Happy Monday folks! I hope you had a fabulous Valentine's Day, and that you're not feeling the ill effects of too much bubbly and chocolate today.

But even if you are, we've got just thing to turn your day around, Kristin & Luke's beautiful ranch wedding in Arizona.

Their day is brimming with swoonworthy touches, so we're pretty excited to be sharing their pictures by the amazing Amy & Jordan Photography.

With a palette of blush and navy, Kristin & Luke created the prettiest day to accompany their atmospheric desert backdrop at El Chorro Lodge.

With DIY details like their ceremony altar and invitations (that don't look DIY at all!), they were able to splash out on stylish attire, gorgeous florals (you know we love succulents and peonies!) and amazing photography.

And if all that wasn't sweet enough (throw in a DIY cheesecake bar!), you've simply got to see Kristin's first look with her dashing son Michael. Too bloomin' cute!

Wedding Day Snapshot

Our Love Story

Kristin has a son (from a previous relationship) and was spending all her time working, finishing school and taking care of him as a single mom. Her brother wanted to get her out of the house and invited her to play recreational softball with his friends and co-workers. This is where she was introduced to Luke. Someone called out sick on the softball team and her brother asked Luke to sub. She can tell you the exact spot that they met. Luke ended up becoming a regular on the team. When she first met Luke was the first time she ever really saw and wanted to spend a lifetime with someone. While playing softball, Kristin batted first and Luke batted after her and would chase her around the bases. Kristin hoped he would chase her off the bases too... and he finally did!

The Inspiration

Our themes were b lush/navy and classic/modern. Our inspiration was using Arizona succulents combined with Kristin's favorite color, blush, and Luke's favorite color, navy, to give our personal touch on everything. We customized our ceremony and vows so that guests who didn't know us as a couple felt very included and got to know us and our story.

The Attire

Bride:Strapless Brides by Demetrio's dress with lace and rhinestone accents, simple cathedral veil and Badgley Mischka pumps. Groom & Groomsmen:Allure Men's suit in Slate Blue, Florsheim men's Montinaro cap toe Oxford shoes in Saddle Tan.

The Flowers

Advice for Other Couples

I recommend checking Etsy for items to customize and personalize your day. Amy & Jordan's blog, this helped for finding poses we like and what colors look best in pictures. Basecamp was a great app that our wedding coordinator used to have a checklist, store contracts and be able to share with all parties.

The Budget

We didn't have a specific budget. We went all out on our photographers and videographers, as that was the most important to us, and have no regrets! We were able to save significantly on all the DIY items. Instead on renting an altar we purchased wood to make it ourselves. We also saved $2000 by making invitations on our silhouette cameo cutting machine. Despite taking quite a bit of time it was great bonding and fun to look back on and laugh about it with each other!

The Venue

El Chorro was the outdoor setting we were looking for. We wanted our out of state guests to get a taste of Arizona with a modern/classic flare.

The Decor & Details

There were several DIY items. The altar, table numbers and escort card holders were built by the groom and the groom's brother. The lanterns were made by the bride and groom. The guest book was actually a bucket list for the bride and groom, where guest wrote on cards an adventure, a plan or an idea to do in a lifetime. Kristin and Luke also handmade their invitations.

The Music

The Ceremony

Kristin's brother who introduced them gave a reading that he wrote, about how they met and the importance of family. Luke's sister wrote a reading discussing the importance of marriage and the relationship we have. Kristin and Luke wrote their own vows to each other. Kristin's son Michael came up and said parental vows with his mom and new stepfather.

Favourite Moments

O ur vows were incredible special and important to us. Many have told us that it was one of their favorite moments. Along with Kristin's son Michael (11 years old) gave a toast at the reception that stole the show- saying how lucky he was to have her as a mom and even more lucky to have Luke in his life.

The Photography & Videography

We chose our amazing photographers because they are amazing at capturing feelings and emotions in pictures and their style and lighting was exactly what we were looking for. As a lover of photography, I knew this was the most important part of my entire day! We chose our videographers after watching some of their other weddings they had done. We cried when we saw the videos and didn't even know the couples in them! They create "lifetime style movies" of your wedding day and capture every important moment and more!

The Refreshments

We had a sit down formal dinner, with a self serve build your own cheesecake bar.

The Honeymoon

We took a mini-moon after the wedding to Sedona, Arizona and stayed in a cabin on Oak Creek for four days. It was the perfect get-a-way that we needed. We were not able to take a full honeymoon do to not having enough time off of work. We are taking our honeymoon next summer to Turks and Cacois. I highly recommend to all couples to take sometime to themselves after the wedding to decompress and enjoy being married, even if it is a couple days - It is so worth it!

So many pretty details right? I just love their soft, yet modern palette, so elegant, right? And can you believe they made that ceremony backdrop themselves - wow!

Thanks so much to Amy & Jordan Photography and of course, to Kristin & Luke, for sharing their beautiful ranch wedding with us.

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