El Chorro Wedding | Scottsdale, AZ

WeddingsFeatured

Feb 17

A Warm and Laid-Back Wedding at El Chorro in Paradise Valley

Receiving Shelby and Drew’s wedding inquiry felt like we’d met our new best friends and people who so deeply resonated with all we’re about when it comes to wedding photography. With ten years of life together leading up to this day, Shelby and Drew knew they wanted a traditional wedding to properly celebrate, but stressed to us from the beginning that they did not want their wedding day experience to feel stiff or unnatural. They wanted to feel like themselves all day long— laid back and fun loving and high energy and free to celebrate their love with their people.

El Chorro, their gorgeous garden wedding venue in Paradise Valley, Arizona, is one I truly have dreamt of documenting since the days when being a professional photographer was simply a pipe dream for me. Between the stunning desert location and the incredible couple, Shelby and Drew’s wedding made me feel like I was living the dream that college-aged Katie had. (And as a bonus, this Cal Poly kid got to finally attend her first UCSB party).

Organized and detailed (and laughter filled) planning calls leading up to Shelby and Drew’s wedding weekend helped us with the logistical component that makes documentary wedding photography truly possible. Taking the time to understand what it is that makes a couple’s vision truly their own makes a wedding day successful! It felt like coming home, walking into every event of their wedding weekend, and just getting to immerse ourselves in the friends and family gathered, to capture it all as it unfolded.

As we enter our 2026 wedding season, and I finish our marketing for 2025, I want to maintain the intentional selection of images I share. I find the long form nature of a blog post to still be my favorite, as it gives you the opportunity to feel like you’re part of the day too. This wedding, like all we photograph these days, was full of soul, full of joy, and full of so many authentic moments I’ve been dying to share with the world for months now! I hope you get to see the beautiful perspective of humanity on full display throughout Shelby and Drew’s day, and that you keep reading through the very end. These photographs mean so much to me, and to our sweet couple, and I am so very proud to present them to you!

We had the honor of capturing Shelby and Drew’s rehearsal dinner in Old Town Scottsdale, and their wedding day in the Herb Garden at El Chorro. Keep scrolling to read and see more!

We’re Katie and Joseph, a husband and wife team, and documentary wedding photographers.

We are big fans of documenting wedding days in an unposed, raw, genuine, and honest way that allows our couples to maximize their experience on their day while also receiving a gallery full of stunning images that communicate how it felt to be there.

Though we’re based in California, we’ll travel anywhere, like Arizona, for a good love story (and dance party). We invite you to follow the links below to learn more about us and our services, and to get in contact with us!