Steve & Yesenia’s Wedding at The Venue on Main

Steven and Yesenia were married last week at The Venue on Main in downtown Safford, AZ. Everything was so well planned, perfectly in place, and calm! As soon as I walked in the doors at The Venue on Main, the excitement ramped up, the adrenaline kicked in, and I couldn’t wait to get my camera out and clicking.

The Gila Valley has needed a place like The Venue on Main for a long time! It opened up shortly before I went on my business break, so I’ve been crossing my fingers to get to shoot there for a long time now. It was the perfect setting for Steve and Yesenia’s wedding!!

I’ve said it many times before, but I really love seeing how families rally around the bride and groom for their wedding. Yesenia’s sister did all of the amazing wood florals. Family members helped set up. A cousin officiated. It was all such a great family celebration!

Steve’s brother passed away before the wedding. The mantle celebration of life and the chair reserved for him were such sweet touches to bring heaven a little closer.

Yesenia’s details were exquisite! From her beaded dress, to the sixpence in her shoe, and the coordinated jewelry, it was all so elegant and had thought poured into every detail.

Yesenia finished getting ready upstairs at The Venue with her sister’s help. She had everything so well planned and organized that she was ready long before the guests started to arrive and she could peek out and watch people as they came in the doors (without them seeing her).

Steve and their boys got ready at his parents home just down the road. Originally he’d planned to wait to get ready until the last minute, but the excitement kicked in and he was mostly ready by the time we got there! You can just see the joy and excitement on his face!

Michael and Derek were so fun to watch all day. They are so good to each other, their sister, and their parents.

And before we knew it, it was time to get the party started!

Ceremony at The Venue on Main

I loved that she had both her boys walk her down the aisle!

Bride and Groom Portraits

Following the ceremony and family photos, we snuck out to get portraits of the Bride and Groom together…Just Married! We started at one of my favorite desert spots with a fantastic view of Mt Graham.

The forecast was all over the place that day. We didn’t know ever if we’d have rain, sun, wind, cold, or warm so we made the most of it!

After some shots in the desert we decided to do something “risky”. We were way ahead of schedule and had time for an extra location. On the way down the mountain from their engagement session (also a stormy evening) I came around a corner and the light shining in the valley below was stunning. There was a perfect spot for portraits there. I tucked that away, wishing I’d noticed that spot earlier to take them to.

We decided to make a run up the mountain to this spot. The rain hadn’t hit in the valley yet, and the storm looked like it was going the other way around the mountain on the radar, so we took the risk. Part way up the wall of wind moving in with the storm hit. We kept driving up and I just crossed my fingers that this would work and we hadn’t wasted time.

We got out at the spot and the wind was ferocious. With Yesenia’s big beautiful skirt she was getting blown around and hair was everywhere for all of us. And let me tell you…these two were AMAZING! They marched up the hill and were willing to do what was needed to make these photos happen. They never complained to us and just rocked everything we asked them to do and made that wind work in their favor.

I LOVE the images we were able to create together partly for how they turned out and partly for the memories of being there with them and how fun they were in such crazy wind.

Really though, because of the wind we were able to get some absolutely stunning shots! I love her dress in the one above!

Whenever there were lulls between gusts our shutters were clicking as fast as they could.

Why the picture of a scraggly “bush”? Because this is what saved us. It provided just enough of a wind break that we were able to make this work. I couldn’t believe what a difference it made stepping out of the “wind shadow”. Thank you bush!

The light there was absolutely beautiful!

Finally, it was time to walk back to the cars and head down for dinner and the reception. We couldn’t resist getting shots there in the road cut with the clouds and mountain and their joy as we trotted back down the road!

Reception at The Venue on Main

Torey of Cakes with TLC always does the most amazing job. Any chance I get to photograph her work, I’m a happy girl! Partly because that usually means I get to eat some of her work too. It’s a rough life. 😉

Instead of a Sparkler Exit, Steve and Yesenia decided to have a Sparkler Grand Entrance, and it was brilliant!

The kids gave the sweetest toasts. I just loved that they were Steve and Yesenia’s bridal party!

Instead of the traditional Father & Bride and Mother & Groom dances, they opted to have dances with their children. There were quite a few misty eyes in the room as we all watched!

Anyone recognize these two?! Edgar and Sabrina were one of my last wedding couples before the business break in 2018! Edgar and Yesenia are siblings, and it was so fun to get to serve their family again.

Steve and Yesenia, thank you SO MUCH for inviting me into this season in your life. I think it’s safe to say that your wedding day was absolutely AMAZING! Every detail was so well thought out, I couldn’t believe how often things ran ahead of schedule. It made for such a laid back, sweet, full of life and love wedding day. I am so excited for you and your family and can’t wait to watch your adventure as a family continue on through the years! Love you all!

Vendors and Creative Team:

VENUE: The Venue on Main
DRESS: David’s Bridal
HAIR: Cathy at Posh Place
FLORALS: Diana Blancarte with Diana’s Desert Roses
CAKE: Cakes with TLC
DJ: DJ Matt Corona
CATERING: El Charro
OFFICIANT: Jessica Gonzales
PHOTOGRAPHER: Marquette LaRee
SECOND SHOOTER: Mikaela Durfee

Did you catch Steve and Yesenia’s Noon Creek Engagement session? If not, check those out next!

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