“Life without love, is no life at all.” – Leonardo da Vinci
With springtime so gracefully happening all around us, vibrant colors and incredible new beginnings steal the show. It is no wonder local couples choose this time of year to have their jaw-dropping New Mexico weddings. Since we’re now learning to live with these unexpected changes, couples must reschedule their weddings. We want you to know that it’s 100% okay to be sad, and maybe even really angry, since you’ve been preparing for this moment your whole life. Good news, though! You now have plenty of time to get back to the drawing board, without any distractions, and get inspired.
We’ve said it before and we will say it again – one of our favorite ways to get inspiration for weddings is local styled shoots. New Mexico wedding vendors from all over the bring their talents together to create something magical. Our lovely Coryn Kiefer Photography wanted to bring her vision for timeless romance to life, so she did just that through incredible colors, textures, and scenery.
“While love remains timeless, traditional weddings are changing. Weddings today break free of monotony and add unique elements that tell the couple’s story and personality more than ever before. This styled shoot aimed to embrace the modern wedding while keeping the simplicity of love in the forefront.”
The models are wearing a modern take on wedding attire – a pantsuit for the bride and a mismatched suit for the groom. While these elements of fashion are unconventional, they compliment each other and are a perfect match for the ornate decor that surrounds them. The decor + florals are fit for a queen. We get some serious fairytale vibes and all of our little girl dreams are coming true.
As we like to say, it’s all in the details. The hand lettering, the jewelry, and the cake are all exquisite. Check out the gallery below to see how Coryn + her team brought this fairytale to life:
“Tessa’s Rime Arodaky pantsuit was the epicenter. Pairing this modern fashion with the Old World style of the El Rey Court was the perfect fit. Elements of Mustard and Sage were added to highlight the whites and add a punch of color to the setting.”
Wedding Collective is all about community, and we are so fortunate to work with wedding vendors in all different specialties and interests. When we receive wedding photos from local couples and wedding experts, we celebrate, because photos are the magical little gift that allows us to see how all of the vendors and their work come together to create something incredible.
We know how important wedding photos are to you, too, which is why we’ve compiled a list of our must-have wedding photos. Sometimes during the wedding planning process, it gets crazy deciding on food, venues, and decor, and it’s easy to completely forget about working with your photographer on what you really want captured on your big day. We’ll expedite the process for you a little bit by providing you with 20 great photo ideas to ask your photographer for:
These are some of our favorite kinds of photos because of the intimacy they reveal. Those small moments of excitement before putting on the dress and going out in front of beloved family and friends are the most raw–which is what makes them so beautiful.
Even though everyone else will be able to stare in awe of your good looks on the day of the wedding, you might want to remember what you looked like as well. Sometimes the small details get buried in the chaos of the day, and having photos to look back on makes all the difference.
The wedding dress is hand-picked by the bride herself, putting all of her personality, love, and care into the process. The dress is perfectly shaped to her form, creating the most lovely sight you’ll ever see–so a photo is essential!
The “first look” is a moment unlike any other, the moment when you first see each other and the first moment of the rest of your lives together. A photo beautifully captures the emotions and genuine love between two people.
Grab your lady friends and celebrate! These fun photos always make great memories and take the stress out of the wedding day. Your girls will cherish these photos forever, too.
Guys, don’t worry. We didn’t forget about you! Your dude group is just as good-looking as the bride tribe, so you will love to look back on these photos of you and the people who will always be on your side.
Just as we said before, the small details have so much thought put into them that it would be a shame if they weren’t captured! We love invites and Save the Dates because they’re all so unique.
8. The Groom’s Reaction
Haley Lupinski Photography
Similar to the “first look”, capturing the groom’s reaction as the bride walks down the aisle brings out that vulnerable and pure love that the couple feel for each other as they prepare to say “I do”. After all, the lovebirds are about to spend the rest of their lives together, and who wouldn’t shed happy tears?!
This one is a no-brainer, but we are putting it in our top 20 faves because, well, we love it so much. This celebratory moment has everyone clapping, tearing up, shouting, jumping for joy, and in some cases, throwing flower petals in the air.
Oh, do we ADORE wedding rings! The gorgeous photos of the elegant details in a wedding ring are always a treasure. Accenting the photo by holding florals is just one way to capture this sentimental piece of jewelry.
11. The Bouquet
Brandon Harwell Photography
This is a wedding photo that has been trending lately, and we’re about it. Wedding flowers are an essential part of every wedding, and with their natural beauty, deserve every chance they can get to be photographed. Get the bridesmaids together and snap some photos of the bouquets together.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to wedding decor. The colors, textures, and designs are all too magical to be seen only once. This is where photos come in! You’ll want to remember all of the beauty that surrounded you on your wedding day.
Catering, drinks, and baked goods always look like works of art. Food, in general, is a work of art, so a photo of the beautiful plates being served to your guests is always a good idea. Plus, unique ideas like the pie bar pictured above are fun to share with other couples looking for inspiration.
After all of the festivities of the ceremony have calmed down and the guests are heading to the reception, it’s always a good idea to sneak off and have some alone time together. It’s time to relax, have some fun, and get silly. The photographer is there to capture your intimate moments, whether they’re tears or smiles.
Cakes are a big part of the wedding day and a lot of work goes into making them beautiful and uniquely yours. The gorgeous colors and embellishments make for the best photos.
The bride’s reactions and laughter are going to be the highlight of her day, and she will want to see how cute she looked later on. The makeup, the hair, the dress, and the love between the couple are all so deserving of great photographs.
The first dance, the father-daughter dance, and so may others, are all tradition. These moments are emotional and entertaining for everyone to watch. The photographs of these special moments will be passed down for generations to come.
The bride and groom don’t get to see the expressions on their guest’s faces as a bouquet or garter comes hurdling at them, and trust us, their priceless. This is a moment that you’ll love to look back on after the wedding day for a good laugh!
Last, but definitely not least, the ceremony and reception venues are always the perfect backdrop for couple’s photos. Whether you choose Los Poblanos’ lavender fields or the Sandia Mountains, the scenery will bring out the beauty of your wedding venue.
Here at Perfect Wedding Guide, the end of the year means planning, preparing, and jumping for joy because we get to learn about all of the upcoming trends for next year! We would by lying if we told you that we aren’t a little sad to see 2019 go, though. This year was definitely one for the books, filled with the most beautiful weddings and exciting wedding shows & events. We loved hearing all of your perfect wedding stories and having the honor of sharing them with other brides and grooms that are looking for some inspiration.
As our pinky promise to you, we will continue to provide you with the most current and trendy tips and inspiration each and every year because we think you’re the best. We are so eager to share what is in store for next year that we are going to give you some insider knowledge right now that the Perfect Wedding Guide team picked up at this year’s Wedding MBA Conference in Las Vegas. Yesterday we hosted our annual Wedding MBA Recap Breakfast at The Event Center at Sandia Golf Club and got to hear some notable takeaways from our fellow local wedding professionals that also attended the conference.
We thought that we would have a little fun with this one and look back at some of the decade’s biggest wedding trends while introducing the future forecast for wedding trends in 2020.
From the get go David and I both talked about not stressing out about the minor things and always keeping in mind that planning a wedding shouldn’t be a stressful experience.
A wedding is an incredibly special moment in everyone’s lives, whether you’re the bride, the groom, or simply family and friends of the couple. This is why we think that you deserve to laugh and play a little before (and on) the big day, not just yourguests. For Alexis and David, having fun was number one on the list of to-dos. From unconventional wedding traditions, like having flower men instead of little flower girls, to specially made socks with pictures of their dog’s face on them, their wedding day was filled to the brim with AWESOME.
Alexis and David chose to have their wedding at Nature Pointe in Tijeras, the perfect place for a breathtaking, New Mexican wedding. Not to mention, the couple wanted to find a venue that offered a scenic mountain environment that wasn’t too far from the city, and Nature Pointe was able to provide that and so much more.
If there is a way to capture the essence of elegance, fun, and pure joy, Coryn Kiefer Photography holds the key. She managed to capture the fun, loving spirits of the couple with such grace through her light and airy photographs. We can’t get over the way that Coryn took the small moments and turned them into dreamscapes that any bride and groom would adore, and this is why we know you will love them too!
You brought the prosciutto and brie, right? It is National Picnic Day after all! But don’t worry too much if you haven’t dusted off your trusted wicker basket for the special occasion. We’ve got you pretty well covered for your dose of picnic appreciation today with a meticulously planned, perfectly executed, apple-blossom-inspired styled shoot from Coryn Kiefer Photography, one of Albuquerque’s favorite wedding photographers.
If Coryn’s unique name rings a delicate little bell in your head, it’s probably because we were just obsessing over her ballerina styled shoot just a few weeks ago. Normally we spread the love all around for our local wedding professionals here in New Mexico, but frankly, this shoot made our hearts flutter upon first sight. Within a private, blooming forest framing the exquisite details, this picnic-styled elopement has us ready to throw out everything we know about traditional wedding celebrations.
A palette of baby pink, robin’s egg blue, and a rich mustard yellow complimented the natural green landscape and perfectly cocooned the essence of spring in one moment. Pulling the mythical vibes into the realm of modernity, the bride wore a Maggie Sottero gown from Bridal Elegance by Darlene adorned with ornate lace and gently sparkling beadwork. As Coryn Kiefer Photography commented, “Who says elopement brides have to give up on their dream dress?”
Scroll on to read what else inspired the pure, unbridled magic that is this styled shoot, and try to not get lost. To contact and book Coryn Kiefer Photography for your own fairytale, you can contact her here.
Keeping with our garden theme, we decided to forgo the usual sweetheart table for an intimate picnic of champagne and cake. Colorful throw pillows, vintage lanterns and a small wooden table were placed on a hand woven ivory quilt. Silver flatware, bronze candlesticks and pink water goblets complete the casual elegance of this cozy setup.
Our natural outdoor setting was a private apple orchard in the heart of Corrales New Mexico. The inspiration behind the setting was to combine the airy elegance of the spring season with modern notion of an elegant, and personal, elopement. Modern and vintage décor elements were artfully tied together to help bring this vision to life.
For friends who have been hanging out here on the New Mexico Perfect Wedding Guide blog for a while, the name Coryn Kiefer should ring delightful little bells in your head. We took some time to feature her incredible rock cabin styled shoot last Valentine’s Day because we fell in love with her creative finesse of a camera lens. And frankly, we’re still trying to catch our breath, so maybe this, right here, is the best kind of love!
We know that we’re not unique in this love-bordering-on-obsession with Coryn‘s wedding photography, though. How could we be, when her work so clearly reflects her passion and dedication to the craft? It comes as no surprise to discover her first steps into a dark room occurred over 20 years ago, or to discover the myriad of glowing reviews that follow her business’s digital footprint everywhere.
With our affection for her perfection in mind, and the fact Albuquerque already feels as balmy and breezy as it does in May, it feels only right that we share this ballerina-inspired styled shoot to usher us into spring.
The inspiration behind the setting was to combine the airy elegance and beauty of a ballerina with a raw palette of an industrial wedding venue. Modern and vintage decor elements were artfully tied together to help bring this vision to life.
With the softness of a ballerina in mind, the primary colors of this wedding are blush, green, and white. Accents of bronze, natural wood, and robin blue were added to round out and modernize the airy palette.
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