El Chorro Wedding

Kevin and Courtney’s El Chorro wedding was a beautiful and long awaited celebration. With a fun and classy approach they created a day that was unique to them and full of little details that made the wedding come to life in a way that was forever memorable for their guest and of course themselves! The groom is the photographer’s cousin, so she was both a guest and the photographer of this wedding! The couple had to reschedule their wedding four times, mostly because of Covid, but one time because the bride was pregnant with twins. On their final invitations, the verbiage included “finally” a comical amount of times. The twins rode down the aisle in a mini John Deere tractor and wandered and roamed freely all throughout the ceremony. It was so sweet and special seeing them be front and center by their parents while they said their vows.

Other fun touches included the beer burro donkey and scratch-off lottery tickets and a quarter waiting for guests at their seats. The couple also asked their guests who were couples to send any sentimental songs along with their RSVP. Throughout dinner, they played those couple songs and each couple would get up and dance during their song. -Kristen Green of Published + Pretty How did you two meet? What were your first impressions of one another? We met thanks to LivingSocial. Courtney just couldn’t resist a buy two, get one free deal at a local Med Spa. This is where she met Sarah, and Sarah ended up introducing us, but only after attempting to set Courtney up with a pilot first. Thankfully, he was too busy navigating the friendly skies to call, and Kevin was next on the list. We now know both of us were interested; however, at the time, it was less than apparent given that Kevin ended our first date with a one-armed side hug and told Courtney to “have a nice weekend”. Much to her surprise and delight, ‘Have a nice weekend Kevin” (as he was appropriately named in her contacts) called a few days later and so it all began. Describe a hurdle you had to overcome in your relationship or during your wedding planning. Four reschedules, a move from Oregon to Utah, 2 new jobs, 1 new hip, and twins! Enough said. What is your favorite thing about each other? Kevin’s favorite thing about Courtney is how thoughtful and generous she is—and generous in every way—with her time, with her money, with her words, and with her feelings. Courtney’s favorite thing about Kevin is how committed he is to growing, learning, and simply bettering himself. She is also very grateful that he accepts her fully, quirks and all. Any special ways you incorporated your family or family history into your wedding day? Yes, absolutely! In addition to a memory table, we incorporated our family and family history in a few different ways. Courtney wore her father’s original wedding ring; she had her grandma Betty’s rosary wrapped around her bouquet; and she wove a charm that was given to her by Kevin’s mom, Gail, and his aunt, Carol, into her bouquet. Kevin proudly wore his grandpa’s tie clip as part of his tux. Sam, Courtney’s nephew, pulled our twins down the aisle in a John Deere tractor as a tribute to her family’s farming heritage. What part of your wedding day was/is most important to you? While our vows were by far the most personal element of the wedding, there were three other moments during the ceremony that also stood out. 1) Courtney walking down the aisle to a custom mashup of “Canon in D” and “The Best” by Tina Turner—Schitt’s Creek inspired, of course! 2) Our toddler twins, Jack and Margot, stealing the show as they wandered up and down the aisles, posed for photos, and hammed it up for laughs. 3) Standing on the alter, looking out at the beautiful faces of the many people gathered to celebrate this moment. While we recognized that this day was “about us”, we knew there would be no us without each and every person present, with many more cheering us on from afar. If you had one piece of advice for other couples, what would it be? Lucky for y’all, we’ve got a buy one, get one special on advice today. The first piece of advice was given to us by Kevin’s brother, Dan, at our wedding. He said love is an action word and actions take choices, so keep choosing each other every day and everything will be okay—not necessarily easy but okay. For any reader that already has kids or for those that are considering kids in the future, the second piece of advice came from a close friend, Phil, who was also our officiant. He told us to never forget the order of priority because it matters. It is about faith first, self-love, acceptance, and commitment to personal growth second, being a supportive and caring partner to one another third, so that we can be the best parents possible . He reassured us that putting our children last wasn’t selfish but necessary. Tell us a funny story relating to your wedding day or relationship! Throughout planning, when people would ask us about the tone or style of the wedding, they were often perplexed when Courtney would respond with a single word: mullet. Part classy, part trashy—and that is exactly what it was—perfect combination of serious and silly. A few highlights: guests were greeted by gorgeous bookcases filled with glasses of champagne… and tray passed Coors Light… along with a sign that said “Kindly grab a glass and sit your ass”. A donkey serving beer welcomed the guests to cocktail hour. Scratch-off lottery tickets were taped under every person’s chair. Our first dance was a lip sync battle. It was a pretty epic event, with a high response rate to the question, “Would you recommend this wedding to a friend?” (No, we didn’t actually survey our guests—formally, that is!) What is the most honest thing you can say about love? The most honest thing we can say about love is that it has to be, well, honest. By this, we mean that it requires vulnerability from both partners in order to not just grit it out and survive, but to really be fulfilled individually and collectively and thrive together as a team. Life and love are about the power of two.Photographer: Amanda Meg Photography
Venue: El Chorro
Wedding Planner: Revel Wedding Co.
Floral: Mint Green Design
Videographer: Vision + Love
Cake: A Bake Shop
DJ/Music: Groove Mobile
Transportation: Joyride AZ
Wedding Submission Services: Published + Pretty