Jessie and John were married at the beginning of this year, and it was AWESOME!! I was Jessie's maid of honor, and she is my very best lady friend, so I was less than thrilled when she and John decided to LEAVE Phoenix for the Windy City of Chicago, IL.
Okay, I am actually pretty thrilled for them, but not thrilled that they are no longer nearby to take impromptu trips to northern AZ with me and Phil! Since Phoenix had been home for 10 years (for John) and 6 years (for Jessie) they wanted some photos that captured some of their favorite day trip spots in AZ. We ventured to Jerome and Sedona, and captured some pretty adorable photos of these newlyweds before they venture out on life's next journey together. (See below ;-)
We started in Jerome which is a tiny town on the side of a mountain in Northern AZ. It started out as a mining town, but when the mine closed, a lot of it became a ghost town until the artists came, and now it is home to some AWESOME artisans and a million super-cool shops that you could spend hours and hours getting lost in, and an abandoned mine. Basically, it's awesome! We hung out downtown to get a few different shots.
At the fire station, the Jerome Fire Dept. was SUPER COOL and let us take some photos in front of their door!! This next one is my fave!
With that we bid Jerome farewell (I'll see you again soon) and headed out to put our stomaches through the bumpiest ride ever on Schnebly Hill Road just South of Sedona. (If you don't have a tricked out Jeep like Jessie's, never attempt to drive up that road from the bottom). As bumpy as Schnebly Hill road is, it was WORTH IT, and you are about to see why...
Phil thinks that J and J look like "Calvin Klein" models in this photo. I'm not going to disagree, but I'm not sure that he is okay with me putting on the internet that it was his reference.
Yes, this is really on Earth, and this is really close to Phoenix. BEAUTIFUL!!
We finally made it up to Schnebly Vista juuuuuust as the sun was setting, so we used my trusty off camera lighting technique known as "Pulling a Jeep with it's headlights on in front of you", and picked up a few amazing photographs to close out the evening. I might have been jumping up and down as we captured these... not going to lie.
Jessie and John, thanks for spending the day with me in Jerome and Sedona, and being game for anything. I am so glad that you will have photos to remember your Arizona home, and I hope that you never forget to visit... though I don't think I will have to remind you much come February's freezing temperatures in Chicago. I love you guys, and I miss you already!!!!
Β
Bangarang!!
EEB
P.S. I know this is already the longest blog post ever, but I HAVE to tell you a story! When we were in the red rocks shooting the first set of Schnebly Hill photos, I was losing the sunlight quickly, so Phil grabbed the reflector and opened it to help reflect some light back on J+J's faces. Only problem is the wind as SO strong that he almost got carried off the side of a cliff instead! This was him regaining his balance, and looking a little bit like a superhero at the same time.
**editors note** Phil informed me that at no time was he ever about to fall off the cliff, and I am overdramatic (whatever).
'Rang!
EEB