When my friend Keeli (@keelifeltyphoto) reached out to me about second shooting this wedding with her, I couldn’t resist a trip to the desert. As I flew over Arizona, I was greeted not only with a rainbow but also rain clouds and lightning. We drove from Phoenix to Sedona AZ and were pleasantly surprised by how we avoided the rain. 

Upon arrival in Sedona, we were welcomed into Tesia + Christopher’s day with open arms, their family bubbling with excitement as the ceremony prepared to start. As we gathered all the beautiful details of their day, we glanced nervously at the impending rain clouds. Their ceremony was perfect – short, sweet, meaningful, officiated by one of their friends, and a perfect representation of their love. 

After the ceremony, these two opted to spend some alone time together and adventure to nearby Cathedral Rock for their portraits. We got started documenting their adventure when all of a sudden we felt a drop, and another, and another until we realized there was no way for us to escape the monsoon! Tesia, armed with her Tevas, and Christopher with his suit jacket, simply laughed and enjoyed the warm rain as we trekked back to their Airbnb.

Luckily we avoided the flooding and made it back to their AirBnb where the celebration commenced. They mingled with their loved ones, enjoyed the yummiest appetizers, and enjoyed the newlywed bliss. 

After the rain passed, we decided to adventure a second time to cathedral rock and had the entire place to ourselves! We wandered through the trails and enjoyed the rich colors of the rain-soaked desert. These pictures turned out PERFECT! It’s not often that we get the chance to experience the desert when it’s cloudy, let alone during monsoon so all of their portraits turned out beautiful and moody. They played Vance Joy (their favorite artist) and spent time away to enjoy a quiet moment together. 
After the sky began to darken, we returned to their reception to find their food – pizza, salad, and drinks, had arrived. They sat with their family and ate a candlelit dinner. After everyone was full, speeches commenced and the room was filled with both laughter and tears of joy. To end off this perfect night, they danced on the balcony under the blanket of the cloudy sky (with a few stars) to I’m With You by Vance Joy.