This wedding is special to me because the bride is my sister, Marlise. Levi and Marlise had an intimate destination wedding in Tucson, Arizona. Levi’s younger two children were their attendants and only 30 very close friends and family members were in attendance. The couple will have a large reception in Indiana, where they live, in September, in order to celebrate with their local friends and family.

I hurried to prep these photos because I knew so many friends and family wanted to see what happened out West, so there are a lot of images here today. It’s my prerogative as the sister, to post more for my family than I do for other couples, right? Get ready to see a pretty wedding with mountains, and cactus, and palm trees! (oh my!)

Because this was a destination wedding, Marlise and Levi had to rely on the recommendations of kind strangers to chose their local vendors. There were five in particular that made the day really spectacular.

• Wedding Planner – Jordan of Pop Weds, Tucson
• Hair – Allie Parson of Wild Orchid Salon, Tucson
• Florist – Vintage Blossom, Tucson
• Cake – CopCake Cakery, Tucson – (who had TWINS right after she finished the grain-free dairy-free cake)
• Venue, Catering, and DJ – The Buttes at Reflections, Tucson

How often am I gonna get to shoot a wedding in the desert? I might as well have some desert fun, right?

The ceremony and reception were in the same room. Marlise and Levi opted to do all their photos in advance of the ceremony in order to keep their guests from doing any waiting between the ceremony and reception. Here’s their first look.

I love, love, love, loved these flowers!!

Did you know that dust makes sunsets colorful? Tiny molecules change the direction of light rays in the atmosphere, causing them to scatter. Guess what’s dusty… the desert! The sunset is almost always spectacular in Arizona. The pink didn’t last long the night of the wedding, but it was long enough.

After dinner, the couple did what they called “a reverse toast” and they thanked the guests and specifically had some words for Marlise’s parents who celebrated 48 years of marriage two days earlier.

Because of the size of the wedding, I personally didn’t anticipate a very active dance floor. I clearly underestimated my nieces and nephews.

Congratulations, Marlise and Levi! Welcome to the family, Levi. It was a lot of fun to have a front-row seat to your festivities. Thanks especially for not making me watch another photographer work. You know how much I can’t handle that. 😉