Pat and Laney’s Wedding: The Montelucia Resort in Paradise Valley, Arizona from Jared Platt on Vimeo.

Pat and Laney were married at the Montelucia Resort in Paradise Valley, Arizona.  Here are a few of my favorite images from the day.

First up of course was a great moment taken by my assistant Ray.  I love the boy’s (Pat’s Son) expressions.  In fact, he turned out to be a great subject for photos all day long.  He was always doing funny things and always had a very expressive face.  I enjoyed having him around very much.

While we were waiting on something to be found, I asked the bride to step to the sliding glass door of the room to take a quick portrait.  It is one of my favorites of the day.  Which reminds me that the best portraits don’t necessarily take a lot of planning and lighting effort.  Sometimes it is just a matter of seeing a good lighting condition and capturing a natural expression.

The flowers were designed by Amy’s Floral Design, who always does a great job.  I was pleased with the flowers.  They held up all day long (which is unusual for a warm Phoenix day)  and they really do have great colors and a variety of flowers.

I love this door at the Montelucia.  They brought it in from Spain or somewhere like that.  The textures are perfect.  The handles are a great place to hang flowers.  But it was a bit of a challenge because people kept walking in and out of these doors setting up for the dinner.  So I was constantly in danger of having the flowers fall on the floor.  Yes, I live a bit on the edge, I know, but we were ready to catch them at any moment and thankfully, I was fast enough to get the shots done and get out of there before I had to drop the camera to catch a bouquet. Amy is reading this thinking, “You’d better drop that camera to catch my bouquets.”  I would Amy, I would.

This is the moment Laney stepped out to reveal herself to Pat for the first time.  Rex was positioned inside to watch her exit ad I was on the outside watching Pat.  Rex’s shot was so beautiful, I had to include it in my favorites.  It is framed beautifully.  The Montelucia has a lot of great big doors like this.  It really is a great place for photographs.

The next two photos are are a great series.  We were taking Pat and Laney’s portraits and as often happens, someone stands to the side waiting for us to finish so they can pass.  Sometimes they wait for minutes and we have to urge them to just walk on through.  They hesitate and we again have to almost force them to go through.  They don’t realize that if they wait until we are done, they may be there for five or ten minutes.  This was one of those times.  We finally convinced the worker to go through and Laney took advantage of the opportunity.

Got it!

I love this portrait of the bride and the groom.  I think too much emphasis is placed on cuddly photos of a couple at their wedding.  We don’t live our lives cuddled together.  So why, in all our photos that describe our relationship, should we be constantly interlocked in a passionate embrace.  While those moments should also be captured, I think that a moment like this one captures the relationship even better.  After spending time with Pat and Laney, I think this shot describes them pretty well.  The glance between them IS the embrace and I think it is more accurate than a kiss.

This has to be my favorite image from the entire day.  It shouldn’t be all that surprising that sometimes the best image from a wedding for me is not of the bride or groom.  The best shot of the day is the perfect combination of being in the right place, at the right time, framing it just right, and capturing the subject in just way.  This is why I love wedding photography so much.  Unlike street photography and photojournalism, it is an opportunity to have complete access and welcome permission to hunt for the perfect documentary moments.  There are a few in every event, and no one ever knows when or were they will present themselves, but they show up, I capture them and take them home like little souvenirs from Paris.  This is one of those shots.  I love it.  Like I said, Pat’s son was a great subject.

I love the smile on Laney’s face as they bow their heads in prayer.

Even the flower petals on the edge of the isle were well preserved.  Often times, these are the most neglected and they end up a bit wilted or brown by the time the couple is saying “I Do.”  But they were vivid, crisp and clean.  Good job Amy, as always.

At the Montelucia, the lawn is overlooked by the spa, so during the wedding, I can sneak back and get a bird’s eye view of the wedding.  Usually, there is someone around to let me into the spa to get the best angle, but this time, there was no on there.  So I had to do a little B&E.   I set my cameras on the ground near the gate of the spa and had to scale the gate (which is about 10 feet high).  Once I was over the gate, I then had to hoist my cameras over the gate as well.  Once I had my bird’s eye view shots, I then had to reverse the process to get back over and down the stairs to the wedding lawn.  I think I need a key next time…

After the sand ceremony (all three of them poured sand), Pat’s son saw the dust rising from the vase and leaned in to get a sniff.  It was very funny.  Of all of us, Rex, got the best shot.  You can see the dust rising from the vase very well because it is against the groom’s tux.  I was on the other side, so the dust doesn’t stand out against Laney’s dress.

How cool are these flower balls at the entry to the isle on either side.  I thought it was a nice touch.

The view of Camelback mountain is nice from the Monetlucia.  But the architecture of the buildings really sells the combination.

Embellish, Design for Entertaining designed and coordinated the wedding.  They always do a fantastic job.  My favorite part of the deign was the incorporation of small, smooth river rocks throughout.  You can see them in the pot for the tree on the table.

The rocks were used to enhance the iron work lanterns, vases and serving stands on the tables.

And they were even used as a signature book at the place card table.  People could write their well wishes on the rocks for the couple and then the rocks were to be kept in a vase for display.  I thought that was a fantastic idea.

The Spin Band was perfect.  They not only sounded great, but they are so entertaining to watch!  They got applause after many of their songs.  The two singers made quite an impression.  I have never seen a cover band with such animated singers.  I have to say that if I were hiring a band for any purpose tomorrow, I would be hiring The Spin Band (and I would specifically request these two lead singers be there together.  The guy is Matthew, but I am afraid I don’t know the girl’s name.

What a great wedding.  It was a pleasure to be there.  Thanks Pat and Laney for trusting us and allowing us to spend the day with you.

-Jared Platt

WEDDING DETAILS:

Photography by Jared Platt, Platt Photography

Wedding Designer: Embellish, Design for Entertainment

Slideshow Music: Mindy Gledhill “California”, Courtesy of Triple Scoop Music

Flowers: Amy’s Floral Design

Cake: Julia Baker

Makeup & Hair: Kensington Makeup

Entertainment: The Spin Band