseparable right away.  They both love sports and still play softball together all the time, so we decided for the next part of their session we should show off their sporty side at nearby Freestone Park.

What can we say, a baseball diamond felt like an appropriate place to do some shots of these two!  Rachel came up with the idea to write their initials in the sand by home plate.  She said, “That’s so US!”  Love it :-)

Love, love, love this one Ryan snapped of them on the bleachers :-)

Then we went for a little stroll in the park . . .

So cute :-) Thanks for a great afternoon you guys!

Don’t forget to check out the slideshow for more shots from their session!