2021, a Year with ALP

After the truly life changing year the was 2020, we knew that this year was going to be incredibly special as the world finally opened back up for big weddings and celebrations of all kinds. Our 2021 couples filled our cups to the brim with the must stunning days that we’ll cherish for seasons to come.

If going back to a full wedding season wasn’t exciting enough for us, we were also beyond lucky to travel to so many gorgeous new locations this year. From the vast wine country of Austin to the dreamy mountains of Taos to the ever mystic Ghost Ranch to all the new little spaces in Santa Fe, our scenery was far from the ordinary. On top of this, so many of our couples were finally able to celebrate with all of their friends and family, an experience that we will never take for granted ever again.

Cheers to all the new adventures with the best couples in the most stellar of places, we can’t wait for all that 2022 is sure to bring our way.

Places the ALP Team Visited in 2021
White Sands National Park (Alamagordo, NM)
Bishop’s Lodge Resort (Santa Fe, NM)
Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Farm (Albuquerque, NM)
Four Seasons Santa Fe (Santa Fe, NM)
Camp Lucy (Dripping Springs, NM)
Ghost Ranch (Abiquiu, NM)
White Mesa (Rio Rancho, New Mexico)
La Posdada de Santa Fe (Santa Fe, NM)
Lighthouse Studio (Albuquerque, NM)
Camino Real Ranch (Austin, TX)
Breckenridge (Colorado)
Race and Religious (New Orleans, LA)
Hacienda Doña Andrea de Santa Fe (Cerillos, NM)
The Seraphim House (New Orleans, LA)
The Stakeout Taos (Taos, NM)
Sandia Foothills (Albuquerque, NM)
Taos Ski Valley (Taos, NM)
Sandia Resort (Albuquerque, NM)
La Fonda on the Plaza (Santa Fe, NM)
Tingley Beach (Albuquerque, NM)
Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town (Albuquerque, NM)
Sandia Mountains (Tijeras, NM)
Angel Fire (New Mexico)
La Mesita Ranch (Santa Fe, NM)
Hotel Andaluz (Albuquerque, NM)
Inn and Spa at Loretto (Santa Fe, NM)
El Malpais National Monument (Grants, NM)
Hotel St. Francis (Santa Fe, NM)
Farm and Table (Albuquerque, NM)
Ten Thousand Waves Resort (Santa Fe, NM)
Pecos National Historic Site (Pecos, NM)

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

Valentine's Feature - Florals We Heart

Out of all of the pretty things we’ve laid our eyes on, florals are always the detail that take our breath away. From the bright and bold to the delicate and soft, we’re obsessed with it all!

Over the last year we’ve been beyond lucky to capture so many incredibly divine floral creations from all over Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, and everywhere in-between. We’ve been completely obsessed with the new, brilliant ideas coming out of the tiny weddings and elopements of 2020. All of the insanely beautiful hanging installations and the dainty bouquets have us dreaming forever and ever.

We beyond hyped to see what new beauty 2021 brings to the realm of florals, but until then, feast your eyes on some of the most darling creations of all!

Featured Florists
Floral Fetish (Albuquerque, NM)
Renegade Floral (Santa Fe, NM)
Bagel’s Florals (Albuquerque, NM)
Albuquerque Florist (Albuquerque, NM)
Florecita Flowers (Albuquerque, NM)
A Beautiful Theme (Albuquerque, NM)
Marisa’s Millefiori (Santa Fe, NM)
Flower Loop (Albuquerque, NM)
The Flower Company (Albuquerque, NM)
Floral Elegance (Albuquerque, NM)
Rose Rebels Floral Designs (Albuquerque, NM)
Noble Floral Co (Portland, OR)
Stems Floral (Austin, TX)
Uptown Flowers (San Antonio, TX)
Good Seed Floral (Austin, TX)

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

Wedding Inspo - White Sands National Park

We always say that New Mexico is one of the most beautiful places on the entire planet, so its no surprise that the ever ethereal White Sands National Park is part of that magic. From elopements to intimate wedding celebrations to engagements, we’ve been lucky enough to capture so much beauty at this natural wonder over the last few seasons.

About three hours south of our home base in Albuquerque, this incredible place is beyond otherworldly. Described as one-of-a-kind, White Sands is one of the only natural gypsum sand deserts on the planet. Upon arrival, this gorgeous destination holds both timeless history and the perfect blank slate for any couple or shoot. White Sands’ endless landscape of immaculate possibilities always leaves us in absolute awe and desperate for more adventures there.

Truthfully, we sometimes wish that we could just live at White Sands year-round, its immense beauty is unmatched and deeply powerful to us. We can’t wait to see which of couples take us back to this literal heaven on Earth!

Location - White Sands National Park

Real Life Love Stories + Styled Elopements
Ben + Chelsea, a White Sands Elopement (coming soon to the blog)
A Day in Dubai, a Styled White Sands Elopement
Scott + Moxi, an Intimate Wedding Celebration at White Sands
Jason + Natalie, a White Sands Engagement

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

2020 - Moments with Alicia Lucia Photography

2020 was by far one of the most challenging years our team has ever faced, yet through all the difficult descisons and make-or-break moments, we still found the light on the other side of it all.

After an intense global pandemic forced our weddings and shoots to a screeching halt, we weren’t sure what to do, but somehow we found a new path and gained a better perspective on our lives, our business, and our community. We found new ways to capture weddings/elopements and support our couples as they navigated this insane year. And we also found even more opportunities to create beauty through styled shoots and portrait sessions. If one thing is sure, 2020 reminded us of why we set out to do what we do in the first place: love. Watching love win over and over and over again this year, despite all of the odds was something to behold. And we once again fell in love with with what we have the immense privilege of doing, capturing those undeniably beautiful moments of pure joy.

The biggest thank you from the bottom of our hearts goes out to every single couple, family, and individual who continually put their trust in us during a year where everything was uncertain, yet everything mattered even more. And to all of our vendor friends, thank you for riding this one out with us, we’ve never had so much faith in the wedding community as we do right here and now.

No year will ever be quite like 2020, and while we’re grateful to see beacons of hope at start of the new year, we’re forever be grateful for the year that gave us all a chance to start anew and to believe in the magic that is love.

Weddings, Elopements, Styled Shoots, and Portrait Sessions by the Alicia Lucia Photography Team
Blog + Photo Curation by Jaclyn of Alicia Lucia

Bridal Inspo - Strapless Wedding Gowns

A true bridal classic we see season after season, strapless wedding gowns are both elegant and just a tiny bit flirty. From the constructed couture variety to the plush blush styles to even the most gorgeous hand painted ones, strapless wedding gowns are definitely the perfect canvas for any bride to find her own unique style in for her big day!

One of the most special aspects of strapless wedding gowns is that the silhouette can still come in a multitude of styles. From sleek curve hugging gowns to ballgown inspired dresses to even the slightest mermaid bridal train, strapless gowns are each incredibly individual and downright beautiful!

We’re so excited to see what new designs and inspirations future strapless gowns will take on and we can’t wait to capture all of them!!!

Featured Bridal Gown Designers
Vera Wang
Eisen Stein Bridal
Ines di Santo
David’s Bridal
Stella York
Allure Bridals
Maggie Sottero
Hayley Paige
Reem Acra
Kelly Faetanini
Casa Blanca Bridal
Lillian West
Watters

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

Wedding Inspo - Why We Adore Elopements

Here in New Mexico, our team thrives in shooting the many big, bold, beautiful weddings all over the state, but we also live for the moments when we get to be a part of the sweet, quaint, intimate elopements! Just like larger, more traditional weddings, the main focus is always love, devotion and commitment, however, elopements tend to be much simpler and, of course, much much smaller. Here’s a few reasons why we have a soft spot for elopements!

- Intimacy
While we absolutely love getting to spend the day capturing those huge celebrations, there’s something magical about being alone with a couple sharing their first moments of married life with no one else around. We of course get to see lots of the same emotions as a traditional wedding ceremony, but we get to be even more up close and personal with our couples which makes it that much more meaningful for us behind the cameras.

-Cost
Its no surprise that elopements cost much less than average weddings do and today many couples all over the world are opting for elopements for just this reason. You can still get a stunning gown, a pretty bouquet, and a stellar hair/makeup artist without spending too much cash which is a huge bonus of elopements. In financially hard times, elopements are a great way to still look and feel amazing on your wedding day while still supporting a few small businesses along the way.

-Stress
Most of our wedding seasons consist of pretty big wedding days with some jaw dropping details (from floral installations, to killer reception music, to out of this world bridal fashion), but we know that the stress of putting together days like this might not be for everyone. And for that reason, elopements are a great alternative because a simple, intimate day with just you and your sweetheart (and a photog you both love) doesn’t put any pressure on you to having a larger than life floral arch or entertainment all of your guests will love. You get to focus on something a little bit simpler and a lot longer lasting, your love story and your future together.

-Location
Lastly, a really neat factor about elopements is that they can take place pretty much anywhere your heart desires. You can take a more classic route and head to the courthouse or they can be in the middle of a desert. The world is truly your oyster when it comes to eloping and while we have a few favorite locations that we adore for elopements here in New Mexico, we love seeing how they unfold across the globe.

A Few of Our Favorite Elopement Spots in New Mexico
White Mesa (San Ysidro, NM)
Nob Hill (Albuquerque, NM)
Los Poblanos (Albuquerque, NM)
White Sands (Southern NM)
Ghost Ranch (Northern NM)
Eagle Nest (Northern NM)
Sandia Mountains (Albuquerque, NM)

Elopements + Styled Elopements by Alicia, Ashley, and Bre of Alicia Lucia Photography
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