All right, so the title to this post doesn’t tell the whole story. It’s true, Kennedy and JD’s wedding day in Flagstaff started at the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic church and we did make our way up the mountain for some rad forest photos. But, we also stopped downtown to make some cool portraits before ending up at the High Country Conference Center for their reception. We found a lot of awesome spots all over Flagstaff to explore and make some portraits!
When I first talked with Kennedy and JD about their wedding plans, they made it clear that time to take wedding portraits of just the two of them was a very big priority. So plenty of time was added into their timeline between their wedding ceremony and mass and when they needed to arrive at their dinner and party. We had something like two hours to play with. And that’s why we could drive up to Aspen Corner and then back downtown and still make the reception!
Kennedy and her bridal party all got ready at the High Country Conference Center. It was a relaxed morning with plenty of time built in to enjoy the moment together. Once they were all about ready, I headed over to the church to catch up with JD and his groomsmen. They put on boutonnnieres just outside the sanctuary while Kennedy and her wedding party made they way around to the church’s side entrance. The Nativity has a very old world feel. It’s beautiful with really ornate stained glass. JD’s brother is a priest and performed the mass, which was really unique. When the ceremony and mass finished, we took family portraits at the front of the sanctuary. And then JD, one of his brothers, Kennedy and I headed for the Forest!
The forest surrounding Flagstaff is hard to beat when it comes to wedding portraits! We tromped around and enjoyed the fall air, occasionally stopping to get stickers out of Kennedy’s dress. After a bit, we jumped back in the cars and made our way downtown. We explored some of Flagstaff’s back alleys. It’s really fun to have time for a few locations. We end up with a really interesting and diverse set of photos.
Eventually, we made it to their reception where their guests were enjoying drinks and appetizers. After the wedding party made their entrances, JD and Kennedy had a first dance, toasts were made, table games were played and everybody had a great time dancing. At the end of the night, the bride and groom exited the building as everyone waved glow sticks. Fun stuff!
Here is another downtown Flagstaff wedding with a ceremony at the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
Julianna and Andy's downtown Flagstaff wedding