Everyone walked over to the church – and it was a good thing they did, as there wasn’t any parking left! The church was filled beyond capacity with friends and family; it was so full that the Father even mentioned it in his sermon. Our Lady of Guadalupe is a light and airy church, and always looks good in ceremony photos. While the Father was initially concerned that having two of us there would make our presence more noticeable, he seemed to forget us shortly after the start of the ceremony – and told us afterward that he’d barely noticed us at all. Score one for the photo ninjas!

After family formals at the church, and a few bridals outside while we waited for the limos, we took the bridal party to one of our favorite spots for some photos with the mountains in the background. Then, it was on to the reception, and something new for us – this was our first wedding with a photobooth, which Catrina’s mother told us was on her list of wedding must-haves, and which she asked us about after booking us.

Roz and I had gone over to the Knights of Columbus Hall the day before the wedding to set up the photobooth, and we’d seen some of the preparations while we were there, so we weren’t completely blown away by the decorations – but it was a near thing! The hall was unrecognizable. Catrina’s uncle masterminded the decorations, and he did an amazing job with the space. Lots of friends and family helped out with the wedding: Catrina’s mom made the miniature fudge wedding cakes which each guest received; Frankie’s uncle was the bass player in the band that rocked the reception. Everyone in both families spent 6 months making flowers from crépe paper for the decorations, bouquets, corsages, and boutineers. The love that went into every part of the wedding was evident. Catrina changed out of her heels at the start of the reception; her preferred dancing shoes were glittery red Converse. I kept waiting for her to click her heels together and transport me back to Las Cruces!

After dinner, the bridal party was announced, and lined up on the dance floor for La Marcha. They were joined by a good portion of the guests; I’ve never seen such a crowded floor. At one point, Roz and I were both afraid the cake would go flying, but the line of dancers turned at the last possible instant and made the arch of hands into a horseshoe. Catrina’s mom estimated that 500 people were at the reception; there wasn’t a lot of extra room in the hall! Catrina and Frankie’s first dance was next, and then Catrina danced with her father.

While all of this was happening, Marie was taking pictures of the guests at the photobooth. Catrina and Frankie elected to skip the traditional guest book, and to ask every one to have their photo taken instead. Some of the guests got dressed up, some wrote the couple messages on a white board, and everyone had a great time with the photobooth. It’s sure to make an appearance at future weddings; it was a ton of fun!

Later in the evening, Catrina and Frankie cut the wedding cake, and were (mostly) nice about feeding it to each other – they were both laughing too hard to be very accurate with it by the end! Garter and bouquet tosses were next, and the evening ended with menudo, cooked by another family member and served hot.

Pat arrived just before the ceremony, already in his full-dress uniform. As her sisters and best friend preceded Liz down the aisle, the anticipation was plain on Pat’s face. He lit up when she appeared and made her way forward, to a processional on the harp.

Liz’s uncle gave the couple some timeless advice on maintaining wedded bliss, some serious, some a bit lighter, garnered from his own years as a husband. Liz’s sister played a solo piece on the cello, which Liz requested – it was Liz’s favorite when they were growing up together. After the rings were exchanged, the newlyweds came back down the aisle, and it was time for dinner – after a few formal photos.

The El Paso Country Club catered dinner, which was amazing, while mariachis serenaded the guests. Right after dinner, Liz and Pat cut their wedding cake. The cake topper belonged to Liz’s grandparents; fittingly, it depicted an army husband and his new wife. Next were toasts by the best man and maid of honor. When the DJ took over, the crowd broke out onto the dance floor, and the rest of the evening was music and dancing!

Jason

Jason

Thank you Robin for all you do for our country, we wish you well on your deployment!

Roz and Jason

Finally, we all headed to grandmas house for some portraits around the piano, and we captured this great shot of the whole family. I really love the black and white shot of grandma by the piano – they brought it all the way across the country when they moved here, because the piano has been in the family for a long time, and she’s played it all her life. What a wonderful, fun and sweet family, we really had a blast doing your family portraits!

Roz and Jason

We wish you the best in following your dreams Darcell!

Roz and Jason

Roz and Jason

This family was such a joy to work with – they tramped through the desert without complaint! We’ll see you guys in the studio around Thanksgiving!

Roz