Mikaela & Josh | Deming, New Mexico Military Wedding at Rio Mimbres Country Club

Josh and Mikaela’s maroon and blush wedding in Deming, New Mexico was lovely!

Shortly after meeting Mikaela for the first time early in 2018, I started to realize what a beautiful, classic sense of style she has. Each time I saw some other element of her day–either in person at their courthouse wedding last summer, or through pictures she’d send during the planning phases for the ‘big wedding’ in December–I could see how the pieces were going to fit together to create something stunning. And when she first sent me a picture of her dress…I’m not sure I’ve ever actually had my jaw drop open before! But apparently that can really happen when something takes your breath away, because that’s exactly what happened to me! Mikaela is drawn to timeless looks and simple elegance, and it suits her personality and even appearance so well! She’s stunning! And she exudes this sweet, quiet, peaceful beauty that is just so charming, and which compliments Josh’s personality (and Marine Corps dress blues!) so well. You’ll see what I mean as you scroll through the pictures below!

Josh and Mikaela are high school sweethearts! He’s been in the Marines for the last few years, and has been stationed anywhere but near home. They’re looking forward to being TOGETHER in the same place in the coming year. (Military couples, I am always in awe of your strength in facing the challenges of separation!).

In the days leading up to their December 22nd wedding, the weather report for Deming was looking so nice for this time of year! We expected warm temperatures, cloud cover and maybe only the slightest breeze–perfect conditions! But this wedding was a reminder to not take weather reports too seriously–the reality was HIGH winds, which of course chilled everything (and everyone!) down, and we never did see a single cloud until very late in the day, during sunset portraits. But shooting weddings in the sunny Southwest really pushes me to study and learn new methods for dealing with harsh light, and I’ve been SO HAPPY with the way Josh and Mikaela’s mid-day portraits turned out. The bridal portraits were taken in full sun at 1:00 pm!!! They are some of my all-time favorites, even despite the CRAZY WIND (the worst I’ve dealt with on a wedding day!), AND the whizzing golf balls and caravans of golfers who surrounded us (you’d never know though–I’m a very creative ‘cropper’ haha!).

One of my favorite things about photographing Josh and Mikaela is how sweetly they look at each other. Anyone can see that they absolutely adore each other! Wait until you see their first look–Josh is absolutely BEAMING in those pictures!

Josh and Mikaela, I’m so pleased to have been able to photograph BOTH your weddings!! And p.s. Thank you for sharing your coveted wedding cheese cake with me–it was so fun hiding out in the back room at the reception with you to taste it!

Love you both, and my very best wishes as you make 2019 your own!

Erin 🙂