A Fall Engagement Session in Arizona - Joni Loraine Photography

December 6, 2023

One of my favorite things ever is exploring new places! This engagement session at Jewel of the Creek in Arizona was everything!! Hopping on a plane to Arizona for the weekend and hanging out with Mackenzie and Andrew was SO much fun! I had always dreamed of capturing a session just like this out in the desert amid the gorgeous landscape that Arizona has to offer. So when I video chatted for the first time with Mackenzie and learned that they lived in Arizona and a possible engagement session there was likely, I was thrilled!

Getting to know this sweet couple during this weekend trip was so precious. We had a complete blast wandering all over this stunning park outside Phoenix. Not only did the scene and incredible sunset take my breath away, so did these two amazing people! They were so sweet together and I loved hearing about their story. Mackenzie moved to Arizona for college and now her job with Andrew following a few years later.

The Proposal

Andrew planned out the PERFECT surprise proposal to her. They love the outdoors and during a hike with some of their friends he stopped partway through. He said he needed to get a rock out of his shoe. She, of course, didn’t think anything of it when he knelt down but her face lit up when he actually pulled out a stunning “rock” from his shoe! And honestly it is one of the biggest and more gorgeous rocks I’ve ever seen! (Scroll through their session to see it! There’s even an image we captured where a bee landed on it on her hand!)

We got to drive all over Phoenix, tried some amazing restaurants with them, hiked around this desert paradise, and I even got stuck by a cactus! Ok I was stuck by more than one cactus, but Andrew was nice enough to pull one sticker out of my arm for me. Haha! It was a trip so epic I’ll never forget it. I loved and appreciated so much how these two trusted me to lead and guide them all the way through this session. We laughed, learned some things about cactuses and had an amazing time capturing these stunning images. I can’t wait for their summer wedding in the Pacific Northwest next year!