Great Joy

When we asked this Sedona Destination Weddings Bride:

“How much do you love your new husband?”

She respondedby throwing her arms up with joy as if to embrace the entire moment.

She loves him so much that she planned the perfect romantic elopement to Sedona.

Sedona did not disappoint.  She enveloped this joyous couple with a stunning Sunset at spectacular Red Rock Crossing with majestic Cathedral Rock rising up above.

This was a moment and a Wedding that her Groom will hold dear in his heart forever.

This is what pulling off the perfect Elopement looks like.  Pure Bliss!

The New Old West


This is such a fun and fabulous idea. An Old Western Style Wedding in the Red Rocks.
These His and her Cowboy hats look so romantic with a beautiful bouquet in the Sunset.
YeeHaa!

Red Rock Cathedral Bride

 

Take:

Desert Sunset.

World famous Cathedral Rock at Red Rock Crossing

Stunning Bride.

Gorgeous Dress.

Mix together with Love and tenderness, humor and Joy and you have the perfect recipe for a fabulous, unforgettable, romantic and magical Sedona Destination Wedding!

This truly was a day that this Bride will remember and cherish for a lifetime.

 

Happy Couple

Thank you so much Iala and Akal for making our elopement so incredibly special.  You really did take great care of us since the first time we spoke until even after our wedding and never let us down, for that we are truly grateful.  Our family was far away but you were all so welcoming, made us feel comfortable and at ease with your awesome personalities that it really took the edge off.  We felt like we known you all for years and we were not alone on our day. We are still amazed at how stress free everything was and how everything turned out exactly how we wanted.  The Airport Vortex is such an amazing place.  I’m happy that in one of our photos when we first got to the top of the vortex you captured the look on my face of being blown away by it’s beauty.  Everyone who has seen the photos simply gush over them and asks “How did you find this place?”  and we always say how lucky we are that we found your site or we would never even known the Airport Vortex exists.  We have so many wonderful stories to tell everyone about our cermony, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of telling them.  See you again when we renew our vows in about 10 years :)
Eternally Grateful
Chrissy & Ron

 

In The Flow

This lovely Sedona Bride is in the Flow.  Standing on a Red Rock slab in the middle of Oak Creek she lets her train flow in the Creek.

This is a very powerful Vortex site.  It is said that when you face down streams you release all your cares and worries, suffering and pain.  And when you turn and face upstream as our Bride is doing you fill yourself up with Grace and Love and Peace and Joy.

Oak Creek Bride

This very beautiful Sedona Bride looks like a water maiden and her cute little ring bearer looks like a water sprite himself!

In the summertime early morning Weddings along the banks of lush Oak Creek are cool and full of summer sparkle.

Giant cottonwoods reflect in the waters surface and the temperature is perfect.

This Wedding took place at Red Rock Crossing. This is a popular Sunset Wedding Location but as you can see mornings here are magical too.

Leap of Faith


Marriage is the great Leap of Faith.  That is because when we marry we promise to love each other – not only as we feel today – but as we intend to feel for a lifetime.

With our Sedona Weddings we celebrate the Love that will grow and deepen over a lifetime.

The Leap of Faith is a good thing.  On your Wedding Day it is a Jump for JOY!  May you always remember the Joy that set wings to your feet. Amen

Togetherness

Two Heads are Better than One

This picture really is perfect for that old saying.  This young couple put their heads, hearts and lives together in their romantic Wedding Ceremony by the Banks of Oak Creek.

When we come together in Matrimony we get two of everything. More love, more hope, more brain power, more life and family, more joy, more Bliss, MORE!!!

It’s a good thing.

Joining Two Lives


We have so many beautiful pictures of two hands joining. Our couples holding hands are a symbol of the joining of two lives, two separate histories,

two families uniting to form a new path and a new life before them.
The rings they wear are a symbol of the vows they have spoken.

May these rings be to the end of their lives their most precious adornment.

Shamanic Sedona Song

At this Intimate Wedding along the banks of Oak Creek our Shaman Akal serenades the couple with his drum singing solo.

Akal’s drum songs are moving, memorable and once in a lifetime. He creates his song from the energy of the moment. This Song was heard on the Wind for a moment and remains in the heart forever.

Our Shamanic Sedona Package is truly one of a kind!

Reverend Jaggs

Here is our Reverend David Akal Jaggs. He loves to officiate at Weddings. He is a very warm and compassionate man. his ceremonies are full of light, love and laughter.

Reverend David is a pillar of calm and strength. Couples find it easy to relax in his presence and be more present in their special moment.

He brings a mature and solid presence to a Wedding Day. He himself is a happily married man. He enjoys joining couples and wishing them a life of married companionship, joy and lifelong love.

Lover’s Knoll Bride

This beautiful Bride is basking in the glow of Sunset at Lover’s Knoll.
Lover’s Knoll is an awesome Sunset Wedding Location.
There’s ample parking. very east access. And Cathedral Rock all aglow with the last of the day’s Sun.
We love this location. At Sunset all the Rocks light up and shine in all their Red Rock Glory. There are very few people here and we often find we have the Knoll to ourselves. it’s one of Sedona’s Special treasures. Perfect for elopements and larger Wedding parties too.

Wedding Joy

We love to hear stories from our couples of how they met.
This couple met at a Playground with their children. That playful energy carries over in their exuberance. Their Joy at Wedded Bliss cannot be contained. This is what you call Jumping for Joy.
On this beautiful Summer morn let’s all Jump for Joy and feel the happiness and Joy and Gratitude for our own Blessings and the Love in our Lives.

Sand Tradition

Here is a beautiful image of a Sand Ceremony set up along Oak Creek at Red Rock Crossing.
The Sand Ceremony is a lovely element to add to your Ceremony.
You are left with a lovely souvenir of your Special Day and the Vows you spoke and the Union that you share.

Beautiful Sedona Bride

What could be more beautiful than a lovely Bride all in White at the foot of Cathedral Rock at Red Rock Crossing Sedona – just as Sunset.
this picture is one for the family heirlooms. All our Sedona Destination Weddings make beautiful memories.
This was a wonderful Elopement. Part of our wonderful new Elopement Package with Kokopelli Suites in Sedona. Call us for more details at 928 282-0993 and book your Romantic Elopement today!!

Sedona Best Man


This is Abner. He played quite a part in a recent Sedona Elopement.
Abner looked quite fetching in his Tuxedo Collar. He gave the Bride away, was the ring bearer. He also thoughtfully sat on her train so she wouldn’t float away in Bliss.
He was a great addition to the Wedding. And he got to have a lovely cool off in the Creek.
Having your Beloved pet at your Ceremony is a sweet touch.

A Happy Bride

I still am in awe of how perfect our wedding was, from beginning to end. There’s really a powerful combo of having time the day before the wedding with Akal to bond with the earth, the vortexes and with our spirits. It sets the stage for the wedding, and a foundation, to build upon with the connections of our spirits and energy that unites a couple in marriage… in perfect harmony.
The comments are pouring in at my blog and Facebook about how beautiful, powerful, and love filled our wedding looks in the pictures, description and video. People are saying their eyes fill up with tears or they actually weep while watching it. Just think if they had been there with us that on that mountain smack dab in the middle of vibrant, powerful, breathtaking action that only being married in Sedona can bring. I can thank Patricia, our photographer, for her energetic, giggling ways that instinctively knows when to snap the moment as if it had been rehearsed a million times. She almost seemed like another Super Hero, “Spidey Girl”; being everywhere at once click….click… finding all the tender, humorous, and big screen drama of our made for TV movie like wedding. Pinch me!! Our wedding photographs are heirlooms.
Thank you, Rev. Iala and Akal for taking our love story and turning it into a cover of a romance novel. Part of me laughs at saying that last statement, and the other part knows we asked the Universe to give us the wedding of our dreams, and then the Universe delivered it to us wrapped in turquoise skies, rich red dirt, Raven filled vistas and a couple in tune with our needs, desires and spiritual longings. Our wedding kicked it, didn’t it?! Oh man, as in Superman and Lille Lane, it sure did!

Creative Bouquet

We just loved the creativity of this beautiful Bouquet. The Bride took so much time and put so much love and so many memories into it. All of her family and the Groom’s was represented. Aunts, Grandmothers, mothers and more. They were all there in her hand and witnessing her special day.

Now they have a very special family heirloom to begin their new life together.

This is a Bouquet we will always remember.

A Sedona Prayer


You see these Piles of Rocks all over Sedona.
I call them Rock Stupas.
Each rock is a prayer balanced precariously on another prayer.
In some Vortex Spots there are hundreds of these piled up. Rock Gardens of Prayer.
This one was along Chapel Trail. It graced a wonderful Vow Renewal Ceremony. Our couple added two rocks or two prayers of their own.
Take a few deep breaths, relax and send your own prayers into the Rocks.
Many Blessings

Wedding Traditions – The Salt Covenant


I really love this Tradition.

Its based on Old Time agreements. Apparently once you gave your word on a deal you secured it by taking some salt out of you little salt pouch and putting it into the pouch of the person you were making the deal with.
You could break your word whenever you wanted – you simply had to remove your exact grains of salt from his bag of salt. Impossible.
Your Word was your Word. A vow was a vow. No breaking it.
The Salt covenant comes from this Tradition.
In the Ceremony both the Bride and groom Blend their Salt together. They use the blended salt in their daily cooking. When the salt gets low they repeat the Ceremony refilling the Salt Container and having a constant reminder of their Vows.

The actual Ceremony is as follows:
The Salt Covenant
Now you shall make a Covenant of Salt together.
During ancient times agreements and promises
were sealed by a salt covenant.
Each person would take a pinch of salt from their
pouch and place it in the pouch of the other.
This agreement could not be broken unless an
individual could retrieve their own grains of salt.
But this, of course, is impossible.

Now you have chosen to create a salt covenant with
each other at the beginning of your new life together.

The egg shape symbolizes the full cycle of life,
and therefore encompasses all that you will enjoy,
create, and love in your life together.

Bride and Groom, please now combine your two bags
of salt together in this egg.
This is a bond that can not be broken and is a symbol
of an unbreakable promise of love.

Salt is a good preservative.
It will help you remember that your love for
one another should be preserved for all time.
Salt adds flavor.
We all need a little spice in our lives.
Salt melts ice.
When your heart begins to grow cold you can
melt one another again.
Salt is easily dissolved.
You can remember to dissolve your issues
and learn to work together.

Now use this salt in your cooking until it is gone,
and each time it needs refilled, refill it together.
It is a wonderful way to remember what your
marriage is about.

Serious Commitment


I wanted to share this with you.
Our Bride and Groom on Valentine’s Day went so far as to have each others name tattoed on their arms.

The Groom said that she did hers first as a gift to him. It freaked him out at first but then he got one too and he went even bigger.

Now that’s a serious commitment!

Wedding Traditions – The Sand Ceremony

The Sand Ceremony is a very popular Wedding Ceremony.
The different color sand in the separate vessels represents the uniqueness and the wholeness of each individual. The Bride has her vessel and the groom has his. Often if there are children involved in the new union they will have a separate vessel of their own.

The Bride and Groom each take turns holding their vessel and speaking of who they are as an individual. Their hopes and dreams and their family and history. Then the Groom has his say.

Then the couple combine their sands into a new vessel. This represents the Union of their Marriage.

When they have finished they both speak of who they are together. What their relationship means. What their shared hopes and dreams are.

The new vessel with the combined sands becomes a very special and treasured family heirloom. It is displayed in a prominent place in their new home. A daily reminder of their Vows and their Sacred Union.

Wedding Shoes

Shoes say a lot about a person. Wedding foot wear says even more.
We’ve seen some fancy feet in our time. We love these ones.
These Boots were made for Walking, Climbing, Dancing, Hopping and Skipping with Glee.
This Sedona Bride really put her best boot forward!!

Sedona Winter Wedding


This was a winter wonderland wedding. It took a lot of trust on the part of our Bride and Groom. All day long it was raining. Just before the Wedding it turned to snow. And there we were in a beautiful Winter Wonderland. Truly Sedona does not do ugly. She is beautiful in any weather and every day!

Our Bride and groom were thrilled. Snow is Sedona is fairly rare – they definitely were Blessed. No one even felt the cold. In fact – the Bride wore opened toed shoes through the snow drifts. We were on a a Snowy Cloud 9. And all the pictures are so fabulous!

I just have to share a few more pictures from that special day! It’s one we will never forget.

Unique Sedona Bridal Bouquet

This is a beautiful and very creative Bridal Bouquet. It was made by the Bride herself. Made from dozens of brooches. Each of the brooches was owned by a family member of both the Bride and the Groom. Each brooch had a story, a memory and a smile.

This couple eloped. But they were not alone. Their family was right there in her hands in this very unique bouquet!

Sedona Ring Bearer

This little Angel was a sweet addition to one Sedona Wedding, She patiently waited with the rings around her neck until just the right moment. When I called her to come she pranced up to the altar bearing the rings. She brought a smile to all our hearts and a special touch of love to the Ceremony.

Your Sedona Wedding Party comes in all shapes and sizes and species.

This Wedding took place at Airport Vortex. It was an elopement on the coldest day that Sedona has experienced in many years. This lovely young couple were determined that that was their day and their time and nothing was going to stop them from Celebrating their Love. Surprisingly none of us felt the cold. When there is Love in the Air our hearts warm us from the inside.

The Sedona Bride and Groom

After a memorable and beautiful Wedding by the Creek a Sedona Bride and Groom stroll happily and in a haze of love towards their future and their lives together.

Such a gentle, rich and fulfilled moment and one that we are honored to be a part of.

Sedona Bride

Red Rock Crossing is a beautiful Wedding location in the early morning hours. The place is quiet – you might have some ducks swim by or a heron fly overhead – and once a horse came down to the water to drink.

Cathedral Rock at Red Rock crossing is the second most photographed spot in Arizona after the Grand Canyon. The morning hours here hold a special charm. Calm, quiet deserted. This is when Sedona’s magic really shines.

Cathedral stands tall and majestic above you and shimmers in the water below you.

Our beautiful Sedona Bride seems to be in Bliss. Soaking up the morning, the sun, the beauty and the love on her special day.

The Wedding Walk

I love the Wedding Walk. The new Mr and Mrs strolling towards their new life together. It’s like the first dance here in Sedona. This one is under the big shade trees of Oak Creek at Red Rock Crossing.

The Bride and Groom are always in a happy haze. We did it. We’re married!! Such a joyous walk in such a beautiful place.

This was especially happy because our groom contacted me 7 months before from active duty in Afghanistan!! I prayed for him until the moment he called me state side and said “I’m back, Reverend Iala. And I’m ready to get married.”

I was never so happy to see a Groom in all my life. I am sure his Bride felt the same way.

We like to honor all our men and women in service. That is why we have our 10% Military Discount on all packages.

Sedona Wedding Guests


Expect the miraculous in Sedona. You never know who will show up to your Wedding on the Red Rocks.
Everyone loves romance and these beautiful Ravens were no exception.
They circled a Ceremony at Airport Vortex and took all our breaths away.
A true Blessing from Spirit.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Happy Holidays from Sedona Destination Weddings.

Blessings to All!

SEDONA WEDDINGS – MILITARY DISCOUNTS

Sedona Destination Weddings is honored to be a part of the Sedona Weddings of our Military Men and Women. We have officiated many Military Weddings.
We have special discount of 10% off  our Serene Sedona and Sedona Memories Wedding Packages for active Military.

Call us today at 928 282-0993 to start planning your Sedona Wedding at our great Military Discount rates. We are proud to support our Troops and to help make your Sedona Wedding pure magic.

NEWS FLASH – Superman Marries Lille Lane

On September 22, 2010 Superman married his Lois Lane or Miss Lille at airport Vortex. It was the Fall Equinox and a powerful day and a powerful Ceremony.

They chose our Sedona Song Wedding Package. It was a two day never to be forgotten event.

Lille and Superman went out onto the Vortexes with Akal and had a chance to really connect with the energies have a transformational experience. Together they chose the Wedding site that they both Superman and Lille resonated with.

The Wedding Day was very intense – everything from sunshine to hail!
I was not worried a bit. I knew that the Spirit of Sedona would shine on us all and that Airport would shelter us for as long as we needed. Sure enough the sun came out the minute we all arrived and we had exactly enough sun to get us through the entire ceremony and lots of photos after wards. Lille and Superman were truly blessed. The rain around us was another level of Blessing – a special anointing by the Divine and a great gift to the desert.


Lille tells the story best on her blog. And she’s made a lovely little video so I’ll let her take over from here.

Lille’s Blog

Including Children in your Ceremony

Often a Wedding Ceremony blends a New Family. Grooms instantly become fathers and Bride’s become mothers. Sometimes the new family includes children from both sides.

It is a wonderful idea to include your children in your Ceremony. There are so many ways to do it. Including a child makes them feel a part of the new family, welcomed and valuable.

You may want to do a Candle Ceremony that includes a candle for the child. Or a sand Ceremony in which the children each have their own vessel of colored sand to add to the blended sand vessel.

Or you and your Beloved may choose to say a few words to the child. You can write your own vows to your new step-daughter or son. Make a promise to be a good and loving parent.

Alternatively, after you and your Spouse exchange rings you can present the child with a locket or bracelet also symbolizing their role in your new family.

Any or all of the above are wonderful ways of recognizing, including, welcoming and celebrating the presence of the child in your family.

Wedding Sites – Tlaquepaque

Tlaquepaque is a quaint, old Mexican style shopping mall right on Oak Creek. There are cobble stoned courtyards and a lovely little chapel for your Ceremony. For more info on the Chapel see our Sedona Chapels Package

Even if you go for a Ceremony out on the Red Rocks this little jewel is a great place for a photo session either before or after your Ceremony.

There’s plenty of parking, easy walking access for everyone and an old world charm that is remarkable and uniquely southwestern.

10-10-10

The countdown is on for our 10-10-10 Weddings. People began booking that day last October. It has proven to be the most popular day for Weddings that we and all of Sedona have ever had.
I just read this about the 10-10-10:

What is 10-10-10?
The number 10 represents Rebirth. The triple 10-10-10 of Oct. 10, 2010. Brings in the triggers of completion of jouneys, returns to origins, perfection, fulfillment, the return to unity, and closure for those of us ready (after the wild past 10 months of 2010) to move through another 3D triple Initiatic Doorway or portal/gate and move up another important energy stair step during fall 2010. I suspect that on the immediate other side of the 10-10-10 portal/gate/stair step, we’re going to feel-for a while-much like we did during the very strange Zero Zone phase of December 2009; being deep within another stage of dying, transitioning, and being reborn into a very new level of being. (10 = 0 and 1 energies but at a higher octave of unity.

The part about perfection and the return to Unity might explain why so many couples have been drawn to this day for their Wedding.

Sedona Destination Weddings will be officiating 8 weddings on that day.

We begin at 10 in the morning with Tina and Roger and a powerful Shamanic Ceremony at Red Rock Crossing.

It promises to be a day of Great Celebration and Joy and we get to bask in the love until Sunset!!

I’ll keep you posted on all the high lights of the day.

Blessings
Rev Iala

Fall Weddings in Sedona

Fall is a very special time in Sedona. The weather is perfect with temperatures in the low 80′s and the bluest skies you have ever seen.

Sedona’s Red Rocks stand out crisp and clear in this autumn light. A Sedona Wedding in the autumn is truly magical. Any time of the day is special. Early mornings have a glow that  feels other worldly. Sunsets are full of reds and golds and magenta.

The sun is kind and gentle in the fall here in the high desert. All of our Fall Bride’s shine with an inner and a very serene outer light.

Sedona Weddings in the Fall: Pure Bliss…

Fall is a very special time in Sedona.  The weather is perfect with temperatures in the low 80′s and the bluest skies you have ever seen.

Sedona’s Red Rocks stand out crisp and clear in this autumn light.  A Sedona Wedding in the autumn is truly magical.    Any time of the day is special.  Early mornings have a glow that  feels other worldly.  Sunsets are full of reds and golds and magenta.

The sun is kind and gentle in the fall here in the high desert.  All of our Fall  Bride’s shine with an inner and a very serene outer light.