Sometimes you get opportunities that seem like once in a lifetime opportunities. This is how I felt when my cousin, Valerie called me a few months ago and asked if I’d be willing to capture her wedding in Las Vegas… is that even a question??!! Not sure I pictured myself in Vegas, but with my camera in hand it made a little more sense. I second shot a wedding the Saturday before and then hopped on a flight in the early morning hours to get to Vegas for this Sunday afternoon affair. This was such a sweet trip as I got to bring my mom and sister along, and travel with my aunt and uncle and sweet Olivia, my cousin Val’s little girl. This was the third time or so I got to travel for photography within the past year or so and I always love the chance to photograph new places!
So, we “hopped off the plane at LAX with my dreams and my cardigan”… well not LAX and I definitely didn’t have a cardigan, it was way too hot for that in Vegas – I just really wanted to quote that line. You get the point! We were met in the lobby of our hotel, the Flamingo, by Val and Phil. We grabbed some breakfast and did a little exploring before starting all the wedding things. Strolling these streets, my sister and I felt like we were straight out of an early 2000’s movie and the music playing on the strip was the perfect soundtrack. I was also trying to look out for potential photo locations. I finally headed up to Val’s hotel room to get started on all the details and getting ready photos. The suite had a spacious extra room/living room space with plenty of natural light flowing in from the large window. Val had the best helpers in the form of her mom and daughter, Olivia. Olivia even got pampered by the professional hairdresser, which clearly made her day and princess dreams come true! The striped wallpaper with pink accents and tufted white leather headboard all gave a truly Vegas,and slightly vintage feel. Elvis would’ve approved!
Next it was time for the first look with Phil! We settled on setting this up in the Flamingo Garden (which featured real live flamingos!), at a spot we found earlier when exploring and location scouting. It had some glowy light and a waterfall gleaming in the background of the jungle-esque landscape along the paths. Once Phil was in place it was finally time for Val to tap him on the shoulder. They shared a moment and we ventured around the Flamingo Garden, and got some very Vegas vibes in the photos. In planning for this trip one of my photographer friends had been gracious enough to share some epic location spots she had shot at before while in Vegas. So we headed about 30 minutes out of the city and suddenly Las Vegas was growing on me more and more, as the city landscape slowly shifted to desert scenery with cacti and mountains on the horizon. We found some roadside locations and pulled over for some amazing portraits on our journey toward the Red Rock Canyon. I loved all the variety of this land. So did Olivia, who was just amazed at the Palm Trees here and how they compared to those in Florida. While Phil wasn’t a huge photo guy he obliged for Val on this important day, even driving the car fast and furious style and going a little rogue to get to a location spot with the red rocks in view.
It was finally time to head to the classic Little White Chapel where immediate friends and family were already waiting for the ceremony. I felt like I was living in an episode of Friends, barring Rachel and Ross and the fact that my identical hand twin was nowhere in sight. This chapel was exactly what you’d expect, featuring a vintage car where we were partial witnesses to Elvis officiating the ceremony outside the venue, as the bride and groom sat IN the car, talk about a first!! Val and Phil went a more traditional route in a room in the chapel that was all white with elegant and sparkling design elements. Despite never having flown, Val’s Dad had boarded the flight with us for this very moment – getting to walk his daughter down the aisle. With everything this family and her Dad, my uncle had been through the past couple of years with health complications this was such a sweet moment – the kind I’m privileged to capture and reminds me why I do this. The ceremony was short and sweet, but it was official that Val and Phil were now married!
We set off to do a few more photos with the Little White Chapel sign outside and had plans to venture around to some other hotels for photos, but parking put a dent in this plan. Instead just as the last of light lingered we got some candid looking photos with the lit up Flamingo sign, a request Val had anyways and these turned out to be so fun and a true depiction of the day! Val and Phil ended the night with a fancy dinner with some family in the hotel.
Val and Phil, I cannot thank you enough for flying me out to Vegas to capture such an important day for you all!! It was such an honor and I enjoyed it so much! Enjoy some of my favorites!
