What We Heart About Santa Fe Weddings

Anyone who knows our team has seen how much we adore Santa Fe weddings and all of the amazing little spots where we’ve captured our couples and their love stories. From its vast architecture to it rich culture, Santa Fe is a gem among the Southwest and we feel so dang lucky to spend so much time exploring it.

One of the most iconic locations for weddings is, of course, the Santa Fe Plaza, but what many don’t realize is the vast number of different venues of all shapes and sizes for weddings.

Do you want a huge wedding with a parade around the historic plaza followed by an outdoor reception? There are several hotels including La Fonda on the Plaza, The Inn and Spa at Loretto, and La Posada de Santa Fe that are pros at these celebrations.

Or are you a bit more low-key and want an intimate wedding at a stunning hacienda or tiny inn? Spots like Hacienda Corta Caro and The Inn of the Five Graces are the coziest of wedding nooks.

Maybe you want a venue with an iconic past or one that’s even an art gallery? Places like Peters Projects at Gerald Peters Gallery, SITE Santa Fe, and The Santa Fe Opera are just a few of those unique, art focused spaces.

There’s even two incredibly famous churches right on the plaza, Loretto Chapel and The Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi, for more traditional weddings.

And what about places for couples wanting to venture a bit outside of the usual Santa Fe scene for venues nestled among the mountains and vast New Mexican landscape? Venues like La Mesita Ranch Estate, Las Campanas, Hacienda Doña Andrea, and Four Seasons Santa Fe all provide amazing views and details for any and all weddings they host.

Not only does Santa Fe have so many amazing venues, but so many unique New Mexican and Southwestern traditions have stayed in style season after season in The City Different. Every season mariachi parades around the plaza take center stage, tequila donkeys like sweet Conchita make an appearance at receptions, and all the chili, cactus, and skull details accent every inch of weddings. We love how couples from near and far fully embrace all the special little pieces of Santa Fe that we have such a soft spot for. And we can’t help but absolutely love it even more when our lovers from previous wedding seasons continue to visit Santa Fe year after year just to always have a part of the Southwest with them.

In our eyes, any venue in Santa Fe is the perfect venue and every tradition is beyond special. We’ve been so fortunate to capture a huge amount of couples in the most unique locations and honestly, we can’t wait to explore new places with brand new love stories.

Featured Santa Fe Venues
La Fonda on the Plaza
Hacienda Doña Andrea
La Mesita Ranch Estate
La Posada de Santa Fe
Santa Fe Opera
Las Campanas
SITE Santa Fe
Gerald Peters Gallery
Hacienda Corta Caro
Loretto Chapel
Inn and Spa at Loretto
Inn of the Five Graces
Eldorado Hotel and Spa
Four Seasons Santa Fe

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

Wedding Inspo - Pampas Grass

We’ve always had a soft spot for that soft, flowy, ever so subtlety-netural toned plant known as pampas grass, so when this pretty little plant started to take off in the wedding world, we were absolutely thrilled to capture it even more!

Originating from Southern American countries including Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, pampas grass was first introduced to the United States in Santa Barbara, California in the mid 1800s. And while this plant can sometimes push out other vegetation, it still manages to be extremely beautiful, unique, and very photogenic. Besides its common golden-yellow hue, pampas grass can also grow in colors from silvery-white to a soft pink (two shades that we want to see up close and personal).

Over the past few seasons, we’ve seen more brides and grooms take advantage of this versatile plant in their wedding decor. From using it as an accents in bridal bouquets and boutonnieres to subtlety placing it in reception centerpieces to adorning floral headpieces with it to letting it take center stage in both ceremony arches and aisle arrangements, the range of of what pampas grass can do truly seems unlimited!

We have a feeling that this interesting plant is here to stay for a few more seasons (and hopefully forever in the wedding world) and honestly we can’t wait to see what our couples do with it next. Long live pampas grass and all the bohemian vibes it encompasses on wedding days!

Featured Florists
Renegade Floral
Viva Flora
Albuquerque Florist
Floriography Flowers
Forth & Floral
A Beautiful Theme
Gaia Stvdio
Blue Ridge Blossoms
Placed by Polito

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

Wedding Inspo - Ballgown Bridal Gowns

As any wedding lover knows, classic and chic bridal looks are always in style. So this week we honed in on one of the original and most beloved bridal gown styles to date, ballgown wedding gowns.

While this wedding dress silhouette has seen dozens of changes over the last century, we know one thing is certain about ballgown dresses, they never fail to make our brides look like absolute queens all day long. The last few seasons we’ve captured a few absolute stunners including an unreal Pnina Tornai beauty that pulled major inspiration from Duchess Kate Middleton’s iconic gown to an enchanting Reem Acra number that gave just the right amount of couture to an epic summer wedding to a charming Randy Fenoli creation that brought all the delicate jewel details imaginable.

If you’re looking for the perfect addition to a modern yet classic wedding day, ballgown wedding gowns can add the right amount of elegance. Not only do they look flattering on every single bride out there, but these ballgown beauties add the right touch of bridal style magic to every soon-to-be wifey.

Bridal Gown Designers
Reem Acra
Lazaro Bridal
Pnina Tornai
Jenny Yoo Collection
David’s Bridal
Alfred Angelo
Randy Fenoli

Bridal Boutiques
Warren Barron Bridal (Dallas, TX)
Schaffer’s Bridal (Scottsdale, AZ)
Kleinfeld Bridal (New York City, NY)
Lovely Bride (New York City, NY)
David’s Bridal
Uptown Bride (Albuquerque, NM)
White Lace Bridal (El Paso, TX)

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

Wedding Inspo - Fall Wedding Florals

With a new season on the horizon, a lush new variety of different wedding color palettes and trends are on our minds. Wedding florals are always one the most diverse, yet versatile wedding detail, especially in the fall. We’ve seen it allll at autumn weddings, from lush neutral colored bridal bouquets with touches of rust to dark and moody shades of red and violet to simple blends of both light and dark tones. We’re on the brink of amazing fall weddings and can’t freaking wait for all the beauty to come this year!!!

Featured Florists
Florigraphy Flowers
Viva Flora
Bagels Florals
Renegade Floral
Placed by Polito
Shannon Loves Flowers
Barton’s Flowers
Stephanie Yardman Floral Design

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

Vendor Feature - Betty Rose by Alanna

We couldn’t pass up an opportunity to shout out one of our wedding day makeup mavens, Alanna Garcia! Over the past few years, so many of our brides have trusted Alanna with all of their glam needs and this MUA queen ALWAYS delivers. Her soft and natural, yet absolutely stunning looks continually make our brides look like absolute dreams. We trust and love this babe indefinitely, she even did bridal makeup on Alicia’s mom for her special day! All the love in the world in Alanna and her team of Betties as they continue to make weddings and engagements even more beautiful, can’t wait to capture even more of the prettiness they whip up this season!

MUA - Betty Rose by Alanna

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

Vendor Feature - Just Lovely Weddings + Darling Details Rentals

If you’re looking for a local New Mexico wedding planner and rental vendor that pulls together dreamy big day details, you’ll probably fall in love with Just Lovely Weddings and Darling Details Rentals, both run by our sweet friend Lauren Mestas. Based out of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, these two incredible little businesses help streamline wedding day planning and help make bridal daydreams a reality. From Southwestern chic to classically elegant to uniquely personal, Just Lovely Weddings and Darling Details know how to pull off just about any type of wedding you can think up! We can’t wait to see what Lauren and her team have up their sleeves for us this wedding season!

Wedding Vendors
Just Lovely Weddings
Darling Details Rentals

Featured Love Stories
Tyler + Cassie at La Posada de Santa Fe
Tyler + Jordan at La Fonda on the Plaza
Gary + April at La Mesita Ranch
Michael + Lucia at Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm
Michael + Caitlin at Old Town and El Zocalo
David + Lauren at La Fonda on the Plaza
Shane + Megan at a Private Estate in Albuquerque, NM
Gil + Joanna at La Posada de Santa Fe
Trenton + Aston at Loretto

Weddings by the Alicia Lucia Photography Team
Blog + Photo Curation by Jaclyn of Alicia Lucia Photography

Tyler + Cassie, a La Posada Wedding

This October, we went back to one of our all time favorite venues, La Posada de Santa Fe, for an unforgettable Sunday wedding with Texas lovers Tyler and Cassie. It may have been an unusually chilly and rainy day, but these babes brought the heat on their special day.

Tyler and Cassie’s darling little love story began when Cassie’s sister, Lexi, set them up on a group date (just knowing that they would be perfect for each other)! In early 2018, Tyler proposed in the town square of Mesilla, NM on a random Monday so that Cassie would be completely surprised. Afterwards, their families celebrated with them at La Posta (aka Cassie’s fave restaurant).

For choosing a wedding location, Cassie and Tyler settled on the ever enchanting Santa Fe since Cassie had been coming on weekend getaways to the capital city since she was a little girl. And La Posada turned out to have the perfect aesthetic for their glam, yet cozy wedding.

Flash forward to mid-October when these lovers said “I do” surrounded by their friends and families. Besides an incredible ceremony, we can’t get over the details from this day. Tyler and Cassie incorporated touches of the Southwest into their day including an epic succulent cake (by the queens at Maggie’s Wedding Cakes) to hand painted tiles (that the Just Lovely Weddings team created) to dreamy star lanterns (that seriously reminded us of New Mexico’s gorgeous star filled nights). And even though it was a little bit cold outside, these babes were totally up for romantics both outside in La Posada’s amazing courtyards and inside the infamous Staab house.

Congrats Tyler and Cassie, you raised the bar for amazing little Sunday weddings. We adore you both so much!

Vendor
Venue - La Posada de Santa Fe
Planning + Coordination + Lettering - Just Lovely Weddings
Florals - Placed by Polito
Cake - Maggie’s Wedding Cakes
Rentals + Star Lanterns - AA Tents and Events
Hair - Santiago Romero
MUA - Betty Rose by Alanna + Betty Rose by Ashley
Stationary - Karli Strohchein Art
Bridal Gown - Randy Fenoli
Bridal Boutique - White Lace Bridal
Bride’s Shoes - Badgley Mischka
Bride’s Earrings + Boutique - Molly Phillips Jewelry from Dos Femmes
Groom’s Attire - Men’s Wearhouse
DJ - Dream Factory Productions

Photos by Breanna & Alicia of Alicia Lucia Photography
Blog + Photo Curation by Jaclyn Younger of Alicia Lucia Photography