My Tucson Wedding

John Holman is one of the preferred vendors at Saguaro Buttes.  He captured this beautiful scene taken at Saguaro Buttes.  He has been serving Tucson for over 18 years. After Graduating from the University of Arizona with a Bachelors degree in Fine Arts, John entered into professional photography to fulfill a childhood dream. With camera in hand and a unique vision to beautifully capture your priceless moments, he will create portraits you will treasure for a lifetime. 

Jason and Elizabeth have a beautiful wedding ceremony and reception planned at Saguaro Buttes on August 30, 2008. They met in December of 2006 through mutual friends and were engaged on December 23, 2007.  They are planning to have Unity Sand as part of their ceremony which is set to start at 6:30 PM. Their Rehearsal is scheduled for 4:30 PM on the 29th of August. 

Karina Dabdoub was guest of honor at her Quinceanera, August 2nd, in an outdoor ceremony at Saguaro Buttes, performed by a deacon in her church.

When a girl reaches her fifteenth birthday in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba and Central and South America, she celebrates her Quinceanera, and her entire family treats her like a princess for her special day. Her many friends and relatives are delighted for the recognition she will receive as she makes the transition from girl to young lady in everyone’s eyes.

Gifts
With much symbolism and significance, gifts are an important part of Quinceanera traditions. They denote the young lady’s acceptance by the church, by God and by the congregation (her family and friends) as a woman. She wears a tiara as a sign of leaving childhood behind and facing the challenges that lay ahead and she is also presented with either a bracelet or ring (or both) representing the unending circle of life. Earrings are a reminder to listen and pay heed to the word of God and the world around her, a cross or medallion signifies faith and a rosary or prayer book are religious resources to always remind the young lady to remember her devotion to God.

Even in the New Millennium, Hispanic girls take their Quinceanera traditions seriously. Sadly, the concept seems to be fading somewhat but many Latin American families encourage the culture to remain alive and well. By the time a fifteenth birthday approaches, the plans are well under way and the community get into the spirit and have a wonderful time.

Curtis and Lauri’s wedding ceremony and reception was held at Saguaro Buttes on Aug. 3rd, 2008. They are awesome, wicked Red Sox fans, which is one of the reasons they met in the first place. They met on Match.com and being a Red Sox fan was was of the criteria. Lauri’s daughter Wednesday was the beautiful flower girl for the ceremony.

A popular reading for wedding ceremonies is called “Benediction of the Apaches” . Sometimes I suggest this heartfelt reading for those who do not wish for a prayer in their ceremony. These words contain a desire to fulfill the needs of each other, and although we will feel loneliness at times even after marriage, that loneliness is tempered by the love that comes from the relationship which is being formed in marriage.

“Benediction of the Apaches”

“Now you will feel no rain,
For each of you will be shelter to the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
For each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there is no more loneliness for you.
For each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two bodies,
But there is only one Life before you.
Go now to your dwelling place,
To enter into the days of your togetherness.
And may your days be good and long upon the earth”

Ryan and Stephanie had a beautiful, August 8th wedding at Saguaro Buttes in Tucson, Arizona.Ryan and Stephanie met over 10 years ago at Sabino High School while Stephanie was a Freshman and Ryan a Sophomore. His smile and continual happiness is what caught her attention and they have been best friends since. Over the years they have grown closer together and deeper in love and were engaged on January 31, 2008. One thing that makes this relationship work so well is they both have a great sense of humor and just enjoy being together.

The first of our children to get married was last year at Saguaro Buttes, Eric and his wife Leanna. As they started their journey they were shocked to find what it was going to cost them to have the wedding of their dreams. I have found some very interesting research which has been compiled by “The Wedding Report”, to share with you. For the year 2007, the average number of wedding guests is 166, with the average budget between $15,000 and $28,000.

Listed below are average costs for 2007:

• Reception location 2459
• Food Service 7562
• Favors 358
• Decorations/Centerpieces 1073
• Cake 537
• Bride Groom Hotel 279
• Beverages 2221
• Bride Accessories 321
• Groom Accessories 221
• Tuxes 232
• Hair/makeup 169
• Headpiece and Vail 301
• Wedding Dress 1335
• Ceremony Accessories 188
• Ceremony Decorations 560
• Ceremony location 655
• Officiant 235
• Rehearsal Dinner 1272
• Gifts for Attendant 474
• Gifts for each other 382
• Gifts for Parents 168
• Boutonniere 178
• Bride Bouquets 243
• Ceremony flowers 435
• Flower girl flowers 49
• Reception flowers 982
• Engagement ring 4615
• Her Ring 931
• His Ring 656
• Reception DJ 730
• Photographer 2038
• Videographer 1481
• Bridal Show Invitations 101
• Guestbook 49
• Invitation/ Reply cards 428
• Thank-you Cards 88
• Bridal Coordinator 1335
• Honeymoon 3716

Saguaro Buttes offers an all inclusive package with an outstanding venue and professional personnel to assist you in your dream wedding.

Ryan Scott and Alexandra Taylor were married at a beautiful outdoor ceremony at the renowned Saguaro Buttes in Tucson, Arizona on August 16, 2008. The reception was an elegant affair with blue draped tuxedo linens accented by silver napkins and silver chavari chairs.They met in the Fall of 2002 at the Street Fiestas in Tucson and have a wonderful son named Ryan, pictured here with Ryan and Alexandra. 

Growing up in the Midwest, Nebraska and Illinois, where green vegetation is abundant in the Spring & Summer, I have realized the “green” in Arizona is not the same, it is more of a brown/green. During the Monsoon season though, primary July and August, Arizona does tend to brighten up, especially in Saguaro National Park which is the backdrop for Saguaro Buttes. Although it doesn’t compare with the Midwest “green” it is still a very beautiful time of year in the desert. Saguaro Buttes is a fantastic location, with 360 degree views, a great place to take advantage of the fabulous photographic opportunities for your wedding ceremony.

Dave Kendall and Debi Mitchusson were wed at Saguaro Buttes on Aug. 9th, 2009.  I had the privilege and honor of performing their  ceremony and have enjoyed getting to know them over the last several weeks. They are a wonderful couple with a bright future together. I wish them God’s blessing. They have a web page which has the following story of how they met and how Dave proposed, it is called “Our Story”.

ONCE UPON A TIME…How We Met

As most of you know, we met at work. We are both in the Air Force. Dave is a pilot and I am a navigator. Can you think of a better match?!? Although we were stationed together since 2004, various trips to the Middle East kept us from meeting until a fateful trip in January 2006. While flying together from Tucson to Kuwait, an unexpected engine problem caused a 8-day delay on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea. We have been together ever since.

His Background

Dave grew up in Northwest Indiana, aka “Da Region”, and attended the Air Force Academy. He entered the Air Force in 1999, graduated pilot training in 2001, and has been in Tucson since 2004.

Her Background

Debi was born in Florida and lived there until the family moved to Georgia when she was 10 years old. She went to Reinhardt College and eventually graduated from Kennesaw State University. After a short stint in the Peace Corps she entered the Air Force in March 2001, and has been in Tucson since 2002.

How He Proposed (in his words)

I had intended on proposing during a carefully planned hiking trip in the mountains with the question coming at an overlook while the sun set over the entire city of Tucson. But, as is the case with much of our relationship, fate stepped in. After several weeks of delays in the ring showing up, a highly unexpected Saturday delivery by the FedEx man, with Debi in the adjoining room, brought a change of plans. After one look at the ring, I lost all ability to keep it to myself and had to put it on her finger as quickly as possible. With ring in case and case in FedEx box in hand, I got down on one knee, thankfully remembered about half of what I had intended to say, and asked Debi to marry me.

Their Web Page

Their web page can be found at http://www.mywedding.com/daveanddebi/index.html