Exotic Arabian Wedding Inspiration: Kyle + Alexis

A few months ago I had the pleasure of photographing two amazing people who know how to genuinely enjoy life. They have been married for over a year. It was a blessing for me to tell their newly wed story through creating this inspiration. This exotic Arabian wedding inspiration shows the essence of how they interact and the love they share with one another now. Thank you Alexis and Kyle for sharing your love in these photos.

I am honored and excited that Alexis and Kyle’s pictures were featured on Occasions!

Love Abroad

Here are words from the bride Alexis on how they met and how Kyle proposed: “Kyle and I met on a Summer Project with Cru. We were overseas in East Asia and actually were on two separate teams so the whole summer, we only saw each other about 4 times. We had our first date the day he got on an airplane back to America.”

A Thoughtful Scavenger Proposal

“Kyle had a pretty big proposal! We dated long distance (he was at Michigan State, I was at University of Illinois so were were 5 hours apart). He drove in one weekend and on the Saturday he said he had a fun day planned and at night we were going to go on this big ‘cruise themed dinner’ with two couple friends. During the day, Kyle took me to really significant spots on campus to us. We went to where I accepted Christ (a coffee shop), where I had my first Bible study, where I lived when I was a freshmen, where we technically first met but didn’t really know it yet (on a sledding hill close to campus), a “East Asian” restaurant, and he brought me my favorite part of his campus with him (a water bottle full of water from a beautiful lake that flows through Michigan State University). At each spot he had a little note about what he liked about me and how these spots shaped who I was. Then our last stop was where he asked to be my boyfriend and he had some candles lit there (that I thought was a homeless man lighting a fire in the park!). Then he told me how he had visited my dad (thus making his 5 hour drive a 11 hour drive!) and how he had asked my parents if he could marry me. He told me he loved me for the first time and asked a lot of deep questions about marrying me. After I said yes, we went to a friends and there he washed my feet and then my best friends all came over and prayed for me. Then we drove to my house and all my friends had a big party there, including some of my sorority sisters and my best friend from high school all drove in. It was incredibly thoughtful and SUCH a beautiful day!”

Twopence Creative, a local artist handcrafted this impressive invitation; she is so skilled in the arts.

I love working with Tracee from Pretty in Ink. She knows how to make bride’s look gorgeous!

My favorite moment from the inspirational shoot was when Alexis was doing her portraits with the camel alone. The camel thought her floral headpiece was a treat for him. It made for some funny photos.

God’s Garden Treasures created the perfect wedding bouquet that will last hours in this hot desert weather.

The camels are in love with their flowers!

It was Kyle’s first time seeing a camel in person which made their reenactment of their first look even more exciting. Many thanks to the zoo keepers and camel trainers from the Phoenix Zoo for their time and being accommodating created this wedding inspiration with live animals from the Arabian desert.

Shealin and Jeremy, a married couple from At Last Events, did a excellent job designing a comfortable place for the couple and vintage reception table. (Do you see the crow that flew into the picture?)

Shealin has an eye for design.

 

It was the couples first time riding a camel which showed their true excitement experiencing this event together as a couple.

During the inspirational shoot they recited their vows they exchanged on their wedding day under the tropical Forest of Uco in the Phoenix Zoo.

I was honored to photograph an orginal Honey Moon Sweets wedding cake design. This gourmet white cake was fondant iced with a homemade butter cream. I was fortunate to work with one of the best wedding bakery’s in the Phoenix area.

I enjoy working with GrowOp, a local Phoenix vintage clothing boutique. Joshua did a great job putting together these beautiful orginal outfits.

Wendy Grace creates original handmade jewerly that compliments a bride’s attire.

Kyle is a spontaneous person in general so during the shoot he randomly threw Alexis over his shoulders because he loves to do that, which made for great candid moments.

There were two videographers capturing the Exotic Arabian story: Minkmade and Nomad Productions. You can see Minkmade’s story here. Here is Nomad’s story.

Arabian Theme Style Shoot – BTS from Steven Burkhart on Vimeo.

If you like the experience seen in these pictures you can
book your memory making wedding photographer today!

Many thanks to the creative team who helped with the inspirational Arabian wedding shoot:
Venue: The Phoenix Zoo
Florist: God’s Garden Treasures
Art Print Styling: Twopence Creative
Clothing: GrowOp
Make-up and Hair: Pretty in Ink
Wedding Furniture Stylist: At Last Events
Models: Kyle and Alexis Voelker
Photography: 10,000 Smiles
Cake: Honey Moon Sweets
Videographers: Minkmade and Nomad Productions
Jewelry: Wendy Grace

To see more of this Exotic Arabian Wedding Inspiration, check out Occasions today!