Phoenix, Arizona Saguaro Engagement Session

While I was in Arizona for an engagement shoot at Horseshoe Bend, I had the absolute HONOR of photographing some people very special to me!!

My very own cousin is getting married to her high school sweetheart in November, and she also lives in Phoenix!! So of course I snagged some engagement photos for them and it was so wholesome.

Let me give you a little back story on my relationship with my cousins. Cassidy & Emily have always lived across the country from me. Before they were born, my uncle moved to Las Vegas and my mom stayed in Virginia, so we’d take turns visiting each other every year (they usually came to us). When I reminisce on the good old days, my favorite memories are from when they’d visit for Thanksgiving. When they’d arrive, my mom would pick me up early from school right before Thanksgiving break. Hearing my name get called on the loud speaker to leave an hour before everyone else was cool enough. But to know I was going to grandmas house, see Cass & Em, and eat amazing food was quite possibly the BEST feeling in the world. Thanksgiving with our family can be described by three things: constant laughter, Colonial Williamsburg, and sweet potato crunch.

Even though we’ve always been thousands of miles apart, we’ve managed to stay really close. Cousins are really like built in best friends, regardless of the distance between us. :’)

So back to their photo session!

Cass & Justin told me many times that they aren’t very photogenic, but as you’ll be able to tell, I think I proved them wrong. We decided to shoot at Usery Mountain Park because touristy me was dying to see some Saguaros. I mean, how often am I in Arizona, right?? Well it was perfect, amazing, better than I could have imagined. Chef’s kiss. We obviously got there for golden hour because holy crap the daytime sun in Arizona is intense. And when golden hour turned into blue hour right before our eyes, it was just the prettiest, most classic Arizona evening ever.

The combination of always wanting to do a session in the desert and getting to photograph my cousins engagement was complete bliss!! I am so happy I got to document this season for them. I love the experiences my job has given to me.