SCOTTSDALE DESERT WEDDING

CHARLES + ABBY | SCOTTSDALE WEDDING

To make something unique, tailored, special only to you, & created solely for you ... that’s an incredible thing . & I truly believe that’s how your wedding day/week should be . Handcrafted & made unique to fit you & your relationship . You’ve grown this love, nurtured it and cared for it, fought for it relentlessly . So on the day when you vow to stay committed to that love,  it’s only natural that things unique for you will play a part . Traditions are beautiful and meaningful . And so is that act of creating new traditions .

Charles & Abby’s day was just that, unlike any other . Truly personalized to them bringing in elements they find meaningful and moving in their relationship . With only family being invited to their destination wedding in Scottsdale, Arizona, it really set the scene for intimacy .

When I walked into Abby’s bridal room at sunrise on a Monday morning, there was coffee & tea brewing, bare feet moving slowly around the room, a sense of peace . No stress . No rush . Abby’s mom did her makeup, and was on point . With Abby being a wedding florist + photographer herself, she was attentive to detail, making it fun and easy for me to shoot her rose gold everything details . Quirky jewelry to make true statements, killer shoes from Calvin Klein, and the most gorg Truvelle flowy, silver-blue dress I couldn’t take my eyes off of . 

Charles was dressed to the nines in his H&M / Nordstrom / Yves Saint Laurent ensemble . He himself cut off the collar to create a more edgy style that suited him .

An 8am first look straight from heaven had us all smiling and swooning . We then drove to the ceremony at the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, where 25 of their family members waited to witness this sweet & wild love to be vowed together .

Bright blue skies, desert vibes surrounding us, and everyone dressed to kill, Charles & Abby read their written vows to each other, cried and laughed and prayed and squeeled in disbelief this was all happening . Jesus was present and it was a tangible, moving thing to witness .

Brunch afterward at the Henry made all our hunger dreams come true, and was a solid 10 with décor, giving us awesome aesthetics to shoot some portraits (Abby thought this all through :)).

We parted ways for the day until evening when we got to spend a little extra VIP time with the newlyweds . We drove them out to a spot in the desert right as the sun was setting, giving us tones only the desert at twilight could provide, and just let them do their thing .

C + A, you two are so dreamy, so inspiring, & so fun to know & work with . Thanks for letting me be your girl . The biggest XO’s to you .

Big thanks to my talented second shooter/husband for shooting and getting killer images of Charles and alternate angles of this glorious day . 

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Flowers: Posies Floral

Dress: Truvelle from A & Bé Bridal

Makeup: Oliva Lee

CHRIS + KELSEY

waking up in your childhood home, getting ready in the room you grew up in, your sisters and mom dressing you and your dad crying at first sight of you. emotions so rich, they seem tangible. such a perfect way to start your wedding day.

this particular day was followed by the closest friends + family joining C + K as they said their vows in her parents backyard. the wind was bitter cold, but no oone seemed to care because this day had been so long awaited, and hearts were ready to explode with joy + celebration.

tequila shots with their bridal party after that to celebrate, lots of pictures and pants ripping at their seams, and then a big after party with even more friends + family at Chef JJ’s. such a relaxed, fun atmosphere, and an outpouring of love for Chris + Kelsey.

HANNAH ASHFORD

I’ve been scraping at an empty shell, trying to dig out something that’s not there : me.

It sounds odd, I know. But somewhere over the past who knows how long, I’ve slowly lost who I am when it comes to my work/passion/creativity/spirit. A big part of that is due to the winter season and to our move to Oregon. I haven’t shot much and it’s been a forced sabbatical, which I’m not upset about. It’s also because it’s way too easy to just hang out with Josh all day and explore our new city. All these things are good, but coming back into photography season, I feel this odd sense of fear/unknown. Josh is my biggest fan and support when it comes to my photography and my work. And I’ve been pushing myself daily to be that #girlboss I want to be and that my friends/family think that I am. But I’m pretty sure I’ve been pretending. There are photographers and entrepreneurs of all kinds popping up every single day. The market is saturated and there are so many options for anything you could ever desire. How do you keep your integrity of who you are as an artist when your inspiration board is constantly growing and you’re over-stimulated with ideas/visions/wishes/dreams/goals and the industry is more competitive than ever? I am so not a competitive person. And I’m not one to scream and holler “look at me!”, but I do care what people think, to an extent. I care about what I’m putting out there, while at the same time, not. I’m figuring out who I am, and what I’ve found out is that I am one complicated slab of sunshine. I’m a walking contradiction in a lot of ways. Not because I’m fake, but I have a very broad range of likes/dislikes (and emotions, let’s be real). I’m drawn to things that are polar opposites of each other. But maybe that’s it.

Maybe I love granola-esque melancholy short stories in Kinfolk, simple edits + simple life, while also loving the slang cursing and crazy energy of Andria Lindquist and living life to it’s extreme and being a wild child. Maybe I’m both. Whatever I am, whoever I am, I’m thankful I’m her. Because Josh chose her and Josh is hot and I’m in love with him. And I’m thankful I'm her because she made the friends I have, whom I’m obsessed with and couldn’t do life without. And I’m thankful I'm her because she follows Jesus and He’s the absolute reason for everything good in my life. And I’m thankful I'm her, because she’s crazy psycho, but she loves wildly and she creates endlessly and she’s breathing and she’s me. I’m still on this path of figuring it all out. I’ll probably never reach the end. But this is my journey. At 25 freaking years old, I swore I had this all figured out 5 years ago! But I do think a part of figuring all this out is writing it out. Sharing it. That's always been a part of me and i've back-burnered it. Not anymore.

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Even with all these raw + honest thoughts, there is one person who saw through it all. She listened to my word vomit of thoughts and contradictions, my likes/dislikes, my heart. & she listened with a heart of gold like real friends do. & she helped me create this website and new brand of melissamarshall.co. She pushes me creatively and spiritually, always encouraging, patient, understanding, and joy-filled.

Hannah Ashford.

We became friends when I shot her wedding a couple years ago. And from then forward, I’ve watched her pursue her dreams. Milestone by milestone, even the boring and tedious ones, she’s pushed through them. She's so incredible at what she does. It doesn't matter if its business related or friend/family related, she pours her heart & soul & skill into every thing she does. It's so inspiring to watch her quietly work so diligently and to bring other's dreams to life. And now to get to watch the journey she's on, for her to bring forth a long time dream, there’s so much on the horizon for this little bumblebee.

We created these images with her passions in mind : graphic designer, dancer, creative consultant, wife, visual stylist, artist, director, girlboss.

We wanted to stretch ourselves, hold nothing back, pursue . & so we did .