{"id":53,"date":"2018-03-11T00:44:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-11T00:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wanderbackblog.com\/2018\/03\/11\/glendale-civic-center-wedding-megan-sam"},"modified":"2020-03-12T18:47:14","modified_gmt":"2020-03-12T18:47:14","slug":"glendale-civic-center-wedding-megan-sam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joandalli.com\/?p=53","title":{"rendered":"Glendale Civic Center Wedding – Megan & Sam"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2028
Weddings are a time for love, but often there\u2019s a lot of stress that comes with them too. Making sure the caterers are paid, the invites are sent out, the vows are written, and the venue is booked is a lot of work, to say nothing of the decorations or dress! The day of, all anyone wants is for everything to go smoothly, and yet often there\u2019s that one thing that needs to be taken care of.
\u2028
Megan and Samuel were the exception to that rule: their wedding was perfect.
\u2028
It\u2019s impossible to pick out a single favorite detail from the event. From the bouquet to the radiant red theme that reminded us of cranberries, the welcoming guests and the lighthearted atmosphere, the wedding was exquisite, and we felt as if we\u2019d actually been invited as friends instead of photographers.
\u2028
The day was warm, with the cool breeze making the weather perfect for an outside Arizona wedding in February. The sky was clear, the sun bright, and rivaling the sun were the smiles that Samuel and Megan wore all day. Okay, maybe that\u2019s a lie–it wasn\u2019t all day. There was a moment where Samuel stopped, and looked around, and started to worry because he wanted Megan to have the best wedding possible. We promised she was relaxed and enjoying the day, that she was ecstatic, ready to marry the love of her life. The relief that washed over Samuel was apparent nearly immediately, but that just cements it for us: these two are in for the long haul.
\u2028
The ceremony was perfect. We\u2019ll let the happy couple debate the tears themselves, but we\u2019re pretty sure we saw Samuel at the very least choking up as he watched Megan walk down the aisle in her strapless lace wedding dress. We know we got a little misty during their vows!
\u2028
Every wedding needs a personal touch, something to differentiate it from the hundreds of others people will see. It wasn\u2019t just the bouquet or that cranberry-red that made this one different, though: it was ping-pong balls. You see, when Megan\u2019s parents got married, her mom\u2019s brother had a bit of a prank\u2026 instead of passing up their rings, he passed Megan\u2019s father a set of handcuffs. It was something small yet funny, just strange enough to break any tension that had collected while still keeping everything great. It was up to Megan\u2019s and Samuel\u2019s families, now, to keep the pranking tradition going, and that was with ping-pong balls, passed from groomsman to groomsman until they had those tiny spheres of plastic in each hand, and then more and more until they couldn\u2019t hold them all, until the balls were covering the ground and laughter filled the air.
\u2028
It was just for cover, though. The ring still hadn\u2019t appeared, and even through laughter Megan and Samuel looked around, beaming at the faces of their loved ones, and then\u2026 one other person was there, standing in the back. He hadn\u2019t been there before, and it took Megan and Samuel a moment before they realized that he was a beloved relative, visiting all the way from Germany just for their special day. It was him who had the rings.
\u2028
We\u2019re pretty sure Megan and Samuel would have been happy with that as their only present.
\u2028
The reception was nothing less than spectacular, too. The dance floor was off limits until the newlyweds got up, performing a choreographed dance to \u201cI\u2019ll Follow You Down\u201d by Shinedown, their devotion and trust clear as Samuel dipped Megan, deep and low to the ground–we know we would have been scared to do it! We think there\u2019s a mix of long practices and natural dance talent, because seeing their moves, it was practically a Dancing With The Stars wedding special! Even after their set, they kept going, socializing with their guests as they danced the night away.
\u2028
Of course, the evening had to come to an end, not with rice but with fire and light and love. The guests lined a path for Megan and Samuel, and revealed sparklers, lighting them for a tunnel of low incandescence, a stunning picture. Our happy couple stole a kiss under the shower of sparks, and before we knew it they were off for part one of their honeymoon (Sedona), leaving the glimmering path behind for tranquility for their first day as husband and wife.
\u2028
Megan and Samuel, your day was so, so special. We couldn\u2019t have asked for a more-perfect couple, and we\u2019re grateful you let us be a part of such a momentous occasion. No matter how many weddings we see, this one will be seared into our memories as an example of perfection. We wish you nothing but the best, for many years to come.<\/p>\n

\u2028<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Check out our website<\/a>!<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2028Weddings are a time for love, but often there\u2019s a lot of stress that comes with them too. Making sure the caterers are paid, the invites are sent out, the vows are written, and the venue is booked is a lot of work, to say nothing of the decorations or dress! The day of, all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,74],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-couples","category-sedona"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joandalli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joandalli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joandalli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joandalli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joandalli.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=53"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/joandalli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joandalli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joandalli.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=53"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joandalli.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=53"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joandalli.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=53"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}