Destination Wedding Arizona | Katelyn + Jess

I flew into Phoenix Arizona before catching my ride to Show Low, a small town 3 hrs away and the location for this very special destination wedding. It was a cool 115 degrees that day and a wall of blistering heat met my face as I dared to step outside the terminal. The automatic doors hand’t had time to close before I was already back in the air-conditioned Starbucks. It was the kind of heat that reminds me how far away from the UK I am. To my relief, as a result of a casual conversation in the airport terminal, I discovered that Show Low was at a much higher altitude and therefore would be much cooler “still hot but not – I think my eyeballs might melt hot”… Good times.

Global warming aside, I was incredibly excited to be heading to Katelyn and Jess’s wedding. Sometimes you meet a couple and you immediately connect and you know that capturing their day is going to be a sheer joy, no doubts, no stress, no matter what might unfold on the day. These two gave me that happy feeling the instant we sat down for coffee in a typically cool coffee house in LA, which they of course suggested. These guys had a clear sense of what they wanted from their day, elements that matched my vision of what weddings and wedding photography should/can be.

Capturing this wedding story was one of the most wonderful of experiences of my year so far. You’ll see in this selection of images just what I mean. Their personalities and the creative souls of their family and friends should jump out at you from the page. These two are born performers and self professed dreamers – they strive to live in creativity and they do so with such energy and joy. They can both sing, create music, dance like there’s no tomorrow, act, and goodness knows what else. It’s almost enough to make you re-assess ones own life choices… Their creativity and vision allowed them to design the most unique of weddings and their talents created moment after genuine moment, making my job easy. Simply put, I loved every second of this wedding and putting their slideshow together had me wanting to do it all over again.  That’s the sign of a great wedding and for me it never felt like work, not once.

There was a moment during the evening when everyone stood around watching the music video (projected on to a large screen) of the not yet released single of one of their favorite bands (The Family Crest), a video directed by Jess’s best man, and which Jess and Katelyn actually starred in. It was at that point I knew I might never shoot a wedding like this ever again. To be honest though, I had that feeling roughly a dozen times during the day… No two weddings are ever alike but this one was something else.

DIY Design: Mr & Mrs Ford
Hair: Danielle Sessler 
Makeup: Drew Noreen
Flowers: Dallas Ryan
Food: Lucques Catering

Some nice words from Katelyn + Jess:

“Hiring Clarkie Photography was the best decision we made through the whole process of planning a wedding.

My husband Jess and I are both artists, performers and work extensively in events here in LA.

We chose a venue deep in Arizona, and were looking into local photographers, but I had not found anyone who’s images made me feel something.

The moment I saw Richard’s blog, I knew he was the one for us. He has an incredible eye, and every image he captures tells a love story. He is also responsive, always professional and the nicest human!

The day of the wedding, he was everywhere! He took photos of things I didn’t even know were happening. I had so many guests tell me how much they enjoyed talking to him and that he is the hardest working photographer they have ever seen at a wedding. He really is a ninja, and was in a tree at one point to get the shot he wanted. He also got eaten by mosquitoes or mozzies as he called them, along with us, to get some of the most stunning shots of us in wildflowers. Those photos are worth every bite I got!

I will cherish the photographs Richard took for the rest of my life. It is impossible to pick a favorite, or even remotely narrow it down. Not a single one looks posed or unnatural. The slideshow he created brings me to tears every time. He managed to capture our motley crew of friends/tribe/family in the most gorgeous way.

People who could not attend our sorta destination wedding have expressed how impressed they are with the photos, and that they felt like they were there with us after watching the amazing slideshow Richard created for us.

The sheer number of images we received EDITED in just three weeks time still ceases to amaze me. He also sent over some teaser images just a day (in which he traveled) after.

He is truly an artist, and the hardest worker in the field. I feel lucky to know him.”