Kristina and Josh's Dreamy Desert Wedding in Arizona With Accent's of Black and Orange by Desert Born Studios

Today’s wedding sees our gorgeous couple, Kristina and Josh with phase 2 of their wedding planning. With only 4 months to go before their big day, they took the brave decision of changing their Arizona wedding completely and went for something much more them, choosing a Halloween inspired colour palette of black and orange. They took on the October month in style and really worked the colour pallet into their decoration, outfits and over all aesthetic. The result is this modern take on an October wedding full of style and wonderful decoration. Big thanks to Desert Born Studios for the wonderful photos.

Kristina and Josh were married on 4th October 2024 at Legacy Golf Club in Scottsdale Arizona. ‘We chose this location because it was so close to home. Many of our friends and family have not yet made it to visit us in AZ, so to have everyone travel to and see where our love story began was important to us. We chose the location because of the proximity to South Mountain, which we have had a full view of from all 3 apartments/ homes we have shared together. It has seen our entire relationship grow to be and meant the world to us to get married in front of it.’

How they met
We met a little over 6 years ago in Arizona. Josh had moved to Arizona wanting a new change and ended up transferring to the Target store Kristina worked at. There was an immediate spark, although it did take us 3 months to say hello. With both of us incredibly introverted and shy, they were both shocked to find how naturally they could have conversations about anything and everything. Hangouts went from weekly to daily, spending late nights watching/making fun of the Home Shopping Network (we didn’t have any cable or streaming), making homemade pizzas together almost nightly, and quickly falling in love. Shortly after dating we moved in together and knew we were meant to be together for life. Although it took 5 years to finally be engaged, those 5 years were spend with so much love and adventure. Whether it was traveling to Arizona Ghost Towns together or spending a night at home watching scary movies with our dogs, every day became better than the last. When it came to the big day, we were so grateful to have our families and friends join us, and watch everyone meet each other/ see each other for the first time in years. We heard your wedding day would be full of nerves, but honestly, we have never felt more comfortable being surrounded by the people we loved.

Theme or colour scheme
Initially, we started our theme based off the beauty of Arizona sunsets. We met and fell in love in Arizona so it all made sense, However, about 4 months prior to the wedding we realized it simply just didn’t represent us. We quickly called all our vendors, family, and close friends to change everything. We know who we are. We are spooky, moody, dark, and chose to have an October wedding for a reason. Although we didn’t want a Halloween wedding (even though it’s our favourite holiday) we kept it inspired with shades of oranges, black, skeletons and skulls, etc. It was such a huge relieve to follow our hearts of what we really wanted and were excited to see ours friends and family enjoy it as much as we did

Personal or DIY projects
We made/ DIY’d most of our wedding centrepieces from out wedding (some were from Home Depot but who needs to know). We wanted to still keep part of AZ as out theme which inspired the cactus. Our personal touch was adding red rocks that were collected from Sedona, AZ. We got engaged on a hike in Sedona and visit at lease once a year, so we felt like that was a special way to incorporate our story.

Favourite memories of the day?
The ceremony, that feeling of walking down the aisle knowing everything we have worked for in this relationship has lead to this and the excitement of knowing we are committing to each other eternally. Our other favourite memory was sitting at our sweetheart table, pointing out all our friends to each other and how they all know each other. Seeing friends see each other for the first time in years and making new ones throughout the night. As we are both not the most social people, our friends mean the world to us as knowing everyone built a new connection that night meant the most. There is no better feeling being surrounded by the people you love.

Any advice for future couples
Do what you want to do. We chose our initial theme because we thought that is what everyone else wanted and was a safe option. But nothing about the planning felt right. I remember the phone call I made to my mom when I let it all out and made the decision to change it. There is no right or wrong to a wedding. At the end of day, it is about how you feel. If you want a black and orange wedding, a coloured cake, emo music, you do you! The way you feel on your wedding day is the most important!