After the beautiful snow at the Taos Ski Valley, it was easy to decide that the ski valley would, in fact, be the most stunning place in Taos County to have a wedding elopement! With Embracing Ceremony officiating, this Texas-couple was wed in the mountains of Northern New Mexico in fresh powdery snow. Adorned with snow boots and a perfect white jacket, the bride was one with the snow and didn’t complain of the cold. Here’s to wintertime weddings, sunny afternoons, and tons of snow!
The entire area around Taos is a giant tourist destination with many people looking for rental units for either short or long term. We love capturing your home, loft, casita, trailer, or tent site so you have images of your real estate which professionally show off your goods and helps you sell your property. We love our wide-angle lenses and enjoy capturing an entire room from one position. We always capture your property when the weather is agreeable and don’t even need you to be onsite during the shoot. Some of our clientele have adorned rooms with water decanters, flowers, toys, and other home feel-good accents like a fire in the fireplace or a dog in the yard. Call us to take photos of your home that you will use for countless projects and years to come.
Since traveling by air is considered risky behavior during a pandemic, this bride and groom brought their best friends to Taos, NM on a road trip all the way from San Francisco! We had perfect weather for this December wedding and with the wedding ceremony and mini-reception taking place outdoors. The sun was overhead and warm during the afternoon ceremony overlooked by Taos Mountain.
For a dark, windy, winter evening, we rocked this engagement sitting and captured some amazing engagement photos. These women came to Taos from Portland, Oregon for a pandemic-getaway. They rented a house out on the mesa and they had their own little private courtyard complete with sculptures, prayer flags, and a labyrinth. We were able to use the photogenic design also incorporating the endless sea of sage and the Sangre de Cristo mountain range too. Congratulations to these women and their happily ever after, in progress!
This bride and groom, from Texas, planned their elopement to be in Taos, NM, in October… and they sweetly included their mothers in on the details, the planning, and ultimately the ceremony itself! You KNOW the moms are special when they are invited to ‘tag along’ to an elopement! These moms felt so honored and I spoke with them as many (if not more) times than the bride and groom before their wedding day.
The Taos Ski Valley was the decided location for this short ceremony! Brandi and Robert found a location that included the looming mountains and pine trees. Because of the pandemic and the New Mexico lockdown, there were very few people out-and-about and we felt like the entire mountain was ours. Additionally, we all made a new bird-friend who particularly loved to follow the groom around. We had many laughs and captured some great shots.
Even though absolutely everything in New Mexico was closed, this couple eloped to Taos to enjoy a quite and private week together while they tied-the-knot! They stayed at Hacienda del Sol bed and breakfast and loved the mountain views and the golden leaves. The October weather was warm and offered such amazing backgrounds for their outdoor autumn wedding. Stephanie wore a pink wedding dress and white boots. Christopher wore a turquoise tie that looked dapper with the professional bouquet and crown of flowers from Enchanted Florist. This couple travelled all the way from New Orleans and enjoyed the difference in culture, climate, food, and fun that the southwest has to offer. Congratulations to a fun and adventurous bride and groom!
This marriage proposal happened on the most amazing night. The wind was brisk and gusty, but it calmed down for our shoot! The sky turned the most magical color of blue. This is a match made in heaven and a marriage that will last forever!! Leah and Kasey enjoyed a weekend up in Taos to get away from Albuquerque during the pandemic. They stayed at local bed and breakfast Adobe and Pines where their proposal took place! We went to local hiking trails south of Taos for the photos on the mesa and the beautiful blue sky.
Mother Nature is not always cooperative at every single wedding. This beautiful bride, Maia, was smiley and flexible as her tiny pandemic wedding processional happened at a different time than originally thought because of the October winds and rains!. And true to being a New Mexican during a pandemic, Maia and her brother originally walked down the aisle wearing their masks, not even thinking of removing them temporarily.
Maia and her sister-in-law had beautiful hair, which was brilliant on a cloudy day in which Taos Mountain played peekaboo with Taos Bed and Breakfast Hacienda del Sol.
Like everything else, Covid-19 has made school pictures different this year! We met this family in a special and private spot in Carson National Forest right outside of Town of Taos. The outdoor area was ideal for removing masks and documenting the children’s ever-changing smiles. The girl in jeans is an only child and a surrogate-sibling to the other two kiddos. The two girls are best friends and have been raised together since toddlerhood. This boy considers both girls his sisters.
This bride was one of the calmest brides I’ve ever met. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Karen’s wedding ceremony was rescheduled, and then rescheduled again. The venues that she originally chose changed, and changed again. Her guest list went from over 300 to less than 100 guests. Her wedding party was uncertain on attending. The state of New Mexico completely shut down, and then partially opened and shut down again. And Karen handled everything with poise and grace! By wearing masks for most of the ceremony, socially distancing their guests, and minimizing all contact with friends and family, Karen and David were able to experience their 2020 pandemic wedding and it will be one to remember!
These newlyweds have such a beautiful love story. Gina and Miles are both investigative reporters…cool, right?! Uncool that their careers keep them in different parts of the United States…but they accept it in stride and look forward to a retirement living together somewhere of there dreams. Gina and Miles both came from separate house afar to Taos, NM to enjoy their private pandemic-elopement in the sacred circle at the El Monte Sagrado resort. Although their wedding plans took a giant pivot, these lovebirds flowed with the pandemic and the changes it brought to their should-be-in-Hawaii-50-guest-wedding. Gina laughed as she showed me she was wearing her wedding beach shoes, that she had originally purchased for walking on sand. The falling leaves and dry crisp mountain air was the opposite of a summertime island wedding, but the goal was met after the vows were said and the license was signed. Per usual, Dan Jones of Embracing Ceremony wrote a gorgeous ceremony that was a beautiful reflection of their love.
It was the hottest day of 2020 during this midafternoon vow renewal and elopement package, the grass was crunchy and the earth radiated extreme New Mexico heat at 104 degrees. This couple was as cool as cucumbers at their vow renewal at Bareiss Gallery at the blinking-light in Taos, NM. Katy and Daniel and their cutest-in-the-world baby had a pandemic get away from Colorado to Taos, NM for their private ceremony in front of sacred Taos Mountain. After this couples initial wedding five years ago, these two went through hell and back. This ceremony was a symbol of their renewal and promise of love and light. Although officiant Dan Jones, and I were suffering from the heat, this husband and wife were so into each other and only noticed one another and the babbling of their baby. After the wedding ceremony, this couple had a champagne toast with the owner of Bareiss Gallery and we ran around the sculpture garden for a few fun shots. Cheers to this awesome family and their new vows to give their love strength and story.
You can tell a lot of things about someone by the shoes that they wear. Hiking boots with a wedding dress? Yes, that is making a statement. Or Doc Martin boots with a tux? Flip flops? $400 heels for wedding day? Something blue, perhaps?! Much thought is involved in the shoes for walking down the aisle. People like having photos of their feet…remembering the detail that went into something that are worn at the bottom of the attire, but still so important. I love using things like manhole covers and flowers to show off the shoes! What are the most impressive wedding shoes you have seen?!
We met exactly one hour prior to sunset and Mother Earth gave this couple the most beautiful wedding gift on their elopement…a perfect evening. The highlights in the sky were striking and continued to change during their 15-minute wedding ceremony which is part of Dan Jones’ elopement packages for his business, Embracing Ceremony. Cory, the groom, “hates” getting his photo taken, but Erin, the bride, wanted their once-in-a-lifetime elopement documented for future generations. We (including Cory!) had so much fun during this hour! We hiked and laughed and made memories. Here’s to fun destination elopements and enjoying the beauty of Taos, NM at the Rio Grande Bridge!
Even if you aren’t a “flowery person,” there’s no doubt about it, the flowers are an important asset to your wedding pictures! Flowers are a burst of color in your photos and can add a little bit of brightness to what is often a photo with a black suit and white dress. Your flowers can be an expression of your favorite season, color, or plant. A great florist can help you incorporate succulents, wildflowers, or even pieces of beautiful weeds and golden wheat into your wedding bouquet. Wedding bouquets can be wrapped in burlap, hemp, ribbon, and twine to really show your style. A bouquet can be giant (helps to bring out your bicep muscles in your photos, haha), or tiny. They can be long or short stem. I’ve seen glass bouquets, clay bouquets, and dried flower bouquets. The imagination is the limit.
I love it when brides have stunning flowers to hold. I love using the flowers as a frame for a bride’s face, or as a background for a traditional ring photograph. I feel like the flowers are an important piece of the wedding for many reasons and should be included 100% of the time.
This July afternoon was a gorgeous day for a green meadow wedding! The Taos Mountains looked on as Susan and JR said their wedding vows to each other with Dan Jones presiding over their wedding ceremony. Susan wore a blue wedding dress and had a matching mask for her pandemic wedding elopement. JR wore a white button down and sported an American flag buff. Per most couples, Susan and JR had to pivot with their large wedding plans to follow the health order and New Mexico Coronavirus guidelines that were placed when the state shut down in May. This elopement was lighthearted and fun despite the serious state of emergency our country is in. Although JR and Susan live in Albuquerque, they have a second home in Angel Fire that they like to visit when they escape to the mountains.
Many times there is a doggy-friend who, after the bride and groom, is the most important personality at the wedding. In our consultations, we often ask if there is a special animal friend who should be included in the photos, because we KNOW that is a picture that you will miss after your wedding if you don’t get it! Dogs are best friends, and dear family members and should be included in ALL celebrations, as these buddies would like to think! We’ve shot weddings where the dogs are the best men, maid-of-honors, ring bearers, and flower girls, and we’ve learned that some dogs take their wedding position very seriously. We’ve known weddings who have changed venues because their dog wasn’t allowed to walk down the aisle. We’ve photographed excited, anxious, and nervous dogs. Many dogs are camera shy! And we will never forget when the dog ran away, WITH the rings (no worries, she was found before the ceremony)!
So please, bring your dog and count on a few pictures with your baby. A dog is definitely a special and honored guest at a wedding when they are included. So here’s to wedding dogs and Happily Fur-ever After!!!
I love the restaurants that I work with at weddings and during catered wedding receptions. I love the beautiful presentation of food and the little details of deliciousness. I love the elegance of a lovely atmosphere that hosts a wedding and I love the people who bend over backwards for the married couple. After picking up food from an elegant, local favorite tonight, I’m sending so much love to all of the restaurant owners and staff tonight. Covid-19 has been hard on all of us, but especially the restaurants. How quickly everything changes and how I can’t wait to photograph this beautiful part of weddings again.
June is Pride month and so this month I honor the LGBTQIA community! I have shot SO MANY same-sex marriages, I feel lucky!! Here is a small handful of some of the weddings that I could remember off of the top of my head. Someday my son (now seven-years-old) will be shocked that I lived in a time when gay marriage was against the law. Unbelievable. Today I celebrate diversity and I raise a glass to all of the same-sex marriages I have had the honor of documenting over the years.
“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” –Dr. Suess
I knew SOMETHING would make me inspired to start blogging again. Whew, the last few months have been rough! Am I right?!
The Class of 2020…bonded forever from a pandemic… This was a very special shoot for me because it’s my nephew. I shot this over several visits to Abq from Oct to February. Before Covid. How did we get this done before Covid? SO MANY seniors still haven’t had their senior shoot done. So many seniors wont have a senior shoot done this year, because everything is different. I’ve cried for this senior class and I’ve laughed with this senior class. I’ve joined Zoom graduation parties online and watched commencement celebrations done online by the best of the best. My heart hurts for this senior class. I can’t imagine not giving my friends hugs on my graduation day. But in the long run, it’s a really good story. And no one will ever forget what they were doing in the spring of 2020. And while everyone else went on with their lives as much as normal, the seniors graduated, and are moving onto a really big adventure no matter what the next step is. So Congrats to Josiah and to all of these other amazing seniors and cheers to many awesome days ahead. Love you!!!
These precious ladies gave us some toothless grins despite the 28 degree weather! We edited these photos down to 106 fantastic photos–we took them in only 40 minutes (including breaks in the warm car)! The photographers here click VERY QUICKLY during these outdoor photo sessions in the wintertime!
This was a shoot we couldn’t miss as it’s the 2nd baby milestone, sitting up! The next milestone is nine months old, when the babies are standing up during holding onto something. Happy 1/2 Birthday to these princesses!!
These doggies were young and WILD and made sure they were the center of attention during this winter elopement! The indoor wedding ceremony was performed in front of a warm fire place at a local bed and breakfast. The indoor ceremony was plan B since the outdoor temps were 20 degrees; we walked around outdoors for some images after the ceremony…quickly! This couple came to Taos to be away from everyone and to make their wedding day their own. Congratulations to this beautiful couple, what a fun winter wedding!!
Another awesome elopement packages with Dan Jones and Embracing Ceremony! The studio at The Fechin Inn and Taos Art Museum was the backdrop for this wedding on the last day of 2019. This bride and groom drove to New Mexico from Oklahoma and combined their prewedding vacation with their honeymoon to have a long winter break as an engaged couple and then married! Robin wore a red dress and sparkly shoes that were perfect for planned dancing in Red River on New Years Eve night! Congratulations to Robin and Brad and their perfect little elopement!
It’s an honor to be the official photographer for Betsy Musselman’s campaign for district court judge! Although we did it in a blizzard, we still captured some great head-shots of this experienced candidate. I am already looking forward to our next shoot and documenting a few political events along the way!
–Betsy Musselman for District Court Judge, Division 2, Raton
“I have lived and practiced law in northern New Mexico for 37 years. I specialize in family law, collaboration, mediation and domestic violence, and practice in the fields of civil and criminal law.
I was the Domestic Relations Hearing Officer and the Domestic Violence Commissioner in the 8th Judicial Distric Court for Taos, Colfax, and Union Counties for nine years.
My experience has given me a thorough understanding of the law and I strive to make northern New Mexico a place where citizens know they will be treated honestly and fairly.”
