Enjoy!

This wedding was unlike most weddings I photograph, and it was delightful. Over four days, their wedding story unfolded across two states and several meaningful places, yet every part of the celebration shared a common thread: home.

This extended celebration wasn’t about adding more events to the calendar. It was about making room for the people who mattered most.

Anthony and Sarah wanted to begin their marriage in a way that expressed their faith, while also expressing their deep love for both sides of the family. Rather than trying to fit everything into a single day, they chose to stretch the celebration across four days, allowing each gathering to have its own purpose and meaning.

The result was a wedding that felt remarkably personal. Every stop along the way told a piece of their story.

Luna, NM Wedding

The evening before their Luna, NM ceremony, both families gathered at the bride’s childhood home for a joint dinner under the clear New Mexico skies. It was laid back and so very welcoming. Kids were playing all over the property, adults were visiting and laughing, and the temperature was beautiful. Eventually every started peeling off to their homes, their Air BnBs, or their sleeping spots there at Sarah’s house. The energy wasn’t nervousness, but a steady and calm air of excited anticipation.

The next morning, everyone woke up to the smell of bacon and potatoes frying. Never a bad way to start the day!

Bridal Details

I started my official part of the day as I normally do, with the bridal details. As soon as I had pulled up to the house the evening before, I knew exactly where I wanted to do Sarah’s dress picture. Then when Sarah unzipped the dress bag and showed me the dress I knew for sure the front of the house was The Spot.

How fun is this dress?! It is so Sarah and represents so perfectly her love of cottage core aesthetics. She took a dress she found online and then added lace to the bottom and sewed a beautiful capelet to go with it to complete her vision. It was amazing!

Wait until you see it on her! After dress pictures I gathered her details for the flat lays. Her grandpa had given her the flower beaded hair clips, her sister made the bracelets, her mom had pulled out her stash of lace ribbons for decor and florals, and we added in the wedding invitation that Sarah hand illustrated! It was so cute having these elements all together.

And what was going on while I took detail photos? (I love this so much.) Sarah had already made a bouquet out of wooden flowers she’d dyed. But she’s confided to her sisters a while before that she secretly wished she’d done a real floral bouquet. So what did her sisters do? They brought her bundles of loose stems of some of her favorite flowers and colors, and they made bouquets together.

Anthony spent the morning there at the house visiting, hanging out with his beautiful bride and having a root beer float. Why is this not wedding norm? It was so cute!

Bride and Groom Prep

It finally came time for everyone to start cleaning up and getting dressed. Anthony went back to the Air BnB where his family was staying, and Sarah went inside to start her prep. While Sarah was doing her early prep, I went over to get Anthony getting his final bits of his ensemble on. We utilized the wrap around porch and window reflections to get thing going.

Oh the tie. Dad came over to help. Then Mom came over to help. I started tying it but realized I was tying it to the size of Darrow (which is what I’m used to), so Anthony’s brother Joey stepped in and got all of us lined out.

Some grooms have their groomsmen there to help them make sure they are all ready. Anthony had his parents and a brother there, I loved it. The Russo family is tight knit, fun loving, and full of heart. It made for a good time with them as they got Tony (as they call him) ready.

Once he was set and we’d captured a few quick portraits of him, I headed back over to Sarah’s house for her final prep with her sisters and Mom.

Sarah had planned on wearing one of her heart necklaces, but neither had quite the look she wanted. So her mom found the her string of pearls for Sarah to wear and they were the perfect touch.

Her sister had also made some bracelets for Sarah to wear!

First Looks

As soon as Sarah was ready she wanted a First Look with her dad out in front of their house. She was glowing and so excited, and I love when Dad’s have that moment with their daughter.

Finally it was time! Sarah knew she wanted the First Look in front of the house again, and so we got them in position, and then I stepped back and went into documentary mode.

Most brides say their groom’s name or “John, turn around!” But Sarah said “Anthony! Anthony! I love you! Turn around! Turn around! We’re getting married!!!” and it was so full of excitement and love and joy.

A Few Quick Portraits

Once they’d finished twirling and jumping and kissing and hugging and laughing and talking (I encourage all my couples to take their time with the First Look), it was time for a few portraits. Sarah asked if we could get some with the old cars on their property so we headed out to the back lot and Anthony picked the one he wanted to stand by.

And with it being midday, it was getting toasty so we cut portraits short and they headed inside to visit with family and finish their prep for the ceremony.

The Ceremony at the Luna Chapel

I asked about why they chose the Luna Chapel for their ceremony, and this was what Sarah wrote to me:

“I grew up going to church in this building every Sunday. I love it. I think it is so beautiful. I always went to church in different LDS buildings when traveling and could never figure out why they had to be so ugly. To me all the other buildings feel very cold and formal to sit in. But the Luna chapel always felt like a big warm cozy hug. I love the lighting and the wood and the stone. And I love the people I grew up seeing there every Sunday. It feels like being home. Summer visitors would come and I felt so special knowing this beautiful place was mine and I was it’s and all these people wanted a piece of it. But it was mine. My home. I guess I could say that for all of Luna, but the chapel especially. It’s one of my favorite places in the whole world to be. I just love it.”

And when I stepped inside, I saw instantly what Sarah meant.

It used to be church policy that there was no photography or applause inside the church chapels (just the main chapel room, the sanctuary; the rest of the church did not hold that stipulation). In prep for this wedding we scoured the handbook and discovered that the rules have changed. Photography and applause are still restricted during the Sunday Sacrament services, to keep the feeling of reverence and sacredness during Sunday worship, but for cultural and other events the chapel no longer had those restrictions.

So Sarah double checked with the Luna Bishop (and he checked with the local church authorities above him) and they agreed that that this was within the rules and an appropriate time for photography and applause. So I was able to photograph their ceremony and capture these memories for them and their family!

Anthony’s final detail, his boutonniere. He and his mom stepped outside just before everyone lined up so they could get that last detail in place.

And then it was go time!

One of Sarah’s best friends is serving a church mission on the other side of the country and was not able to attend, so they made a cutout of her so that she was there in heart.

We stepped outside to find the sprinklers on in the grass, so we started family photos on the covered patio until someone was able to get the sprinklers turned off for us. We then moved over in front of the stone work on the spire, where Sarah had envisioned the photos.

Their wedding party was made up mostly of siblings an then two dear friends. Loved seeing all the family in there to love on them and support them.

That was the second toss. They pulled off the first one, saw the photo and said, “We can throw him higher!” And they did.

Family Dinner

That evening was a joint family dinner in the yard back at Sarah’s childhood home. Her aunt had sent up flowers from her gardens down in the Phoenix valley and they took beautiful center stage on the welcome table.

Sarah’s sister spent hours helping to sew these fabric buntings that were part of Sarah’s vision for her wedding. They were a cute touch both in Luna and Eden.

Gila Valley Temple Wedding

The day after the Luna ceremony and celebrations, Anthony, Sarah, and their families all drove down to the Gila Valley for the next phase of the wedding. They gathered that night at the home that Anthony and his father were building for them (and which his brother had drawn the plans for). They have put months of incredible work into getting the home ready for Sarah and Anthony to live in after they are married and it was an important part of their story and an important place to them to have included in their celebrations.

The final day of Anthony and Sarah’s wedding celebration began at the temple. While photography isn’t permitted during temple ceremonies, one of my favorite moments happens immediately afterward as family and friends gather outside to cheer and congratulate the newlyweds.

Before they made their Grand Exit, they spent a moment in the temple’s waiting room with all four parents. It was sweet and meaningful, and I’m so glad they had that moment before walking out to the cheers of friends and family.

After three prior days spent moving between childhood homes, a newly built home, family dinners, and celebrations, it felt fitting that each moment of the wedding, including the temple exit, was being surrounded by family. It was a reminder that the thread connecting every part of this wedding wasn’t a place at all. It was the people who call each other home.

Temple Portraits

June can be brutal here in the Gila Valley, but thankfully while the temple ceremony was going on clouds formed and moved in and while it was still hot, it was so much better having the shade the clouds provided. And then we got this gorgeous soft light too that was a dream to work in.

At this point Anthony raised his hand (as he does anytime he wants to say something when Cameron and I are around…Cameron was their college professor when they started really noticing each other and exploring the idea of dating, and they came to him with a lot of questions and hopes and excitement), and said, “I have an idea. Can she sit on my arm while I lean against the wall?” And they totally pulled it off.

Next we headed around the back of the temple to take pictures in front of the windows of the room where they had their temple sealing ceremony. I thought it was a meaningful touch!

Portraits at The New Home

One other important place they wanted a few quick portraits at was their new home. It’s not 100% finished yet, but all the essentials are in place and we couldn’t pass that opportunity up. It’s where they start their chapter together, where they get to grown their marriage and their family, and where they get to create Home.

The Star Barn Reception

The celebration concluded that day at Star Barn, a venue that entered Anthony and Sarah’s wedding story somewhat unexpectedly.

While it hadn’t been part of the original plan, it provided a perfect and beautiful gathering place for the many family members and friends who had traveled from near and far to celebrate with them. As the evening unfolded with dinner, toasts, dancing, and conversation, it felt like a fitting conclusion to a wedding weekend that had been filled with meaningful people, meaningful places, and more than a few unexpected blessings along the way.

On the center beam of Star Barn was an arrangement of wedding photos from Anthony and Sarah’s family. Parents, grandparents, and siblings were all represented. People stopped to look at those all night. And I have to admit…I LOVE LOVE LOVE the one of Anthony’s parents. We stood and visited with Elinor a bit about her wedding and the stories were amazing. Her Princess Diana inspired dress, the story of immigrants being able to provide a NYC wedding for their children, the ceremony, all of it was fascinating and fun to listen to.

Can we make houseplants in cute pots as table centerpieces a thing?! These are so perfect for Sarah’s cottagey theme and then the bride and groom get to take them home and fill their house with them. I’m all for it!

Don’t the buntings look great in there?! They really helped to pull in the vision Sarah had and was just the right touch to take the hall from the rustic vibe to the backyard vibe she was after.

(It’s not often at all that I get to sneak in picture of my cute little family during weddings. But since we were all invited-both sides of the family told us we were now adopted in, and we’ll take it, I couldn’t help but snap a few with them in it.)

Toasts were handled as open mic, where anyone could get up and say something. They were worried that no one would get up, but they had a steady stream of people wanting to wish them well and to make sure the room knew just what good people Anthony and Sarah are. It was lovely!

And did you catch the outfit change there in the toast photos? Anthony’s signature look is overalls, so they both donned a pair as their second outfit and no one was surprised. It was delightful and so them!

For their cake they opted out of the stacked tiered cake and for a long skinny cake. With candles!

They wanted to make sure the kids had a great time there too, so Sarah handmade a pinata of their cat, Pumpkin, to bring to the party. It was a huge hit (pun intended).

And then the rest of the night was spent dancing and visiting.

Sarah and Anthony, it’s been such a joy to get to know you the past two years, to have grown close to you both and your families, and to see the growth you have both made as people and a couple. We were so touched to be invited in as family to your celebrations and we loved getting to cheer along with all your loved ones as you officially start your life together. It was an honor to get to be the one to capture these memories for you and your families to have. We love you both!

Wedding Vendors and Creative Team

RECEPTION VENUE:  Star Barn
DRESS:  House of CB (plus alterations and capelet made by the bride)
DECOR: DIY by the couple and family
HAIR AND MAKE UP: Nicolds Sisters
FLORALS: Nicolds Sisters
RECEPTION CAKE & CATERING: Meg’s Place 
PHOTOGRAPHER: Marquette LaRee