Wow… wow… wow!!!!  I love photography.  I love creating images that my clients love, but it is always such a fun bonus to see my images published.  I have the new Arizona’s Finest Wedding Sites & Services magazine here and am thrilled to have one of my images chosen for their cover!!!  This is the gorgeous Lauren Storto… and yes, this bride definitely deserves to be on the cover of a magazine!  Congrats Lauren!   Click here to see more of Lauren’s dream wedding…

Teri Ambrose and her team put together such a fabulous publication.  It is beautifully laid out and designed and very easy to find the most useful information.  It truly is a great resource for anyone planning a wedding in Arizona.

I am happy to share Megan and Adrian’s wedding was also spotlighted in the magazine.  You can click here to see more of their wedding.

If you have been following my blog, you may remember that Megan and Adrian won a free wedding photography package for having the best “HOW THEY MET” story.  Their story is absolutely incredible… I was so glad to see they were selected to be highlighted as one of AZ Finest Real Weddings.  Here is the essay that Megan submitted for the contest.  Don’t forget a tissue… you will need it!

THE BEGINNING

Small town girl meets Mr. Big City. That is basically how it was like meeting Adrian for me. The majority of my life, I grew up in a town called Ridgefield, WA. Yes, it looks like it sounds. It is picturesque with its rolling hills and mountains, smog free air, and sidewalk friendly neighborhoods. Adrian grew up in Los Angeles for the early part of childhood and has since lived the rest of his life right here in Arizona. I wish I could say that Adrian and I caught each other’s eye at a friend’s backyard barbeque, or our parents set us up, or even that we met on the internet. But sadly, none of the latter is the truth.

In 2002 when I was 20 years old, I studied abroad in Spain for college. I fell in love with the country and ended up staying longer than the 3 months I was to be there…I stayed for a year. I finished my Spanish course, found a boyfriend, and found a job. Among other things, I found a friend in a young woman I never thought would be my friend in a million years. Her name was Emily. She was a fast talking, stunning, blond beauty 3 years my senior. I was in awe. Something at our core brought us together. Maybe it was the tapas? Maybe it was the wine? Whatever it was we became friends – best friends.

In time, my Spain adventure came to an end, as well as Emily’s. We cried, parted ways, and promised to see each other again like all girls do. But this time – these girls – they kept their promise to each other. I was living in Eugene, OR at the time finishing college and Emily was climbing up the corporate ladder in Scottsdale, AZ. Over the course of the next year or so, I flew to visit her in Arizona twice. One of our favorite things to do in Spain was to have Emily tell me fun stories about her big city life in Scottsdale. After hearing about fun, impromptu trips to Vegas I vowed to not go there for my first time without her.

Flash forward to the weekend of my 22^nd birthday. Vegas it was! A couple phone calls were made and before I knew it, I was flying on my way to meet Emily in Vegas with a couple other friends. The trip was everything I hoped it to be. However, the ending is everything I never wanted it to be. Emily drove from Vegas to Phoenix. On the drive home she was in a head on collision and was killed along with another girl in the car. My best friend died on my birthday. I am pausing as I write this. I hope you feel the big empty space that exists here at this moment before I move on. It’s not only an empty space in my heart, but in Adrian’s as well.

Enter Adrian. Who else would Mrs. Big City be dating except for Mr. Big City? If you haven’t guessed it already, Adrian was Emily’s boyfriend at the time. Through her loss, he and I became close over the phone remembering my friend, and his love. To add another twist to the chronicle, I had a boyfriend from Spain at the time that I was still together with. This time of my life found me at the end of school with nowhere to go. Adrian offered me a job to work with his mortgage team in Arizona and to bring my boyfriend with me. I thought, “Sure, why not?”. I threw my bags and my European boyfriend and my little Honda and hit the road. Needless to say, one month after arriving to Arizona, my Latin squeeze had left me and Adrian and I grew closer.

THE MIDDLE

Talk about fightin’ the funk! Over the next few months, Adrian and I were so blind to the fact that we were in love. He accepted me into his home with open arms, a perfect stranger. We went grocery shopping together, he entertained my friends with class as only Adrian can do. We talked about everything from food, to friends, to life. Everyone else knew it before we did. Obviously, in our own minds we were both very off limits to each other due to our individual connections with Emily. But as time went on, we found love and peace in each other. We found our perfect match. When we finally realized that there was no stopping us. We were a power couple together.

One of the things we did together in 2004 and 2005 was acquire homes…lots of them. We acquired the rental homes, the home on the lake, and the million dollar home in the suburbs. We had it all – or so we thought. As the market started to crash, we slowly began to lose it all. Oddly enough, this is when our love grew the most. It was in the midst of all the heart ache, stress, and financial hardship that Adrian realized that I was the woman he wanted to marry. In my heart, I was already his. We didn’t have much financially, but we had love. He proposed and it was one of the best decisions he could have made (in my mind at least!).

With the rise and fall of our financial kingdom, rose the strength of our true love and devotion to each other. It was in the midst of losing it all…..that we found everything.

THE END

I will attempt to wrap this little story up. I did my best to show you the kind of people we are and hope that you think us worthy of winning the contest. There are not enough words to describe the wonderful person that Adrian is and how much I have learned from him in the short 5 years I have known him. I am a better person for having known him and it blows my mind that he is the person I get to spend the rest of my life with. We have taught each other the true meaning of not only love, but friendship, and simple devotion to another person. I would do anything for him and he would do anything for me. We have fun in all that we do. Even if we were stuck in an elevator…we would find some way to pass the time! Actually, Adrian has a little MacGyver in him and he would find some way out! There is no better place than being in his arms. He makes my heart warm and I love coming home to his face every night. The best part is, I know he feels that way about me too. He shows me every day by the little things that he does.

Our big Brides by Demetrios shoot this spring was also highlighted in their magazine here…  With a very big thank you to Gina Schroeder, Jordan Cook, Tina Kempken, MacKenzie Swift, Briana Glover, Jessica Cook, Aubry Swift, Patricia, and Mandy Richards for making our job so easy… and to Gainey Ranch Golf Club, the Royal Palms, Marriott’s Camelback Inn, and the Four Seasons for providing such amazing backdrops for us.

And finally, I was honored to be asked to provide an expert opinion on wedding photography through a little Q&A section.  Poor Teri really had to cut through a lot of my ramblings because I can go on and on and on about photography and I know they were trying to keep this to a few short bullet points.  Oh well… I’m passionate, right?

Wow… I know, I’ve said it before, but I’m just giddy today.  It truly is fun to see your hard work and passion out in front of so many people!  I’m just so honored that I have been given this opportunity.  There are so many great photographers out there, it is just such a treat to  have been chosen!

Thanks again… and don’t forget to go pick up your copy of this fabulous publication!