So yeah, you could say we've known each other awhile. Abigail was one of my closest friends throughout childhood and her family were like relatives that you actually enjoy! Growing up with three brothers, Abigail soon became and still remains a sister to me. There is so much history between our friendship throughout the years. I could not possibly count the times we would stay up late on weekends in her parent's kitchen with our group of Phoenix friends talking about relationships, dreams, travel, or future plans all while making terribly dry jokes that were often funny only to ourselves. Abigail was not only my friend, but she also became close friends with Christy during high school which continues to this day as well. We both admire her intelligence, enjoy her wit and humor, and treasure her friendship.
With some of that said, you can only imagine Christy's and my excitement when we found out about Garrison last year. We heard about him, met him one night while we were in Phoenix visiting and knew he was it for Abigail. Garrison is one of the strongest and sweetest men we've ever known. A perfect fit for Abigail's strong, quirky and spirited personality. Done deal. Game Over. When are you gonna propose dude?!? It was just a matter of time before we got the news from Abigail which also included the "I want you guys to photograph my wedding" request. To that we said, "We're online looking for plane tickets right now!"
It was such an amazing honor and privilege to be involved so intimately with such a close friend. We loved every minute of the day and are so excited to share it with you. So here it is. We hope you're ready for some of that incredible Arizona sunshine. And FYI, this will be a long blog post so we hope you enjoy the extra photos.
We love when bride's get ready in their own homes. It's always a pleasure to work in such a personal environment...
Reading her letter from Garrison. The envelope read "To my bride, my darling."
We really enjoy when couples choose to do a first-look and portraits prior to the ceremony. It's always a very special time for the couple to be alone before the business of the day takes over. This is in Abigail's backyard which added some personal meaning to the moment and will be such a great memory for them in the future.
Every time Garrison looked at Abigail during the day you could visibly see his love and admiration for her. It was so amazing to witness these two together.
Then it was off to the Biltmore Fashion Park for some portraits. Now that's a good lookin' couple. And I'm not just saying that because we're friends.
That's Sharlene. Awesome friend to Abigail (and to us) and, as we found out, a great assistant too. Plus, she came all the way from Canada to be there for the day. Way to stay on-brand Shar with the bright pink dress! Our logo looks great with it.
I'll just pause here to enjoy this one…. Yeah. One of my favorites. My view.
Christy's view. Love them both.
Major props to Sharlene for Instagramming us doing our thing together. This is the making-of moment of the two photos above. Long lens. Wide lens. Same time. BOOM!
Oh, Arizona, how I miss you. Seriously one of the coolest boutonnieres we've ever photographed.
For some reason Abigail thought it was funny for us to photograph Garrison alone...
Abigail's bouquet was also one of the most amazing ones we've ever seen. Roses, succulents, desert flowers. INCREDIBLE.
We always love a strong groom portrait...
On a personal note: Your dream of being a gorgeous elf in LOTR just got one step closer, Abigail… minus the pointy ears.
We saved enough time in the morning to run by Piestewa Peak where Garrison proposed to Abigail.
Again, two for the price of one. Christy's above. My view below. LOVE these two...
And then it was finally off to the ceremony...
And you're MARRIED!
We had so much fun with this bridal party...
Abigail's parents, Alex & Connie, are some of our favorite people on this planet. We were so honored to capture them as well during the day. I spent many late nights through high school sitting in their kitchen laughing and talking with them even after Abigail had gone to bed. She said at times that my brothers and friends only liked her for her parents. So not true. Well, maybe partly true. ;o) Love you guys!
You can't waste a beautiful Arizona sunset, so we grabbed them during the reception and headed out to the golf course for a few final portraits.
We love light. We're always looking for great natural light, and wow, was it nice that night. Plus, you can't get a more incredible backdrop than Camelback Mountain at sunset.
Simply stunning, Abigail. We can't get over how A-M-A-Z-I-N-G these last few portraits turned out...
And then it was party time. This one makes me smile...
And a few of us doing our favorite thing in the world.
Abigail helping Garrison get an even bigger smile than he already had...
For anyone who noticed, yes, my flash is on the camera for the dark reception hall, but at this moment it is most definitely OFF. Why would anyone want to ruin such gorgeous natural light with a flash? We wouldn't. We don't. And we never will.
Just looking through these photos makes me smile and feel so grateful that we were able to be there with you two during such a beautiful and important day in your life. We both love you and wish you all the happiness and joy for your new life together. We can't wait to visit Phoenix again in the future and spend some time with you as couples. You two made our job so enjoyable and fun and we thank you for that. We hope you enjoy the photos!
Like always, please share, comment and pin the photos you love!
Eric & Christy Photographers || Ohio Engagement & Wedding Photography || Akron, OH
All Photos © Eric & Christy 2014
Extremely beautiful wedding ceremony!! These photographs made me so emotional. Actually I am going to get married so I am looking through such stuff. I am done with reserving a glorious venue. There was a huge list of venues for weddings in Los Angeles on eventup.com and I selected the venue from this list!
ReplyDelete