My Tucson Wedding

Brain and Shoshana were married at Saguaro Buttes on October 4th, 2009 at 5:30 PM by Pastor David Hallstrom. They met at work at St. Joseph Hospital in August 2006.  They had wedding guests from Illinois, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and California. Pictured with Brian and Shoshana are the flower girls and ring bearer.

Kids tables at a wedding can add some extras that will make it fun for those little ones. For most kids, the wedding reception is kind of  boring. Not much for them to do, but run around and drive their parents crazy. At Paul & Denise Gordillo’s wedding they provided their young guests colorful bags filled with fun things; coloring books, games, toys, etc. They added the nice touch of putting their names on each bag.

Carl and Nicole were married at Saguaro Buttes on September 18th. 2009 by Pastor David Hallstrom at 6:00 PM.  They had a wonderful balmy evening, and a colorful sunset. Carl and Nicole met for the first time as they worked together, in the Air Force. They had wedding guest from Alabama, Wisconsin, Washington, California, Illinois, Ohio, Texas and Phoenix.

Richard and Stephanie were married at Saguaro Buttes by Pastor David Hallstrom on October 16th, at 4:00 PM. Richard and Stephanie first met at Sahuaro High School in 2004.  They have a beautiful son Richard who was one of the ring bearers.

Girls age four to eight are the usual ages of  flower girls, but they can be younger or older. For the younger flower girls it is advisable to have them escorted with someone, as they don’t always go down the isle without help. You may also want them seated during the ceremony since they have a hard time standing still. You may have as many flower girls as you like, and they may be dressed in white, ivory, candlelight, blush or any color of the bride’s choosing. Their gowns may be similar to the bride’s or they may be dressed in the color and style of the bridesmaids. A flower girl may carry a small basket of flowers or a nosegay. She may even carry a fire-side basket (without sides), containing short-stemmed roses tied with ribbons, that she hands to guests as she walks up the aisle.

Rebecca and James were married on Nov. 15 th at Saguaro Buttes by Pastor David Hallstrom with many of their family and friends present. James is a policeman and works for the Tucson Police Department, and Rebecca also works for the Police Department as a Crime Scene Investigator.

Finding the perfect place to get sunset pictures is not always easy. First you need to find a place that has unobstructed views of the Sunset. Secondly, it is nice to have natural surroundings, Saguaro Cactus, Palo Verde Trees, Mountains, etc..  Thirdly, you need a photographer that can take advantage of these surroundings. Saguaro Buttes has a perfect spot on it’s 26 acres to take some wonderful Sunset pictures, with 360 degree views, great natural settings and mountain views, it makes for some wonderful pictures.

Candy tables seem be becoming more popular at weddings. They are relatively inexpensive and add a nice touch for your wedding guests. This candy table also had some salty snacks with is a nice balance.

People love pictures, and at a wedding it is a nice touch to put a few special pictures of the couple out for people to see. Here the piano was uses as a nice setting for a few engagement pictures of the bride and groom.

Paul and Elizabeth married on Oct. 3rd, at Saguaro Buttes at 4:30 PM by Pastor David Hallstrom and also Deacon Efron Medrono. Paul and Elizabeth met in March 2006 in Tucson, and Paul is originally from St. Joeseph Missouri. They had wedding guests from Missouri, Mississippi, New York, Washington, and Maryland among other places. Paul works for the boarder patrol, and Elizabeth is a project manager for a local software company. They have a honeymoon trip planned for Italy.

Here are some unique pictures taken using a wedding veil to catch the sunlight at sunset, in a beautiful way. These pictures were captured over the Labor day weekend at the wedding of Luise and Isela at Saguaro Buttes. Saguaro Buttes has unobstructed views for perfect sunset photos.

Dustin and Lauren were married at Saguaro Buttes on Sept. 6th 2009 at 5:20 PM by Pastor David Hallstrom. They met in December of 2007 in Tucson.  Dustin is currently in the Army station in North Caroline where he is expected to deploy in the near future.

Luise and Isela were married at Saguaro Buttes on Sept. 5th, 2009 at 5:15 PM by Pastor David Hallstrom. They had wedding guests from as far as Texas, California and Mexico in attendance. Luise and Isela met for the first time on May 5th, 2003, at a local restaurant in Tucson.

Here below are wedding vows that are done in a little different way, in that the Bride and Groom answer at the same time “We do” instead of individually “I Do”.  Also the bride and groom do not have to repeat a set of vows but rather acknowledge their agreement of those vows that they have chosen. The pastor reads the vows, and the bride and groom acknowledge them by saying “We Do”.

• ________ and _________ are happy today not only because they can share the joy of their love for each other with friends and family, but also because they have the opportunity to express their aspirations for the future.
• _______ and ________ do you pledge to help each other to develop your hearts and minds, cultivating compassion, generosity, ethics, patience, enthusiasm, concentration and wisdom as you age and undergo the various ups and downs of life and to transform them into the faith of love, compassion, joy and equanimity? We Do.
• Understanding that just as we are a mystery to ourselves, each other person is also a mystery to us. Do you pledge to seek to understand yourselves, each other, and all living beings, to examine your own minds continually and to regard all the mysteries of life with curiosity and joy? We Do.
• Do you pledge to preserve and enrich your affection for each other, and to share it with all beings? To take the loving feelings you have for one another and your vision of each other’s potential and inner beauty as an example and rather than spiraling inwards and becoming self absorbed, to radiate this love outwards to all beings? We Do.
• Do you pledge to work to develop wisdom understanding the relative functioning nature of things and the wisdom knowing their deeper way of existence that they are empty of inherent existence? And to remember the laws of cause and effect? We Do.
• Do you pledge day to day, to be patient with yourselves and others, knowing that change comes slowly and gradually, and to seek inspiration from your teachers not to become discouraged? We Do.
• Do you pledge to continuously strive to remember your own nature, as well as the nature of all living beings? To maintain the awareness that ll things are temporary, and to remain optimistic that you can achieve your greatest potential and lasting happiness. We Do.

Lauren and Jimmy met over 6 years ago at a wedding of all places. They were married at Saguaro Buttes on Nov. 1, 2009 by Pastor David Hallstrom. Jimmy is from the Phoenix area and moved to Tucson to be with Lauren.  He works for Target and Lauren is a gymnastics coach.

Liza & Steve Corral have a tradition of renewing their vows on their wedding anniversary followed by an elegant dinner at one of Tucson’s finest. This year they had their vow renewal at Saguaro Buttes.  This was a very simple ceremony with just the two of them. Many couples enjoy doing a more elaborate ceremony with family and friends usually on a mile stone anniversary, like the 50th or 25th, or even the 10th or 5th year. Whether you want an elaborate ceremony with lots of family and friends or just a private event, here are some reasons why people want to renew their vows.

• You only got married legally before, and now want to marry religiously
• You only got married religiously before, and now want to marry legally
• Your first wedding had some element of disaster, and you want a do-over
• You didn’t have much money for your first wedding, and you want a more elaborate wedding
• You got married with only a few people present, and you’d like to say wedding vows in front of lots of family and friends
• You’ve had some rocky times in your relationship, and would now like to reaffirm your commitment to one another
• You think it would be romantic

Daniel and Sarah married by Pastor David Hallstrom on Sept 19th, at 5:00 PM at Saguaro Buttes.  They have beautiful baby daughter, Emily who is only 2 weeks old in this picture. They had guests from North Dakota, Nevada, Washington DC and California in attendance.