Christi + Dave: Tanque Verde Ranch Rustic Chic Destination Wedding

This beautiful wedding at Tanque Verde Ranch http://www.tanqueverderanch.com/ had me swooning! It was awesome to work with Desiree Groseclose and Heather Van Houten https://www.heathermakeupartist.com/and team on this beautiful desert celebration with a couple who came to Tucson from DC to get married amidst the cacti. Every detail of this wedding was well-thought out and executed. The girls looked beautiful even before they finished getting dressed as they were all wearing customized matching bridesmaid robes (even though there wasn’t a formal wedding party, all the friends and family that were important to Christi and Dave still gathered around them as they got ready!

Christi gifted Dave with engraved cuff links that proudly added to his custom tailored wedding suit. Saxby, their fur-baby, was dressed in his best tuxedo to prepare to walk down the aisle!

They had an amazing first look by one of the largest trees on the property and before they saw each other they exchanged vow books where they had their custom vows to each other written out. Their absolutely stunning florals were created by Evergreen Flowers and really brought their October fall colors into the wedding, especially when photographed next to the custom created invitations that True Bliss http://www.trueblissllc.com/ artistically designed. I loved the orange and bright pink pops of color amid the succulents and desert flowers in sage green.

You can see the photographic proof below of all the incredible details the Desiree helped Christi bring to life, the little things that made this wedding just perfect: the guest book, the custom printed menus also designed by True Bliss, the hand written chalkboard signs, the Memory Candle at the Ceremony, the “just married” sign they trailed after them on the golf cart as it whisked us up for sunset photos, the dance Christi and Dave learned so they could impress on the dance floor for their first dance, the cake topper that was modeled after Christi, Dave and their dog Saxby that looked so perfect on top of the delicious cake baked by Village Bakehouse http://villagebake.wpengine.com/…. so many beautiful small touches! Christi and Dave are also marathon runners, so they incorporated their running shoes into the sunset photos we took – so cool!!

But mostly, Christi and Dave wanted their guests to really enjoy the desert, and their time at this destination wedding, so they went out of their way to pull in Tucson-touches that were also significant to them as a couple – to include the coffee bar mobile cafe “Peddler on the Path” http://www.peddleronthepath.com/and the astronomer who was on-site with a giant telescope who could show guests the stars and planets from the terrace right outside the reception. Christi lost her mom and many of the special touches (some of her jewelry) were in honor of her memory, but one thing that was sweet and funny was that Christi’s dad brought a bottle of Champagne with him that was gifted to them at their wedding many years ago and gave it to Christi and Dave with a beautiful toast. So sweet. And if that wasn’t enough, glasses of Sambuca were passed around to the guests at the reception for a very special La Barca family tradition/toast that accompanied the special drinks the bar was mixing “The Christi” and “The Dave” to give an alcoholic nod to the bride and groom.

All told, this was one of the most detail-driven weddings but for one of the most laid back couples! I loved how Christi and Dave brought so many things to the wedding they were so true to them and created a fabulous destination experience for their guests. They were even nice enough to invite both the coordinator and me to their rehearsal dinner – as guests! So much love for these two and their fantastic “I Do’s”.