Wedding Story
Photographer’s Remarks: “It was in the high 80s and sunny so even their evening outdoor reception was comfortable for all of the guests. There haven’t been many weddings at this venue before, so I was really excited to photograph a location new to me in a way that hasn’t been seen before!
“There were so many unique elements as part of their wedding that really made it special for the couple. Their wedding theme was Tying the Knot, which was evident throughout from the gold tie bracelets she gifted her bridesmaids to an actual tying of a rope knot they performed during the ceremony. It symbolized the joining of two separate lives and families into one by tying an infinite knot. The more pressure on the rope, the tighter the knot will become — just like in a marriage where it should only get stronger when going through hard times.
“To incorporate Luke’s son, Dylan, into the ceremony, the couple had their initials branded into the arch that Luke made by the way! Before their vows, Dylan added to it with his own branded “D.” Dominique’s bouquet had a leather wrap with small photo charms to honor family members that have passed.
“I enjoy the pressure of photographing another photographer’s wedding and Dominique had put incredible thought into all of the elements for every part of the day. They wanted a backyard feel where people could come and celebrate their special day with lawn games, drinks, and Mexican food! Their colors were navy, burgundy, brown, and gold, and a majority of this rustic chic wedding was DIY by Dominique and her mother, Joanna.
“Every wedding has those moments that just choke you up and bring you to tears or that make you smile so hard your cheeks won’t stop hurting, and many of these moments revolved around her dad, Richard. Dominique decided to have a first look with her daddy, and as the last of his three daughters to get married, she gave him a custom handkerchief with the saying ‘Dad, to dry your tears as you have always dried ours. Just remember… we loved you first!’ and a photo of each of him holding each of his girls when they were newborn babies.
“Then during the ceremony, he came up after her uncle was done officiating, and with tears welled up in his eyes and his voice choked up, officially announced them as husband and wife. And last, but not least, he had recorded a heartfelt song of a recording of him singing the song to which he and Dominique danced to during the daddy-daughter dance!”
Bridal Q & A
Q: Tell us about your wedding!
“Our wedding was Rustic Chic. We really wanted a backyard wedding feel and take advantage of Tucson’s Spring weather. Our theme was Tying the Knot. From our Save the Dates through the wedding we kept the theme alive. We wanted to have a rustic feel for our wedding, but classy at the same time. The main colors were a bright navy and burgundy with brown and gold accents. We had a traditional Christian ceremony, covenant marriage, but since Tying the Knot was part of our theme we actually tied a knot as our unity ceremony. My husband also has a son so we incorporated a Family Branding on our wood wedding arch, that my husband built!”
Q: Let’s talk wedding decor
“I would say a lot of our decor was DIY. Our centerpieces were accumulated wine, beer, and liquor bottles that we spray painted gold for single stems to be place in. We also had trees with hanging mason jars spread out throughout our reception guest tables. Wood decor was very popular for us. Fruitwood chairs for both ceremony and reception. Our ceremony had 1st Corinthians plaques and mason jars down the aisles. My husband built our wood arch, and my mom made a Beautiful silk arrangement to hang at the top that matched the floral colors.”
Q: What were the florals like in your wedding?
“Floral did play an important role in our wedding. The flowers gave us the beautiful burgundy pop that we wanted. The bouquets had ranunculus, Anemone, dahlias. The centerpieces had the same with single stem gerber daises and hydrangeas. The boutonnieres were burgundy and white ranunculus flowers, and corsages were gold cuffs with burgundy ranunculus for the moms.”
Q: Did you personalize the day in any way?
“Since we wanted a backyard feel for our wedding we did incorporate lounge areas and lawn games to keep guest entertained, as well as a bluegrass band, photo booth, and Sweet & Savor Bar for them to take goodies home.
“We LOVE Mexican food, Carne Asada especially, so we wanted to make sure that we incorporated fresh authentic Mexican food for our Menu, and a specialty margarita to compliment. Our hashtag is #bronsonbliss so we called our margarita the MargaritaBliss. Our favorite personalized touch was our gelato cart from Frost. Our guests are still talking about it, and how they loved the combo of cake AND ice cream.”
Q: Let’s talk fashion
“I wanted lace, fit and flare, and something that would compliment my wedding boots. This dress did all that. The back of the dress was a low cut frame, and showed embroidered detail on the sides. I knew I didn’t want a ball gown, but the fit and flare gave it just the right about of poof to make it feel very bridal. I had 11 bridesmaids and different shapes and sizes, and 3 pregnant. So, I needed a dress that would compliment them all.
“We chose the wrap dress so the ladies were coordinated at the bottom, but they could wrap whatever style of top they wanted and feel comfortable in it. They were a brighter navy which gave them a beautiful pop of color and looked good on all of them. As well as, working well with their boots.
“The men’s attire was a little more challenging. My husband loves a good pair of nice jeans so we pieced multiple items together to get the look we loved. Finding the bright navy jacket to match the ladies was hard, but once we found the jackets, we complimented them with Ivory shirt, brown vest, and burgundy paisley tie. The groom had an ivory paisley tie to stand out.”
Q: How did you meet?
“Luke and Dominique first met through Luke’s younger sister, Emily, in 1999! Fast forward a bit to 2002 where Luke and Dominique reunited in High School at Sahauro. Luke was a senior and Dominique was a freshman. They were just friends with a ritual meeting after 2nd period, almost everyday. Luke graduated and went into the military, and Dominique continued on in school. It wasn’t until 2011 after Luke got out of the military, he contacted Dominique through Facebook. After occasional casual catching up, Luke took Dominique on their first date in the fall of 2011. Funny how life works…5 years later! They got engaged, on Christmas Eve 2016. Luke proposed on Mt. Lemmon, making it incredibly romantic and intimate, AND still managed to photograph their special moment on a timed tripod. BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT EVER!”
Q: What was the most anticipated or special moment of your wedding day?
“Our First Look! We wanted the first look for a couple reasons. First, to spend more time with each other on our wedding day. Second, to have those special photographed moments together, with our bridal party, and our families. I also, had a bet with Luke’s sister to see if my husband would cry when we first saw each other… AND HE DID! It was a magical moment.”
Q: Do you have any advice to share with other couples planning their day?
“Biggest thing I can recommend is try and space things out. Wedding planning can become very overwhelming so to keep the excitement, spread out tasks so each thing is special.
“Also, know your groom! Discuss in the begging of planning how much or little he would like to be involved on decision making. Understand what his priorities are to make those a big deal, because lets face it, everything is priorities to a bride. In our experience, this will make your wedding planning experience go smoothly.”
Vendors in this Wedding
Photographer: Pure in Art Photography
Specialty Foods: Frost Gelato
Photo Booth Equipment: Bloom Photo Booth Rental
Tuxedo and Mens Attire: Levi’s
Shoes: Boot Barn
Bridesmaid Dresses: LuLu’s
Jewelry: Jared’s
Jewelry: Kendra Scott
Shoes: NRS World, Old Gringo Inc.
Apparel: Grace and Style Bridal
Equipment Rentals: Red Diamond Rentals
Reception Venue: Saint Ann’s Chapel and Ranch
