Sky Ranch Lodge Wedding

K&J chose the Love Story Ceremony.  There's was a true story telling ceremony which included the Mother's Rose ceremony for their ritual.  As you look through the photos you can just feel the warmth and loving connection that occurred.  Of course the backdrop was stunning with the beautiful Sedona red rocks landscape. 
The groom was from Sweden and the bride was from the states.   They met in Flagstaff one fateful evening as he was passing through.  His English was somewhat limited and when he texted her, his invitation to go out went something like this, "Hey Sugar Cookie, how about we have dinner?"  This stopped her in her tracks as noone had ever called her that!  To this day she still calls him 'Sug'. Once he returned to Sweden they continued a long distance relationship with numerous early morning Skype calls -early for him that is. Eventually, the bride uprooted herself and moved to Sweden because that's the lengths one will go to for true love.   
Their ceremony had so many beautiful elements. Honoring their families was very important to them.  They wrote beautiful dedications of their parents which I was honored to read.  Connecting with families during the ceremony is such an important element to creating a feeling of warmth. The groom even translated the ceremony so that his Grandfather could read along as I shared their love story.  After the bride and groom exchanged their vows and rings, we invited their Mother's up to sign the marriage license. Then, they chose to honor their mothers with the gift of a rose.  "Mothers plant so their children may harvest. Mothers cry when their children hurt. Mothers welcome pain and burden to give their sons and daughters the gift of life."
Once they kissed the crowd broke into applause as they recessed to 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered' by Stevie Wonder.
Photos by Hannah Rose Gray photography  
Venue Sky Ranch Lodge of Sedona

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