Erica & Justin *Wedding at the Valley Ho*

I was so excited when my friend Kim Jarman asked me to shoot Erica and Justin’s wedding with her. I saw the images from their engagement session and I knew they would be an awesome couple. Plus, their wedding date was on the only weekend that I was free this fall. So meant to be

You just know that any wedding that starts with Jimmy Choo‘s s is going to be absolutely fabulous:

Their wedding was at one of my favorite hotels in Scottsdale, the Valley Ho:

Getting ready:

Aleasha, their wedding coordinator, delivered Justin’s gift right before their first look:

Their first look was my very favorite moment of their wedding day:

The Valley Ho is full of fun spots for pictures:

Erica’s mother’s necklace was sewn into the her bouquet:

While Kim was photographing the girls I saw this really cool light coming through and asked the guys for a quick photo opp:

Adorable flower girl and her cell phone

Erica and Justin had a traditional Jewish ceremony. Since, not all of their guests were Jewish they included explanations of the different rituals in their wedding programs. I loved learning more about the Jewish traditions and I will be sharing what I learned with you. The following explanations are from their programs, which by they way, were so pretty!

As Erica entered the Chuppah she walked seven full circles around Justin to show her devotion to him. This is a very old ritual which varies in practice, but it is generally thought of as the bride creating a wall of protection around the groom:

The Chuppah symbolizes their new home and life together as husband and wife. It is open on all sides to offer unconditional hospitality to all guests:

Note Erica’s ring here doesn’t look anything like the ring you saw a few images earlier… Justin proposed to Erica while on a trip to Alaska and since he was afraid of bringing the “real” ring with him and losing it, he proposed with an empty box… Then, they fashioned a ring out of rope, which is the ring they used for the actual ceremony. Yes, I got all teary-eyed over it. And as if this wasn’t enough sentimental detail for one wedding, the sash on Justin’s fedora is from the same fabric as Erica’s wedding dress.

The sharing of the wine represents a commitment of sharing and forms a connection between the bride and groom. They each drank from two Kiddush cups. The first cup belonged to Justin’s father, and the second cup was a gift from Justin’s mother for Erica and Justin to continue to use in their Jewish home life.

The first photo on the top right is their Ketubah. This is a Jewish wedding contract outlining the vows and commitments of the bride and groom, which they sign prior to the ceremony.

As you can see from one of the photos above, Erica and Justin had their cocktail hour on the rooftop of the Valley Ho. It was quite romantic if I may say so myself

The reception had an Old Hollywood glamour feel to it all:

During the Mother-Son dance:

More reception fun:

Make sure to check out Kim’s blog for some amazing photos and all the vendor details.