The weather was a perfect forecast for bold, romantic sunset colors upon the Superstition Mountains, and so we journeyed out to Lost Dutchman State Park, which was a short drive from the city, but still provided access to the beautiful desert and wilderness for an exciting photography setting. But before our engagement photos began at the foot of the mountain, we started out in an unexpected place.

Tacey and Mike expressed the importance of their photos being unique and original; they wanted the images to reflect their relationship in a personal way, and to also be set against a local backdrop that had not been overly used. Tacey mentioned that they were going through a major renovation in their home, and realized that her home would be the perfect setting to communicate their save the date. Playing on the renovation theme, Tacey and Mike kept it casual, with white t-shirts, blue jeans, paintbrushes, and a bucket of white paint. They painted a heart with their initials and wedding date on a vibrant red wall that was slated for demo.

Of course, there's a unique love story that lead up to this moment. And we're excited that Tacey is here to tell us how they first met, and later became engaged:

Tacey: "We met on eHarmony. Mike was the first person I talked to – we were on the phone for over two hours before we ever met in person!"

"Mike and I had dinner reservations at Elements at the Sanctuary. Mike had intentionally made our reservation an hour after our intended arrival time so that we would have time to enjoy a bottle of our favorite wine on the patio, which he had asked the restaurant manager to set up for us in advance. (I didn’t know any of this.) Mike suggested that we take a walk outside before grabbing a drink at the bar and we wandered through the patio, which was empty except for one other couple. At that point, we happened upon our favorite wine, chilling at a table with two glasses. We enjoyed a glass of the sparkling wine as I nervously waited for him to propose."

"Then, this girl (from the other couple on the patio) came up to us and asked if we would take their picture because they just got engaged. At that point, I got really nervous because I thought WE were going to get engaged by that point and didn’t understand how this other couple getting engaged fit into the plan. Turns out, they didn’t! It was just a random coincidence."

"Shortly after taking pictures for them, Mike led me out on an open courtyard, said all these sweet and wonderful things to me, got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him. Obviously, I said yes! We then celebrated for so long that we almost missed our dinner reservation and the manager had to come out to remind us. (We celebrated with the other newly engaged couple, as well!) We had the best table in the house, with a view of the gorgeous mountains and sunset. It couldn’t have been a more perfect night."

Barely 6 months passed after their engagement session, and Tacey and Mike's wedding day was upon us!

Tacey: "My wedding dress was from Lillian Lottie Couture. I tried on a TON of dresses but ultimately went back to the second dress I had tried on. When my friend Laura suggested adding a ribbon around the waist line, I was sold. The ribbon made the dress for me!"

"Since we were doing an Arizona springtime wedding, we wanted the colors to be bright and vibrant, like spring flowers. This is how we chose the fuchsia pink color for the bridesmaid dresses."

"I loved the experience of getting ready with the friends and family members I am closest to for the majority of the day. We woke up early to have our hair and makeup done while enjoying mimosas and jamming out to great tunes. Being with so many of my closest friends was an incredibly special feeling. Many of them live out of state so I don’t get to spend time with them often."

Tacey: "Mike enjoyed the time he got to spend on the wedding day (not getting ready) with his groomsmen. He, his groomsmen, and some of his close family and friends all got together and went go-carting in the morning and had a blast. He also had a great time hanging out with all of his engineer friends and taking some hilarious photos getting ready. Mike also mentions the moment of seeing me walk up the aisle towards him as really special."

Tacey: "With both of us being very busy professionally, and being in the middle of an intensive home renovation project, we knew we wanted a venue that was all-inclusive and would help us plan out the details. We visited a few venues but were hooked by the Victorian-looking charm of Wedgewood Weddings Lindsay Grove. The gorgeous gazebo area, the water feature and lawn, the winding walkways, and the gorgeous banquet hall were elegant while not being too over the top. We fell in love with the charm of Lindsay Grove instantly."

Tacey: "I also loved the moment I first entered the aisle with my mom and dad to walk up to Mike. There was something special about feeling the sunshine and seeing the beautiful faces of all the people I love so much that brought me to tears. And then seeing Mike up there waiting for me made me get teary all over again. He’s the kindest hearted, most genuine person I’ve ever met in my life and it was an amazing feeling walking towards him and knowing that we were entering into marriage together."

Tacey: "Our flowers were extra special because my dear friend Dorothy did them for us, as her first official wedding with her new business! (and she did an incredible job!) We used peonies, roses, spray roses, and ruscus for greenery. We wanted the flowers to make the venue feel alive and fresh so we took care to be quite detailed with the flowers, hanging them on the ceremony chairs, having rose petals arranged down the aisle, and arrangements on all of the tables that held items like our seating chart and cards box. We especially wanted the flowers to draw the cake into our theme, so we had several flowers incorporated on our cake to make everything match!"

Tacey: "The seating chart with our pictures that sequenced how we met interspersed was one personalized touch! The pictures chosen started with a picture in front of the restaurant Corduroy where we had our first date, a picture hiking Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park on our first long trip together, a picture of the proposal, one from our engagement shoot and the time we spent renovating our home, and finally, a picture with our wedding date on it (also from our engagement photo shoot). The progression of pictures and the significance to our lives was really important to us."

Tacey: "Another personal touch was the gift my mom made for us – our wedding quilt. This has been a longtime family tradition. My grandmother made one for my parents when they got married and my mom has now made one for each of her daughters on their wedding days. The quilt is special because it is a compilation of squares made by close friends and family members and each square tells a unique story about the bride and/or groom and past memories. People made squares that were everything from hilarious inside jokes to fond memories and times that we will cherish forever. It’s symbolic because it shows the stories of our lives before our time together as well as the joining of us in marriage and the beautiful future we hope to have together."

Tacey: "We also have a very musical family and were lucky enough to be able to involve our family members in key parts of the music during our wedding. My uncle, Eric Glickrieman, is a musician and played our ceremony processional music, a series of short pieces composed by my father, Bart Clayton. My father has written a series of short, joyful pieces called the Quiet Reflections, and the specific pieces played were a piece my father wrote and dedicated to me and one he wrote and dedicated to my grandmother who passed away last year. Having my grandmother’s piece played made me feel like she was there with me that day in spirit, and the piece my father wrote for me speaks to my heart and soul and was a joy to have played that day. Mike’s brother, Chris Cundy, is a guitarist and singer and played and sang our first dance song for us, Marry Me by Train. We had a choreographed dance to the song and that felt very special. It was incredibly special to have our family members involved in the music of our wedding day."

Tacey: "My biggest piece of advice is to go with an all-inclusive venue so you don’t have to worry about all the details! Lindsay Grove had phenomenal service and everything from the planning of the meals up to the rehearsal and where everyone would stand was so well coordinated that the wedding day was a breeze."

"Another piece of advice is to make sure you work out your guest list and guest count early on in the process and then stick to it. We hadn’t quite finalized our guest count early enough which caused some stress later on in the process. Also, ask for RSVPs 3 months early so you can get a better idea of who is actually coming, but don’t finalize your seating charts until a day before the wedding as there is always someone who drops out last minute. It will happen, so expect it so you don’t get stressed out last minute! :)"

Thank you to these amazing wedding vendors who helped make this day possible:

Photography: David Orr Photography

Second Photographer: Bridget Levi

Venue, Catering, and Bar: Wedgewood Weddings Lindsay Grove

Dress: Lillian Lottie Couture

Flowers: Poppy Design Co

Music and DJ: DJ Randy K

Cake: Piece of Cake

Mesa Engagement Session at Lost Dutchman State Park and Garden Estate Wedding at Wedgewood Lindsay Grove