Wedding Inspo - Avant Garde Weddings

Over the past few seasons we’ve found ourselves falling head-over-heels for those bold, bright, completely unique avant-garde weddings and elopements. This modern, colorful spin on traditional celebrations always leaves us pining for more extraordinarily stunning days.

From rainbow florals to shag rug cakes to elegant wedding style with a touch of exceptionally individual details, these days always have so many moments to drool over. Avant-garde nuptials have the perfect mix of classic wedding elegance with modern funk. With disco balls as wedding decor, brides in designer gowns walking down the aisle to bluegrass music, and couples rolling dice with their wedding parties in the middle of an art galleries, these days have seriously never failed to blow us away.

Bring on all the exceptionally unique, wildly beautiful weddings and elopements. We’re so dang excited to capture more and more of these groovy days!!

Featured Love Stories + Shoots
Noah + Rachel at Camino Real Ranch (Austin, TX)
John + Anna at La Fonda on the Plaza (Santa Fe, NM)
Nate + Cait in Downtown Denver (Denver, CO)
Scott + Leanne at SITE Santa Fe (Santa Fe, NM)
Morgan + Mattie at Las Campananas (Santa Fe, NM)

Weddings + Elopements by Alicia, Ashley, Bre, and the ALP Team
Blog + Photo Curation by Jaclyn of Alicia Lucia Photography

Wedding Inspo - Ceremony Altars

Whether its a mini-wedding with a handful of guests or a giant, incredibly lively wedding with a whole bunch of friends and family members, our couples always find a way to make their ceremonies extra gorgeous, especially when it comes to the backdrops they pick to stand in front of to say “I do”. From stunning floral installations to incredible ceremony arches, we’ve seen it all, but we love looking back at some of the most show-stopping ceremony set ups we’ve seen over the past year.

As expected, we captured a ton of floral arches, from the bright and bold to the soft and whimsical varieties. Arches, both of of the wooden variety and of the purely floral design are becoming a wedding staple that we’re sure will always be a fan fave.

But besides this new classic, what other beauties have adorned alters and made vows that much more special? There are a few pretty little designs that come to mind and wow, are we still drooling over them. Just a few of our current faves include a dreamy mauve-toned geometric backdrop, the most eye-catching florals being draped from a tiny balcony, and a boho rug framed with giant pampas grass arrangements. And, of course, we can’t forget how one of our couples opted for that wide open New Mexico sky to be their ceremony background as they exchanged vows at a backyard wedding in the Santa Fe mountains.

We’re not sure what new altar trends will take the wedding world by storm in the coming years, but we do know that they’ll be absolutely divines and we’re so dang here for it all.

Featured Weddings + Styled Shoots
Zach + Natalie at The Desert Compass
Emerson Venue Styled Wedding
Nathan + Caitlin in Denver, CO (coming soon to the blog)
Jawara + Jasmyn at Los Poblanos
Brittany + Angie in Nob Hill (coming soon to the blog)
Ben + Emilee at Sandia Event Center
Matt + Allie in Santa Fe, NM (coming soon to the blog)
Drew + Lauren at La Mesita Ranch Estate
John + Anna at La Fonda on the Plaza
Jeremy + Michelle at Los Poblanos (coming soon to the blog)
Patrick + Niki at Enchanted Vine Barn
Geoff + Jocelyn at Hacienda Doña Andrea
James + Lauren at Los Poblanos
Morgan + Mattie at Las Campanas
Carter + Carrie at La Fonda on the Plaza
Qwist + Cara at Los Poblanos
Trey + Clara in San Patricio, NM
Zach + Coli at Hotel Albuquerque
Chris + Ari at Los Poblanos
Ashwin + Lauren at La Posada de Santa Fe
Jordan + KC in Santa Fe, NM
Adam + Jill at Los Poblanos
Jason + Natalie at La Fonda on the Plaza
Colton + Lindsey at Hyatt Tamaya

Weddings by Alicia, Ashley, Bre, and the ALP Team
Blog + Photo Curation by Jaclyn of Alicia Lucia Photography

2019 Wedding Moments

To our 2019 couples,
As the year winds down and we get ready for brand new decade, we cna’t help but reflect on all of 2019’s stellar weddings! From the super intimate, heartfelt days to the incredible bashes full of life and amazing details, this season was truly one for the books.

From Southern New Mexico to Albuquerque to Santa Fe, we’ve been to some pretty incredible places and seen some amazing love stories. We adored each and every one of our couples, from our New York City cuties to our Las Cruces lovers to our stunning Santa Fe babes, this season has been full of love from across the U.S.! We can’t wait for what’s to come and we can’t help but thank these beyond amazing couples for letting us be a little part of their forever! We adore each and every one of you to the moon and back!

Love,
The Alicia Lucia Photography Team

Our 2019 Lovers
Trey + Clara Peter Hurd Guest House and a Private Residence in San Patricio, NM
Qwist + Cara at Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm
Patrick + Niki at Enchanted Vine Barn
Geoff + Jocelyn at Hacienda Doña Andrea
Gustav + Jackie at Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm
Garrett + April at Casa Perea Art Space
Carter + Carrie at La Fonda on the Plaza
James + Lauren at Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm
Morgan + Mattie at Las Campanas
Adam + Jill at Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm
Zach + Coli at Hotel Albuquerque and Casas de Suenos
Ashwin + Lauren at Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi and The Inn & Spa at Loretto
Ashwin + Lauren at La Posada de Santa Fe
Ryan + Jennifer at Sarabande Bed and Breakfast
Jake + Angela at Sandia Event Center
Pablo + Alejandrina at Old Town Albuquerque
John + Anna at La Fonda on the Plaza
Chris + Ari at Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm
Jason + Ryan at Ghost Ranch
Ben + Emiliee at Sandia Event Center
Colton + Lindsey at Hyatt Tamaya
Drew + Lauren at La Mesita Ranch Estate
Jason + Natalie at La Fonda on the Plaza
Jordan + KC at Cristo Rey Catholic Church and La Fonda on the Plaza
Suraj + Celina at a Private Residence in Albuquerque, NM
Michael + Sarah at La Fonda on the Plaza (coming to the blog soon)
Bryan + Jennie at Loretto Chapel and Four Seasons Santa Fe
Brad + Kenna at Old Town Farm (coming to the blog soon)
Conner + Laura at Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm (coming to the blog soon)

2019 Lead Photographers - Alicia Padilla, Ashley Shaw, Bre Bloomquist, and Brittany Miller
2019 Second Photographers - Cameron Storie, Melanie Montoya, Molly Morgan, and Brianna Archuleta
2019 Assistants - Jaclyn Younger, Cameron Storie, and Taylor DeJong

Blog + Photo Curation by Jaclyn of Alicia Lucia Photography

Wedding Inspo - First Look Moments

One of the biggest decisions to be made for your wedding is whether or not to do a first look, and if you know one thing about our gang its that we ADORE first looks!

The biggest bonus, besides being able to shake off some of the pre-ceremony jitters, is that with a first look you and your hunny get even more time alone together on your wedding day (something that is surprisingly hard to get on the biggest day of your lives!). In addition to extra time, you get a few special, quiet moments together to take in how gorgeous/handsome your future spouse looks without anyone else around (except for us of course!). Although some might argue that seeing each other before walking down the aisle takes away from emotional reactions, we couldn’t disagree more. In fact, first looks just add to that magic because you get to experience seeing your lover in front of all of your friends and family too!

There’s also the major plus of getting extra photos together during and after a first look! And who doesn’t want even more gorgeous wedding photos without having to stress about squeezing in all of the romantics into the day after the ceremony? And with a first look you can also get wedding party and family photos done which means that everyone gets to enjoy alllll of cocktail hour!

We could seriously list off five million reasons why first looks are amazing, but we’ll let all of our couples in this special post do the talking for us!

Our Real Life Love Stories
Chris + Ari at Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm
Jason + Natalie at La Fonda on the Plaza (coming soon to the blog)
Colton + Lindsey at Hyatt Tamaya
John + Anna at La Fonda on the Plaza
Morgan + Mattie at Las Campanas
Geoff + Jocelyn at Hacienda Doña Andrea de Santa Fe
Ryan + Jennifer at Sarabande Bed and Breakfast
Carter + Carrie at La Fonda on the Plaza
James + Lauren at Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm
Randy + Elizabeth at the Santa Fe Opera
Shaun + Jessie at Sarabande Bed and Breakfast
David + Lauren at La Fonda on the Plaza
Drew + Lauren at La Mesita Ranch Estate (coming soon to the blog)
Mack + Shelby at Four Seasons Santa Fe
Jake + Angela at Sandia Event Center
Jon + Paige at Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm

Weddings by Alicia, Ashley, and Bre of Alicia Lucia Photography
Blog + Photo Curation by Jaclyn of Alicia Lucia Photography

John + Anna, an avant-garde La Fonda wedding

Over the last few wedding seasons we’ve spent a lot of time at the ever gorgeous historic La Fonda on the Plaza and we’ve captured so much love at this beautiful venue. So when John and Anna came all the way from Brooklyn, NY to celebrate their big day at La Fonda, we couldn’t wait to see how they’d make their day so perfectly unique. Lets just say, they did not disappoint. These lovers not only brought big East Coast glam to the heart of the Southwest, but they did it in a way that was outrageously fun, remarkable, and truly a celebration like no other!

John and Anna met through mutual friends at a holiday party and although John tried to get Anna’s number from their friend James, he was unsuccessful (but still managed to get in contact with her!). After several years together, John (discreetly) proposed to Anna with her grandmother’s wedding diamond (swoon) at Grand Central Station before surprising her with dinner at Blue Hill at Stone Barns in upstate New York.

Even though their wedding day had a surprise rainstorm, Anna and John didn’t let anything stop them from celebrating their love! During a slight drizzle (which truly made their ceremony all the more romantic), these two said “I do”surrounded by all of their loved ones on La Fonda’s famous La Terraza balcony. And if their ceremony wasn’t enough to make us super heart-eyed over them, John and Anna’s absolutely killer vendor team including Renegade Floral (bringing those stunning arches and bouquets), Maggie’s Wedding Cakes (with the craziest rainbow creation, shag rug inspired greatness), makeup artist Kata Baron (who’s the queen b of that natural bridal glow), Vera Wang (with a classic yet so dang modern bridal gown) and Diamond Empire Band (a crew that always brings down the house with reception jams) made this day one for the books! They also brought in paper goods and signage from their incredibly talented friend Natalie Soud (please come design our entire lives!) and bluegrass ceremony music courtesy of Santa Fe based Kitty Jo Creek Band.

To top it all off, these two surprised everyone with a choreographed first dance that included just the right amount of both ballroom dancing and disco! John and Anna didn’t just have a super glam wedding, they had a wedding that was completely theirs, true to them and we adore them so much for it! Thank you for letting us be a part of your epic Santa Fe party, congrats Mr and Mrs Redmond!!!

Vendors
Venue - La Fonda on the Plaza
Invitations + Paper Goods + Signage - Natalie Soud
Florals - Renegade Floral
Hair - Beauty Bar Santa Fe
MUA - Kata Baron
Bridal Gown + Boutique - Vera Wang
Bride’s Shoes - Ralph Lauren + Stuart Weitzman
Bride’s Earrings + Rings - Zwikker and Zacher
Reception Gown - The Law Bridal from The One Bridal Boutique
Ring Box - The Mrs Box
Bride’s PJs - Oliva Von Halle
Bride’s Purse - Loeffler Randall
Bridesmaids’ Robes - Ten Thousand Waves Resort
Groom’s Suit - Ralph Lauren
Groom’s Bolo Tie - Moonlight Gemstones
Groom’s Boots - Lucchese
Ceremony Music - Kitty Jo Creek Band
Reception Music - Diamond Empire Band
Cake - Maggie’s Wedding Cakes
Lead Photographer - Bre
Second Photographer - Melanie
Assistant - Jaclyn

Blog + Photo Curation by Jaclyn of Alicia Lucia Photography