Being on the other side of the camera this week was a great experience for us all, here at Cactus and Lace Weddings. We forget what it is like to have our pictures taken instead of taking the pictures! But we wanted to show all of  you out there who we are and let you get to know us. We want to show you that you can put your trust and confidence in us, so we can work with you as we bring  your wedding day to life. So here we go, let’s meet the friendliest, happiest, easiest to work with, most talented bunch of people ever to throw a wedding!

Lory: (in white) Lory loves art, she loves scenic places outdoors like the Valley of Fire, she loves people, is especially patient, (very helpful in this business) she especially loves to hear how the bride and groom met, when they fell in love, how they knew, and all the good points, and loves the artsy side of photography. Weddings combine all of that for her in one great big, gigantic, happy party, set in the most lovely place on earth,  and includes cake usually. Lory loves it when the bride and groom choose her favorite cake flavors by wonderful happenstance. Chocolate is good, but salted caramel is so much better. Or peanut butter cup and chocolate combined. Or berries in whipped cream frosting… oh my goodness. But we digress…

On a wedding day, she is absolutely happy-excited. Just like the bride and groom, Rachel and Lory have been waiting for this day, planned details down to the last little flower petals, organized every possible thing, and we feel like the start of a marathon has begun! Lory was wearing a Fitbit once for a wedding, and clocked 8 miles! Our day usually lasts about 12 hours from start to finish the day of the wedding, and we usually don’t sit down once that wedding starts, until after everything is put away at night. To Lory, her husband and kids are so very important, and she loves seeing new families being created on wedding days. There is no feeling like it on earth, no matter what your beliefs are in that regard. Love trumps everything. And it always will for her. Marriage is that important. (PS, Lory will usually cry at your wedding, no charge)Lory loves See’s candy, lovely delectable cake (as previously mentioned), and patisseries. Just thought you might want to know that.

Rachel: ( in black) Rachel is amazing. Putting all her amazingness right here in this paragraph is pretty hard, cuz there is a lot of amazingness. She is kind, talented, artistic, creative, detail oriented, and hard working. She is a super hero to all who know her. Pretty sure her husband and kids think so.  PRETTY and AMAZING, equals pretty amazing. Rachel loves hats, and she can pull off looking fantastic, like Audrey Hepburn fantastic, in any hat you stick on her head. She is a very brilliant light in our little part of the universe. And she loves cake, too. And chocolate, and lots of good things. She really loves good cuisine. And she loves to travel. The girl loves traveling so much, she hacks travel. She makes those frequent flier miles really fly. But Rachel has a hidden talent. Rachel has the voice of an angel. The girl can sing. Once, when a couple wanted to have a first dance, they had left their music in the car, which happened to be a great distance away, so Rachel bless her heart, was coerced, cajoled, and coaxed by Lory, who knew what kind of voice this girl has, into singing the loveliest of classical music songs, with notes that soared right over the desert like no one has ever heard before or since… simply amazing. The couple were astounded, and danced slowly wrapped up in each others arms, to her singing a truly magical song . And Lory cried, again.

Rachel and Lory are really quite different in very many ways, but there is a solid foundation of friendship, love and respect, and determination to suceed for Cactus and Lace Weddings on both sides. We make our differences work for us in each wedding. The best of both worlds melding and colliding and creating a whole new wedding. Every time. Pretty amazing how well it works, every single time. We both believe God is really on our side in this.  Women in business together can do some great things with that kind of help.

Reyanna: (in gold) Reyanna and Lory initially started Cactus and Lace together. Lory saw the potential of the Valley of Fire as a marvelous outdoor venue.  Reyanna was just starting her High School Senior Photography business as well, at that time. So she had two irons in the fire all the time, so to speak, borrowing from the cattle branding vernacular, lol. Rey and Lory worked together to get the backbones of the business going, and then met Rachel. We felt she would add so much to the business, and soon convinced Rachel to come on board as a business partner. Just about then, Rey’s senior business exploded, and she was working day, as well as night, to keep up with both. So it was a hard decision for her to have to give up one to focus on the other. But it has worked out well. Rey maintains our editing portion of Cactus and Lace Weddings, and runs her flourishing Senior business as well. Rachel and Lory have taken Cactus and worked hard to build it up and keep it growing and building a solid reputation of beautiful weddings, and solid service, and dependability.

We have the most wonderful team of assistants to help us put these amazing weddings together. With the help of Amanda and Alexandra as our assistants, who really are family,  and Reyanna as our top photographic image editor magician,  we surely could not do it without their hard work and willingness to serve. As you can see by the pictures  and stories which follow, we really have some amazing people. Each one is very artistic, and willing to put everything they have in their creative little hands out there to make each and every single wedding a true day to remember and cherish for our brides, grooms, and families. We all work very hard. I think many people do not realize just how difficult it can be to take a blank canvas, input the wedding couples’ hopes, and dreams and wishes, in small doses, or with a lot of input from them, (we love either way) then collectively and physically bring a wedding to life on that desert floor in the spectacular Valley of Fire. But when it does come together, it is wonderful to see it rise up and take on a life of its’ own, and each wedding becomes something really indescribably wonderful! We wait with great anticipation to see the brides’ reaction especially when she see’s how her dream has materialized. The look of wonder on her face, or the comments she leaves us afterwards really are our payment. That happiness, and joy from her especially, are the reason we do this.  It just is not worth it otherwise! And we get absolutely giddy when we see how it all works together. We love it!

Let us introduce you to our assistants:

Amanda (in peach) On wedding days, Amanda says she wakes up and is so happy it is wedding day. She can’t wait to get started! She literally is thrilled and brings that happiness with her each time we meet. She is a sharp dresser, and she looks like a million bucks every wedding. We lift tables, chairs, arches and whatnot and Amanda does all that in a dress, but she makes it look effortless, and we laugh together the whole time. She makes hard work fun. Amanda has people skills like no one we know. You can bet if your grandparents and parents are attending, Amanda will have them totally taken care of, pampered, and most of all, she listens to them. She has great love and respect for everyone, and this quality really resonates with people, especially our more seasoned, older generation. Usually you will see them crowded around Amanda, telling her stories and all laughing during our cake and toast reception after the ceremony. This is the time our brides and grooms mingle, visit, and connect, and share their love and joy with all those invited. She helps set up, adjusts florals, and sets decor with us, serves cake to a hungry crowd, troubleshoots, serves the champagne or sparkling cider, keeps us on our game, makes sure we stay tight on our timelines, and is our supportive side kick. ( I was gonna say super-hero sidekick and I would be right on the money) She is indispensable to us, and we love her quick mind, and ready laugh.

Alexandra: (in blue) Alex is new to our team, and we are excited to have her on board. Alex, like Amanda, is multi talented. She speaks several languages, is a world traveler, is a great seamstress, loves vintage clothing and always looks so amazingly put together. She idolizes electro-swing music, and loves to swing dance! She helps us everywhere; serves food and drinks, sets up decor, runs errands, and is an all around good hand. She is also an author, and recently published her first novel. Pretty talented!

Well that is us in a nutshell! Look at these lovely people in the pictures below! Can you feel their love, happiness, and beautiful free spirits! Awesomeness!