Kristie & Brent

I loved Milwaukee and am having 'Redmond-Benham family withdrawal'. Sometimes in this business, especially after a destination wedding, you feel like you are a part of the family and that was definitely the case this weekend. The groom's family is from Flagstaff, AZ and the bride from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

This wedding was unique for many reasons but one unfortunate similarity that pulled these two families together was both the bride and groom's fathers had passed away recently. The bride's father passed away 2 years ago and tragically, just two weeks ago the groom's Dad died of heart surgery complications. Needless to say, this couple's love has already stood the test of good and bad, sickness and health. I really admired the strength of this family to rise above the tough times in life and still manage to pull through and celebrate. As some of you know, I used to be a co-director for the BreastFest, a breast cancer benefit. Our message is to celebrate and remember those who have died, which is harder than it sounds. What touched me so much about this wedding was how the Redmond family had experienced tragedy just a couple years ago and Brent had comforted Kristie and her family, and now due to the circumstances, Kristie and her family would comfort Brent and the Benham family (not to mention the GREAT friends both families have). Both families found strength in one another and celebrated this wonderful day with Kristie and Brent as their father's would've wanted! This wedding embraced the true spirit of a marriage and the power of love (cheesy but true). Please pray for both families as they recover from a tumultuous month.

Back to the wedding gossip: the details to this wedding were incredible. The flowers were stunning... in fact, I've never seen such attention to the flowers, which really made the room POP! We did a quick photo shoot the day after the wedding to capture some additional portraits of Kristie and Brent... enjoy!

View slideshow here
P.S. The 'Robert Benham Memorial Fund' has been established for Mother of Redeemer Orphanage in Piura, Peru (a charity that the Redmond family founded a while back) and the Phoenix Children's Hospital.

donations can be made to: The 'Robert Benham Memorial Fund'
Chase Bank
4830 N. US Highway 89
Flagstaff, Arizona 86004