Candace & Lekota | Rio Verde, Arizona Wedding
Candace and Lekota’s relationship is a beautiful example of the way opposite personalities can attract and complement one another. Candace describes herself as “outgoing, quirky, and creative” while describing Lekota as her “quiet, reserved, and thoughtful” counterpart. The couple has been together since 2003 when they met through mutual friends at a party, and in that time they have supported one another through everything life has handed them. The couple’s favorite activities to do together include date nights, day trips, attending sporting events, and spending time with their family. They especially love hunting for new TV series they can binge-watch together-- Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead marathon, anyone? The couple’s dream future includes raising a family and growing old with one another, and their wedding was a beautiful glimpse into the bright, loving future this couple has ahead of them.
The setting for the wedding was stunning: the ceremony took place at the Verde River Golf & Social Club in Rio Verde, AZ. The venue featured rolling golf greens, a horizon decorated with cacti and distant mountain ranges, and beautiful, industrial architecture.
Candace got ready in the company of her mother, who provided a sweet and gentle energy and was palpably excited for her daughter on her big day. She helped Candace to don her gorgeous turquoise jewelry and zip her dress. Lekota, similarly, got ready with only his father present. He put on his button-up and his suit, and his dad stepped in to help with any last-minute details. The mood in both rooms was very excited yet grounded as well-- a necessary calm, relaxed moment that the bride and groom got to spend with their respective parents before the events of the day ahead.
The next portion of the day was the first look that the couple had planned. I scouted out a good spot that provided Candace and Lekota with plenty of privacy, while still offering a beautiful backdrop for this very special moment. I positioned Lekota facing away from where Candace would enter, and his father kept him company and chatted with him while we waited for Candace to arrive. Soon enough, Candace approached and tapped him on the shoulder, and as he turned to lay eyes on his soon-to-be bride in her wedding gown for the first time, Lekota had the cutest, most delightful grin on his face.
Directly afterward, we took some sweet photos of the couple together and then swiftly moved into the intimate family portraits. The family in attendance included all three parents of the couple, as well as Lekota’s siblings and grandmother. These photos very much encapsulate the feelings of excitement toward getting Candace and Lekota’s special day rolling and the fact that in a matter of minutes the couple would be married!
The ceremony followed, and overall it was absolutely beautiful, and the perfect, sunny weather shone down on the wedding party that afternoon. The ceremony itself was extremely sweet and simple and was performed by AZ Weddings by Amy, who truly customized the ceremony to the couple and included some of their culture’s traditional practices as well, which included Candace’s mother standing up during the ceremony to hand over the couple’s rings in an intricately decorated woven basket. The ceremony was then finished, and the wedding congregation erupted into cheers of elation as the couple made their way back down the aisle together and were whisked off to sign their wedding certificate.
Family portraits came next, followed by a golden-hour sweetheart session. My little Arizonian heart lit up as the mountain range behind the couple did, illuminating the abundance of Saguaro cacti as well as the beautifully landscaped plant life that the venue offered. We walked along the property, capturing the newlyweds together in a variety of different settings, and I encouraged the couple just to enjoy this quiet moment together while gently instructing them on where to stand and providing them with a couple of pose prompts to get a gorgeous variety of photos.
We then returned to the venue where I accompanied them to the reception so that the couple could finally be announced as a married couple for the first time, and presented to their beautiful family. Candace and Lekota entered right into their first dance after being introduced, and this was followed by speeches from family members and the wedding party. The speeches were laden with cultural significance, and Candace and Lekota’s parents passed down an abundance of advice and guidance to the couple, providing wisdom about the many forms that love is supposed to embody. They talked about the support that the newlyweds should give and receive from one another, as well as this world that the couple has been given and the many spirits and energies that guide them through it. The words spoken made it clear that these families had been merged for a very long time, and that this day was simply making it official. Speeches were followed by what Candace told me was a basket exchange ceremony, in which Candace’s parents handed off the basket that held the rings during the ceremony to Lekota’s father- another symbol of these families becoming one.
These moments were followed by the newlyweds cutting the cake and the couple very gently feeding the first bites to one another, and the night wrapped up with everyone enjoying the wedding cake and talking and spending time with one another long into the evening.
Overall Candace and Lekota’s wedding day was very sweet and maintained an air of calm groundedness throughout the whole day, and it became increasingly obvious as the wedding events went on that this couple had absolutely found peace and sanctuary within one another. Candace has a bright, bubbly personality and it was so clear the way Lekota perfectly complimented her with his more serene, grounded one. Their love story is absolutely a beautiful one, and I felt very fortunate to be a part of it.
