Jess & Justin tied the knot on Saturday at Inspirador in downtown Chandler.  Now I know what you’re thinking – why would anybody get married in the middle of July in Arizona?  Well, the date of their wedding had a lot more to do with their honeymoon plans than it did with the weather in Arizona!  As I’m writing this, the happy newlyweds are enjoying their time in beautiful San Diego for Comic Con!  Yep.  They’re just that awesome!  We’ve really gotten the chance to get to know this great pair over several dinner dates, their engagement session, bonding over a mutual love for Apple products and lots and lots of facebook commenting!  We couldn’t feel more blessed to have been there to capture their very special day.  Jess & Justin are the perfect match and their wedding was so much fun to shoot!

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

Jess’ wedding dress was gorgeous – classic and beautiful, just like Jess :-)

She rocked this cute pair of gold sandals.

The beautiful florals were created by the ever so talented Amy of Amy’s Floral Design!

Such a stunning bride.

While I was over with the girls, Ryan was hanging out with Justin.  Since it only took him about 5 minutes to get ready, they had plenty of time to goof around for some portraits.  Silly, silly boys :-)  These two crack me up!

Inspirador is such a unique venue, and in this case, it was just perfect for a wedding on a hot day because both the ceremony and reception sites were indoors.  We really loved the cool contemporary spaces and modern details.  Among our favorites were the modern light fixtures and the love quotes that line of floor of the Poet’s Lounge, where the ceremony took place.

I absolutely love both of these shots we grabbed just before the ceremony.

Here comes the bride!

Justin was one happy man as he watched his bride come down the isle.

This one makes my heart all warm & fuzzy inside :-)

Mr. & Mrs. at last!

Since it was like a billion degrees outside, we shot most of their portraits in the Tryst Gallery.  The exposed brick and fun art pieces served as a great backdrop.  The bridal party was small, but a good looking bunch nonetheless!

Gotta say, Justin was all smiles the whole day!  So sweet :-)

Rockin’ the gallery in black & white.

LOVE this shot Ryan took.  It just might be one of my new favorite images :-)

Couldn’t choose between these next two.  Loved them both so much!

Jess & Justin really wanted their afternoon reception to feel fun and laid back.  They chose a summertime theme and the guests got to enjoy the music of well known Percussionist Paul McDermand on the Steel Drums.

There were lots of laughs (and a few tears too) as the maid of honor, best man and both their dads toasted the newlyweds.

A sweet and touching moment with Jess & her dad as they watched a slideshow of family photos.

We snuck away for a couple shots of the rings.  Don’t you just love Justin’s custom designed ring?

Instead of a cake, they opted for yummy cupcakes made by The Cake Cafe! Good choice!

And a bubble filled exit wrapped things up rather nicely :-)

For more photos from Jess & Justin’s wedding, click on the view slideshow button below!

To the happy couple: you guys ROCK!  We had so much fun spending the day with you and can’t wait to watch what God has in store for you both in the future.  We look forward to many more hang outs and a long friendship :-)  Hope you guys are having so much fun in San Diego!  Thank you for choosing us to share in such a wonderful day!

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Nerina & David have the best kind of love story . . . one that started a long time ago :-).  These high school sweethearts have been a couple for many years and have two adorable sons Noah & Gabe.  It was such a blast to hang out with them and the fun group of family and friends that made the trek up to Las Vegas for the wedding!  We really enjoyed getting to know them and had a great time running around the strip together having our very own fabulous Vegas adventure!  Many will tell you, “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”, but in this case, the wonderful joining of two sweet people in marriage is truly an event to be shared and remembered for a lifetime.  That’s where we come in ;-)  If you were hoping for Mike Tyson’s missing tiger, random babies showing up in hotel closets, or a naked Asian man popping out of the trunk of a car, you’ve come to the wrong blog . . . or have you . . . Just kidding, we’ve got something even better!  True Love.

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

The day began at Harrah’s Las Vegas Hotel & Casino where the happy couple was getting ready and where the reception would be held later on that evening.

Nerina had two pairs of shoes – fancy ones for the portraits/ceremony and some comfy ones for the PAR-TAY!

The beautiful bride putting on the finishing touches.

After helping her get into her dress, Nerina’s mom took a step back to take a look at her lovely daughter.  Her expression and sweet teary eyes say all there is to say.  Capturing perfect little moments like this is one of the very best things about our job :-)

Nerina & David wanted to have lots of time before the ceremony to shoot portraits out on the Strip so they chose to see each other before the ceremony.  Their first look was full of happy smiles and tons of laughter.

Nerina – you’re adorable!

Love both of these!  Especially David showing off his awesome kicks.

As we left Harrah’s and headed out for their portraits we noticed that they were holding pinkies.  So cute :-)

Shooting on the Strip was quite an experience.  It was a lot of fun, but it did have a few challenges.  The first was the crowds.  It was a Saturday afternoon and there were people EVERYWHERE!  The other challenge was the amount of walking.  Luckily, the day before the wedding Ryan and I had set aside a few hours to scout out some locations that weren’t TOO far for our couple to walk to in their formal attire.  It was pretty entertaining to have so many people “woo-ing” and yelling congratulations as we made our way through the crowds!

We spend most of the session focused on the classic and elegant look of Caesars Palace and The Bellagio.  Love the drama of the high ceiling and curved lines in this first spot.

Can’t complain when the Eiffel Tower makes an appearance in your wedding photos, right?  Only in Vegas!  (Well, I guess you could get that in Paris too, but the plane ride would be much longer.  Ha ha!)

We took a little walk through the casino at the Bellagio and just couldn’t help but showcase Vegas’ most popular landmark . . . slot machines :-)  Hilarious!

Nerina & David were so easy to work with.  They didn’t blink an eye when we asked them to sit on the ground in their formal wear.  Bride & Groom + awesome hallway + outdoor marble floors  = yummy photos :-)

A couple individual shots of the awesome couple.

Next, we were off to the Flamingo where the ceremony would take place in a lush garden at the center of the hotel.  Since Las Vegas is such a popular wedding destination, the Flamingo is like a well oiled wedding machine. There are five different ceremony locations and a good possibility that there will be a wedding going on at each one at the same time.  The hotel requires that all of their couples use a photographer and videographer from their staff during the ceremony, so we were actually sitting in chairs the whole time, shooting as guests.  It was kind of a fun challenge to stay in one place and not have our usual ability to move around.  Despite having a little different perspective, we ended up getting some really great shots and our feet got a little rest too so that part was kinda nice :-)

Super cute :-)

We did have a little advantage over the other guests that were taking photos from their seats.  With our handy zoom lens, you’d never know that Ryan was sitting in a row of chairs at the back of the ceremony and was still able to snag these awesome shots :-)

The bridal party workin’ it on the steps of the casino.

It was so great to catch up with one of our past couples Manny & Rachel that were both members of the bridal party.  They play softball with Nerina & David and that’s actually how they first heard about us.  Happy (almost) one year anniversary you guys!

The lovely ladies :-)

Couldn’t help posting this silly one of the guys :-)  It just makes me laugh!

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Gutierrez!

The reception took place at the Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill at Harrah’s.  It was super casual with no formal events – just the couple hanging out with their closest family and friends.  We snuck out to grab a couple quick ring shots in the hotel casino.  A friendly Pai Gow dealer let us use his table as a fun photo back drop (with permission from the pit boss of course!)  Does anybody actually know how to play Pai Gow by the way? There’s dice and dominos and cards – what’s the deal?

Time to get the walking shoes out for some fun night shots on the Strip!

The one photo request that these guys had was to get some shots in front of the fountains at the Bellagio.  We were more than happy to oblige!  Talk about iconic Vegas, right?

Don’t be fooled by the images above.  It may look quiet and peaceful, but there was actually quite a crowd to work around and it was TOUGH getting enough room to shoot out there!  It was an adventure for sure!  The fountains go off every 30 minutes and we got there about 10 minutes in advance, but as the big moment got closer and closer people started to line up along the water’s edge to watch.   We had to sweet talk a family, two middle aged men and a rather drunk/crazy local who kept shouting, “I’m having a picnic!” to stake out our territory.  Befriending “Picnic Guy” actually worked to our advantage because he scared off other onlookers :-)  As you can see, the images were well worth it and I don’t think any of us will soon forget it!

There are many more great images from the day so make sure to click on the “view slideshow” button below!

To Nerina & David:  You guys are so perfect for each other.  It warmed our hearts to have the chance to capture such a sweet and honest love story.  Thank you so much for inviting us to be a part of it.  We truly enjoyed every moment!  You guys ROCK!

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If you missed PART I of the adorable wedding of Amanda & Caleb, make sure you CLICK HERE to go back and check it out!

Now where did we leave off?  It was something pretty important, right?  Oh yes – the kiss!  And not just any kiss, but Amanda & Caleb’s first kiss together!  There were many tears AND cheers from the friends and family (and us) that got to witness the joining of these two very special people.  How cute are they?

They were all smiles as they took their first walk as Mr. & Mrs. Thompson!

Nothing like making up for lost time!

Amanda: you’re adorable!  I believe this expression was her response to one of her girls asking, “So, is he a good kisser?”  LOVE it!

As the guests began to head to the reception, we took a little stroll up to the hilltop for a few post ceremony portraits.  How cool is it that CCV has its own little mountain?  What a view!

Sun flare = some very cool sunset portraits :-)

We decided to head down the hill and leave the lovebirds for a few quiet moments to themselves, but Ryan just couldn’t help grabbing one last shot of such a perfect scene.  (Don’t tell them we were spying, ok?)  Ha ha!

The reception took place in the backyard of Amanda & Caleb’s brand new house!  They closed on it about six weeks before the wedding and have been working tirelessly ever since to get it ready to host 125 people.  How cool is it that their first home together will also hold the memories of such a special day?  They did a great job creating a really beautiful setting.

Outdoor wedding rule #1: lots of lights are essential for great ambiance AND awesome photos!

The first dance: this one makes my heart happy :-)

It was so fun to watch these guys interact with their families.  Lots of love in this group!

A sweet moment from the father daughter dance :-)

Caleb & Christabel had their very own father daughter dance too!  What father daughter dance is complete without a little acrobatics here and there?

Time to party on the dance floor!

Sparkler exit = awesome!  So much fun!

A little sparkle for the road and it’s off to Sedona for the honeymoon!  They were literally driving away when Caleb grabbed this.  Way to make an exit Thompson’s!

To see more photos from Amanda & Caleb’s wedding day, click on the “view slideshow” button below.  And don’t forget to leave us some love in the comment section at the bottom of the post!

To Amanda & Caleb: from the moment we met the two of you, it was clear that you guys were something special.  I doubt we’ll even forget that excited text message from you after our first meeting ;-)  You guys ROCK!  We are so honored that you chose us to be a part of your day.  Now it’s time to relax and enjoy being married!  May God bless you abundantly and always remain the source and the center of all that you are!  We heart you guys!

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