Hey look, it’s US!!!  This is the final look at our New Orleans trip.  We learned so much and made some great friendships in NOLA.  In this post however, we will show the tourist side in us both.

This is the breathtaking Mississippi River at night.  The moon looked incredible that night.

New Orleans was perfect for music lovers like us.  These guys were all over the place everyday entertaining the city.

Denise snapped this shot of a bird shaking himself off after a nice dip in the cathedral fountain.

Inside St. Louis Cathedral.  That might be a fun place to shoot a wedding : )

Denise was rockin’ the long lens and the purple flats.

The Break In:

On one of our last days there, we ran into our new friend Jennifer Kiem in the lobby of our hotel.  She asked us if we wanted to meet up later to go explore one of the “above ground” graveyards.  We decided to meet up around 4pm to head down to the dark and dreary cemetery.  By the time we got there, all the gates were closed and locked with a sign that said no visitors after 3pm.  If you know me, you know that I like to ask forgiveness rather than permission.  So in my typical fashion, I decided to climb the wall and sneak myself in the cemetery after hours.

After I got in, I found a smaller gate that I was able to push open enough to let the ladies in too.  It was nice having the whole place to ourselves.  And a little creepy.

The reason why all the tombstones and caskets are above ground is because of the low sea level in New Orleans.  If they were buried, they would be soaking wet.

While walking around the city, I wanted to try something new with my camera, shooting from my hip.  I set my exposure then dropped my camera down to my side and took some of these candid shots without looking through my lens.

We also got a quick two minute impromptu photo session taken of us in our hotel lobby from our friend Julie that we met that night.  Thanks Julie!  She also took the first photo of us from this post : )

Our last day there was probably our most touristy day of the whole trip.  We found this Market just past Jackson Square.

Picture on right: Denise was playing with this silver painted street mime.  I kept giving him more money to keep playing with Denise so I could take some pictures.

I was waiting for Denise to set up the camera on a bench to take a timed shot of us.  I look a little bored.

Here’s the timed shot . . .

Smile!

We frequented this local French hot spot, Cafe du Monde.  They are famous for making Beignets.  I’m not a dessert person, but even I found these tasty treats extremely delectable.

We got pretty good at propping the camera up on something and setting the timer.

Hehehe, she had to try on a Mardi Gras mask at a local shop.  My cute and funny little wife.

We had so much fun on our trip!  Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed our photos.  Finally, we’ll leave you with this fun little shot of me being awsome!

What was that?  You want to see more photos of the adorable Vanessa & TJ?  Well okay then.  Here you go!  These two lovebirds tied the knot at the Mesa LDS Temple the day after we shot their bridal session.  Right around noon, they emerged as the newly minted Mr. & Mrs. Stone to the happy cheers of family and friends waiting outside.  Yay!!!

(Please sign the guestbook if you’d like to be notifed when the rest of their photos are online.)

Awww . . . married at last :-)

Check out TJ & his groomsmen!  How fun are the suspenders, right?

And I just love this shot of Vanessa & her girls – They were having so much fun!

Once all the formalities were through, we snuck them away for a few portraits around the temple.

I probably don’t say it enough, but I love shooting with my hubby :-)  It’s so cool that when you work with us you get two creative minds behind the camera.  We each have a unique take on things so you get twice the amount of awesomeness in any given photo opportunity.

Here’s what Ryan was shooting . . .

. . . while I was shooting this.  Double the awesome :-)

Here’s my take on this scene . . .

. . . while Ryan, with his telephoto lens, was seeing this.  So fun!

And of course, we just had to show off Vanessa’s handy work for their ring shot.

Later that day, we headed out to their church in Glendale for the reception.  Tracie of “We Do! We Do!” Weddings and Events did an amazing job with the decor.

I especially loved the ceiling.  The lights made for a great backdrop for this cake shot.

The first dance.

LOVE this shot of the happy couple dancing –  just having the time of their lives :-)

Make sure to check out a slideshow for more photos from their bridal session and wedding day by clicking on the button below!

Vanessa & TJ: we had so much fun with you guys!  We hope you enjoy your photos and will look back fondly on the time you spent taking them.  Best wishes from one set of high school sweethearts to another :-)

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Vanessa & TJ are the definition of a “cute couple”.  We had so much fun getting to know them while shooting their bridal session and wedding last week!  They both live in Utah so we didn’t actually get the chance to meet until the beginning of their session on Friday, but that didn’t stop the four of us from hitting it off!  They met and started dating in high school while they were both living in Arizona and then went off to college together in Utah.  Being high school sweethearts ourselves, we liked them immediately :-)  We met up at Scottsdale Civic Plaza to wander around old town Scottsdale for their bridal portraits.  They had mentioned to us on the phone that they were really nervous about being photographed . . . and of course, once they were out posing for us we discovered that they were total naturals!  I mean seriously, look at these two – they’re adorable!  And so in love . . . all we had to do was tell these two lovebirds to focus on each other and capturing great images was a piece of cake!  Here are some of our favorites from their session:

(Please sign the guestbook if you’d like to be notifed when the rest of their photos are online.)

So cute!  Vanessa only has eyes for TJ :-)

Vanessa is a florist and did all the flowers for their wedding.  They turned out awesome!  I just loved the bright, fun color palette.  It totally fit their personalities.

Love this portrait Ryan shot of Vanessa . . .

While I was shooting from up here.

Love it!

The handsome groom :-)

That’s right, these two are so HOT they have to hang out in the fire lane!

What an adorable pair :-) It’s no wonder they were High School Prom King and Queen.  Talk about meant to be.

Love the great connection between them in this one.

Not sure I can even say why, but I think this one is my favorite :-)

We totally love it when our grooms go outside the traditional black tux . . . TJ rocked it with his gray suit!

Work it!

I’ll never know how he always manages to do this so well, but Ryan basically just set his camera on the ground in front of them and nailed this next shot.  I totally love that TJ’s carrying her dress in it too.  He was super sweet and worked so hard to make sure she would be nice and clean for the big day on Saturday.  You’ve got a keeper there Vanessa!

We scored some beautiful soft light towards the end of their session.  It makes this shot so warm and yummy :-)

I think this last one pretty much sums it up . . .

To Vanessa & TJ: Thanks so much for making our jobs so easy!  And for everyone else, there’s a lot more of this cute couple coming to the blog very soon!

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