Gwen and Patrick celebrated their wedding against the beautiful backdrop of Ghost Ranch‘s painted sandstone bluffs and surrounded by incredible amounts of love from family and friends. This has to have been one of the coolest first looks that I have photographed because their newly renovated Airstream (named Long Teal Sally) was the backdrop for this special moment. If you haven’t heard or a first look before or aren’t familiar with this newer wedding trend, it is a special moment where you can see each other before the ceremony, admire how stunning each other looks, and to take a moment just to breathe in the moment and each other before the wedding events get started. This is often helpful with destination weddings because following the first look, the family would gather for formal portraits. After that is done, there is nothing else that you have to do except get married to your best friend and celebrate with family and friends! You can also enjoy the cocktail hour and mingle with all of your out-of-town guests.

One of the most special things that I enjoyed from G&P’s wedding was that they served each table a big community pot of homemade posole. What better way to welcome your guests to the cuisine of New Mexico and give each table a personal hello?!