Raising money in memory of my dad Joseph Coates

My dad was a big fan of Meals on Wheels. Still driving a delivery route at age 87 to "the old folks" the year he passed away. He was a very giving person and this is a tribute to his generosity and spirit. This is a project I put together in his memory. It's called Flowers for Food. A photographic art project that takes flower images and makes them available for sale as a calendar, photographic art prints and giclee's on canvas. You can place your order or find more info here. http://www.sccsedona.org/Coates/calendar/index.html Here is a press release from the Sedona Red Rock News that appeared recently...

Sedona Bridal Show

January 17 is the first bridal show to be held in Sedona... and you can check it out. It has a $40,000 wedding giveaway as part of the show! Details of the Sedona Bridal Show. Brides and Grooms will meet on January 17th at 8am to load onto limo busses that will take them to Sedona. Kiss 104.7 and Mix 96.9 are holding a contest giving away seats on the limo bus so check out their websites to enter. There will be Sedona Wedding Planners on the limo buses to talk wedding and answer any questions. Or you can make your way up in your own car if you don’t want to do the limo bus thing. Sedona is only 90 minutes from North Phoenix and a beautiful drive this time of year! Couples will be taken to L’Auberge, Amara and Tlaquepaque to visit with the vendors and to register to win a $40,000 lavish wedding!! This is a fabulous high end wedding giveaway…. we are talking incredible vendors providing their services to the couple who wins. So here are the participating vendors and what they are providing:

L’Auberge is where the Ceremony will be held and they are only charging $50 per person to have your wedding there which is an absolute steal!
L’Auberge is also giving away a 2 night Honeymoon stay for the Bride and Groom.
Rehearsal Dinner at Tlaquepaque provided by Main Street Catering
Photos by Sedona Bride
Videography by Serendipity Videography
Cake by Sedona Cake Couture who has been featured on the Food Network!!
Wedding Planning by Sedona Wedding Planner
Floral by Events By Showstoppers
Officiant is Sterling Weddings
Limo by White Tie Transportation
Photo Booth by A2Z Photo Booths
Gown by Mariee
Rentals by Tri-Rentals
Suit by Saviero Custom Clothier
Hair and Make-up by Patricia Vega
Artists In Rhythm who is the band for the reception
Tickets are $10 per person or $15 per couple for those that drive themselves up. And it’s $25 per person or $35 per couple for those that want to come up in the bridal buses. The Sedona Bridal Show is sponsored by The Wedding Chronicle. For a complete list of vendors at the show and tickets to the show visit the Sedona Bridal Show website. See you there!!

Nunez Shaw Wedding

Rhiannon and Juan were fabulous! We had such a blast at his wedding in Sedona. The ceremony was held at the Church Of the Red Rocks Which has a beautiful view of the red rocks, hence the name. Private Time ( a chance for the bride & groom to see each other before the ceremony in a memorable way) and the reception were at Los Abrigados Resort and Spa on the banks of Oak Creek where the bride and groom along with their families stayed. Here's Rhiannon's note...

Bob,
Our wedding has been the most important event of our lives thus far, and one of the best decisions we made was choosing you as our photographer. We have been blown away by your work form the first day we met you. Once we saw our engagement photos we knew our wedding photos would be absolutely perfect and we couldn't wait to see them. After viewing the wedding day photos there is not one photo that we are unhappy with, all of them are phenomenal. We are also very glad that you recommended "Private Time." It gave us a chance to enjoy each other on our special day. And although we love all the photos, some of our favorites are from "Private Time" and really reflect our love and emotion for one another. We have received many compliments from our guests regarding your work. One guest stated, "He just knew the relationships and who to focus on at different times, it is like he just knew exactly what to do." We could go on and on as to how elated we are with our decision to choose you as our photographer. We thank you very much for capturing these memories which we will cherish forever. You are so talented and we will be contacting you in the future for maternity and family photos. Thank you again!!! Rhiannon and Juan

Here are some images from Juan and Rhiannon's wedding album...

Stamatiou Wedding Houston Texas

This was Lori and Andreas' wedding held in Houston Texas. (Yes I do photograph weddings out of state and out of the country) They had a fabulous event with two ceremonies. One in a beautiful Greek Orthodox Cathedral. I'll just hush up for now and let the email I received today from Lori tell the story...

Good morning Bob. As you probably know, thanks to Mom, we received our album last week, and I got to put a bow on it and give it to Andreas for our anniversary. He enjoyed looking at it. Mom and Dad looked at it when it arrived on Tuesday, and I briefly looked over their shoulder at it. Just now, since Alexa is sleeping and I'm not having to rush around to get things done for the day, I finally got to really look at it...yippee. Anyway, I love, love, love it!!! It is fabulous! Mom had said that she was so glad that she had decided (sight unseen) to get a copy of it because she loved it when she saw it on Tuesday. And Dad thought that it was incredible too. We are all so happy with it. Thank you soooo much. You did a wonderful job!! It really is beautiful!!!!!
-Lori

P.S. Have a great day and thanks again for my gorgeous wedding album!

Here are a few wedding album spreads from Lori and Andreas' album.

Kelly & Ronnie at Creekside Inn B&B

The wedding at Creekside Inn with Kelly and Ronnie in Sedona was an intimate affair with about a dozen guests. The wedding ceremony was performed by Susan of Weddings in Sedona in an area that's called the glade. It's a tree covered canopy with dappled sunlight filtering through from spring until fall. You can hear the creek as it's just off to the side. A very wonderful spot to share wedding vows. Here are some images...



I really like this image of Kelly before the wedding. The person in the reflected in the mirror is her mother who walked her down the "isle."



Ronnie the Groom. looking good!



This is the ceremony spot in the Glade.



These flowers are from Chris at Mountain High Flowers of Sedona.



Creekside Inn is set on 3 acres of land right off beautiful Oak Creek. I enjoy letting a couple go for a stroll down the path and capturing intimate moments of them.

Mckinney Hawkins Wedding Sedona, Arizona

You've probably been waiting to see how the wedding photography images from Jason and Kindal's wedding at the Creekside Inn in Sedona, AZ turned out. It was a great Sedona wedding. Creekside Inn is a great venue with 3 acres on beautiful Oak Creek. They had their wedding in an area called the Glade surrounded by towering trees and Oak Creek bubbling alongside. Jason and Kindal's engagement images were captured in Jerome, AZ. (see posts below) Here are some pages from their album spreads (still in production but you can get a sneak peek at the early design of all the wedding album spreads by clicking here. Mountain High Flowers took care of the flower design. Kindal choose yellow and white and I think it worked out great! The flowers added a touch of color without taking center stage from the bride. The album they choose is a Leather Craftsmen flush mount which means they are getting 9 inch x 12 inch photographs that are mounted flush to the end of the page. They also choose a yellow cloth cover made of especially durable material with a photograph of the rings inset.



The Glade at Creekside Inn in Sedona. A beautiful wedding venue.



The Wedding rings poised on the flowers from Mountain High Flowers in Sedona, AZ.



Tlaquepaque, Sedona

Tlaquepaque in Sedona is a beautiful place for photographs. The complex is rich with archways, stone walkway and gorgeous stairways. (You do need to get a permit to shoot there...)


Strolling around Tlaquepaque Shopping Village.



Images from Red Rock Crossing in Sedona... After we finished coverage as I was driving out I saw the full moon starting to rise behind the rocks. I pulled over quickly to this background image.

Tlaqapaque Wedding Sedona, AZ

Got a chance to photograph a wonderful couple at the Tlaquepaque Chapel. Andrea and Sean came from South Carolina and Nebraska to get married in Sedona. We went to the bottom of Schnebly Hill for some images after the wedding and before heading to one of my favorite restaurants, Cucina Rustica in the Village of Oak Creek for the reception cake and toast. Haven't had time to work up a lot of images but here's a few to give you a taste for what it was like....



On the Chapel steps



This is the Chapel at Tlaquepaque (don't worry it took me a while to learn how to say it properly too!)



Bottom of Schnebly Hill for some of Sedona's red rocks in the background



This silhouette was taken right before the wind picked up and 2 minutes later the monsoon rains came!

Seven Canyons Wedding Sedona, AZ

What a fabulous venue for a wedding! Danille and Rob choose this beautiful red rock vista place for it's views and boy did they get them. The ceremony was outdoors on the green grass of the 7 Canyons Country Club and the reception just above. It was decorated through Events by Showstoppers The flowers were simple and gorgeous but not overpowering allowing Danielle's beauty to shine through. T was a pleasure to work with all the friends and family during the wedding. It was one of the happiest most pleasant groups I have ever worked a wedding with. Enjoy the images and let me know what you think in the comments...

Pre wedding shoot Sedona, Arizona at Seven Canyons

Meet Rob and Danielle. They are getting married at the beautiful Seven Canyons Resort.

The Villas out here are absolutely beautiful not to mention the fabulous views. If you are interested in the property (they have fractional ownerships available) Rob is the man to talk to. You can email rob for more information at robla29@hotmail.com

Here are a few images from our shoot on Wednesday. Can't wait for the wedding it will be a beautiful event!!

Sedona Hilton Web Site

Here's a link to the Sedona Hilton's web site for romance. They asked me to supply some images that help tell the story of weddings in Sedona, Arizona. They turned out pretty cool in the flip book format of their e-brochure... I didn't supply all the images but you'll know which ones are mine. All you need to do is click on the title of this blog entry. You may also have to click on the romance button too.

Engagement shoot Jerome, Arizona Part deux

Here's the response from Jason on the pre-wedding shoot in Jerome. (see previous post under this one)
Bob,
WoW! You did a awesome job with those. I really love the last one in front of the bar at night. The spot light captures perfectly. The small frame on the camera didn't do it justice when I saw it that night. It looks as if you were walking downtown and happened to see a couple sneak a kiss after a drink inside. I am very excited to see you at the wedding. You have a great eye for capturing images.
Thanks for all your help. Jason

And from Kindal-
Bob- Wow the pictures are looking great so far! I can't wait to see the rest! We had so much fun and I love having these great photos of the two of us. Thanks again Bob, you're awesome! :) Kindal

Here is a playful image sequence from the shoot.... This is proof that we'll be able to get some fabulous photos on their wedding day in Sedona because they are so comfortable with each other and willing to be themselves.

Kindal & Jason Pre wedding shoot

It's always fun to work with a couple that truly enjoy each others company! Jason and Kindal's photographs show they do. We went on the road over to Jerome, Arizona because it's a neat little town that they have had some good times in. The weather was perfect being a bit overcast but warm temperatures. Until after dark that is, when it was a wee bit nippy with a little breeze coming up after we had a bite to eat at the Haunted Hamburger. Everything was great, even when the police officer asked us what we were doing because Kindal and Jason are such good looking people they thought we were in town doing a commercial shoot! In keeping with the town I treated some of these images so they look like old time photos. The last photo was captured in the dark and we used a flashlight to bring attention to jason and Kindal's faces. I'm really looking forward to photographing their wedding in Sedona, Arizona.