I met Ayla and Andrew through Ayla’s sister, Alexa, who is also a photographer and had moved from Colorado. From the beginning, I felt so welcomed by their entire family, which made getting to photograph their wedding day at Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson even more special.
Ayla and Andrew are the kind of couple who genuinely love being outside and doing things together. Hiking, camping, running marathons, they’re always up for an adventure. But what stood out to me just as much was how close they are with their families.
Their wedding brought all of that together in such a beautiful way.
Getting Married at Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson
Tanque Verde Ranch is one of those places that immediately feels like Arizona.
The ranch sits on 640 acres surrounded by the Sonoran Desert, with the Rincon Mountains and Saguaro National Park nearby. There are saguaros, desert trails and mountain views everywhere you look, while the ranch itself has so much Southwestern character.
For a couple like Ayla and Andrew who spend so much of their lives outdoors, it felt like such a fitting place for them to get married.
Their ceremony was outside with the mountains stretching out behind them. Their family and friends gathered around as they exchanged vows, and getting to watch these two get married surrounded by the people who mean the most to them was really beautiful.
It was one of those ceremonies where the setting was incredible, but the people were still very much the focus.
A Wedding Day Centered Around Family
One of my favorite parts of photographing weddings is getting to see the relationships couples have with the people around them.
With Ayla and Andrew, family was such a big part of the entire day. You could feel how close everyone was and how genuinely excited their families were to see them get married.
Having already gotten to know Alexa and then getting to spend more time with their family made the day feel especially personal for me too. They’re just really kind people, and I loved getting to be part of a celebration that meant so much to all of them.
Sneaking Away for a Tucson Sunset
And then Arizona decided to show off a little.
We had an incredible sunset that evening, so Ayla and Andrew snuck away from the celebration with me for a bit to take advantage of it.
This is one of my favorite things to do on a wedding day when the timing works. You don’t need to disappear from your reception for an hour. Sometimes we just step away for a few minutes, let you have a little time together and make some beautiful portraits before getting you right back to your people.
Tanque Verde Ranch gave us the perfect backdrop for it. The desert, mountains and that Arizona sunset all came together, and it was such a good way for Ayla and Andrew to have a quiet moment together in the middle of a very full day.
Then it was right back to celebrating.
Ayla and Andrew’s wedding was full of everything I love photographing. A couple completely in love, a family that genuinely loves being together, a beautiful Arizona setting and plenty of time to actually enjoy the people who came to celebrate them.
I’m so glad I got to be there for it!
