It’s always incredibly special when family & friends book me to shoot their beautiful weddings. It brings another dimension of joy to the day. So when my cousin, Mary Ellen, asked me to shoot her wedding, oh yeah and come all the way out to Arizona to do so, I immediately said “YES!” Add onto the fact that Mary Ellen is just one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. Seriously, the way she cares for every one she meets is unparalleled! I just love when I get to spend time with her and her whole beautiful family. This was THE BEST excuse to have a mini reunion that I can think of! I didn’t know Brandon before this whole wedding experience, but I can say without a doubt he’s the perfect match for Mary Ellen. His genuine care matches hers and they just go together like two peas in a pod!

I got to bring Daniel along on this trip too! If you hadn’t noticed, we’re making this a thing. Especially destination weddings, I don’t want to travel without him! Daniel really got to work his newbie photo skills and meet the extended family all in one event! I was so proud of him and he got some spectacular moments. I think we’re going to make a pretty amazing team! 😉 We had so much fun visiting Phoenix and the surrounding area, we’d never been and it was a great adventure. I’ll be posting more on that later this week.

Back to Mary Ellen & Brandon’s gorgeous day! They opted to get married in the cutest little chapel at their church. Lamb Chapel’s exposed beams and stain glass were drool worthy and their grounds made me SO HAPPY. Tons of beautiful backdrops to shoot for sure! Then the Villa Tuscana for their reception was fantastic, from the decor to the DJ everything was on point. You’d never know by looking at it that it was nestled in a shopping complex! Daniel and I went outside to scout for our night time shot and we overheard the tail end of the Arizona football game (the one right before they played the Panthers). We couldn’t help but laugh and egg on Brandon a bit as we ended the night with some absolutely wonderful moments. The hugs and the cheers on the dance floor were enough to melt my heart!

Thank you Mary Ellen & Brandon for bringing Daniel and I out for your spectacular wedding! It means the world to us and it was so wonderful getting to spend time with family and explore a new place. We truly hope to return sometime soon and get to hang out even more! Until then we’ve got these awesome photographs to remember this glorious day!

XOXOXO,
Mabyn

• Tell me about the planning process of your wedding:
  

• What was the most memorable moment of your day?

  Our first look was very memorable! Getting to see each other for the first time on our wedding day was so exciting and was so dramatic! 🙂 Walking down the aisle was also very memorable, seeing each other and being surrounded by all of our wonderful family and friends supporting us and our marriage!

• What was the funniest moment of your day?

  I completely forgot to wear the garter that was needed for the garter dance! I only realized this in horror when the DJ came over to us and said it was time for the garter dance. Luckily my wonderful bridesmaids sprung into action and used a silver ribbon from one of their bouquets to tie around my leg. It ended up working perfectly and the garter dance went on! 🙂

• If you had to do it all over again is there anything you’d do differently?

  Brandon- do it all in two months instead of eight! 🙂
  Mary Ellen- nothing! It was the perfect day 🙂

• Any advice to future brides & grooms?

  Don’t sweat the small stuff! It will all turn out beautifully 🙂 And the most important part of our engagement was going through pre-marriage counseling at our church with a wonderful married couple. We can’t recommend doing that enough! They helped us prepare for a God-centered marriage, not just think of only the wedding day.

• What was your biggest fear when looking for a wedding photographer?

  We had no fears! We knew we wanted Mabyn Ludke Photography! 🙂 Not only is Mabyn family that we wanted to support but after seeing all of her beautiful photos taken at my sister’s wedding and at many other weddings we knew she was the best photographer we could ever dream of having! 🙂 Our biggest fear was that she might not be available on the date of our wedding or not want to travel all the way to Arizona.

• Did it come true? If not, what happened instead?

  Luckily Mabyn was available and was willing to travel! We were so blessed to have her and her husband be a big part of our wedding day!

• What, specifically, was your favorite part about working with Mabyn Ludke Photography?

  Mabyn was able to get a lot of beautiful pictures of just the two of us, along with our army of bridesmaids and groomsmen. 🙂 She made all of us feel very comfortable and took all of the pictures very quickly for how big a group we had. Having 8 bridesmaids and 8 groomsmen did not pose any challenges for Mabyn!

• If you were to recommend Mabyn Ludke Photography to your best friend, what would you say?

  You definitely need to hire Mabyn Ludke Photography! 🙂 She is so much fun to work with and does such a beautiful job! She definitely has such a talent with photography!

• Hair Dresser

  Giselle Fox (bride’s hair), Angela Mekelburg (bridesmaids hair)

• Makeup Artist

  Giselle Fox (Makeup Artistry by Giselle)

• Dress Designer & Store Location

  Dress Designer- Essence of Australia, Bridal Store- Uptown Bridal in Chandler, AZ

• Jewelry

  Amy’s Jewelry in Casa Grande, AZ

• Veil or Hair Accessories

  Veil was designed by Essence of Australia, purchased at Uptown Bridal

• Shoes

  DSW

• Bridesmaid Dresses

  David’s Bridal

• Grooms Attire

  Men’s Warehouse

• Ceremony Location

  Grace Community Church, Lamb Chapel

• Reception Location

  Villa Tuscana Reception Hall

• Florist

  Fred’s Flowers in Tempe, AZ

• DJ or Band

  Arizona DJ’s provided by Villa Tuscana

• Caterer

  Babbo Italian Eatery

• Cake & goodies

  Lesley’s Creative Cakes in Gilbert, AZ

• Event Designer &/or Coordinator

  Wedding Coordinator at Grace Community Church- Karen Holt

• Invitations

  Be In Love Designs in Scottsdale, AZ