Kelly + Kile’s Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch Wedding | Scottsdale Wedding Photographer

Mar 15, 2017

I photographed Kelly + Kile’s wedding at the Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch, and it was gorgeous! Before I booked this wedding, I had never heard of the venue, and I have no idea why. So many gorgeous backgrounds: vine-covered walls, fountains, and Spanish-colonial architecture. All things I love! Plus, the ceremony site was perfect for an Arizona wedding! Enjoy!

-XOXO

I asked Kelly to tell me a little bit about Kile, and here’s what she had to say:

“I actually spent the summer with my then long distance boyfriend and left upset and angry. I was at the airport and had to be back a specific day to make it to the training for my first year as a residence adviser (RA). He had actually scheduled me a flight for the wrong day and they wouldn’t let me change it. So already being a poor college student, I had to pay all of the money that I had to get back to Colorado. I remember moving in and I met Caitlin (another RA on our floor) and Kile who was down the hall. Caitlin told us that there was another person that was supposed to be in Kile’s place, but didn’t make the grade requirement. The next day, we went to go to a go kart and gaming place for a team builder. All of the residence advisers were there and I found myself split from my original ride. I was starting to get a migraine and decided to go home with the next person that was leaving, which happened to be Kile. I was actually annoyed the whole way home because he was blasting Lady Gaga (a request of a passenger) and my head felt like it was going to explode.”

“Every day, all of the RAs would eat all of the meals together. It just happened that Kile and I would head over there every day together since we were on the same floor. Throughout the semester, we continued to hang out and by the time winter came, I was sure that our friendship would drift. But Kile kept texting me and we continued to hang out at malls and see movies and get lunch. Every time, we had a blast and just spent hours laughing and talking about life and our aspirations and our friendship just continued to grow and grow.”“We have been amazing places that I will never forget like Costa Rica, Lake Tahoe, and Park City but my favorite date was actually in the beginning of our relationship. It was winter break and we went to see a movie at the Cherry Creek Mall near where Kile lived. At the time, I was living in an apartment about 30 minutes away. We went to eat at California Pizza Kitchen after and by the time we were done, it was snowing like crazy and the roads were very icy. I have never been so scared to drive back but Kile was so concerned about my well-being that I had to promise him that I would call him right when I made it home. Although we didn’t really do anything out of the ordinary, I just had never had anyone really care for me in that way and something that simple meant so much to me. I did end up making it back by the way.”“He is so driven. It is just so inspiring. When he wants something, he does anything to make it happen (professionally and in our relationship). I have no doubt that he will be doing amazing things in the future and it makes me so excited to be on that journey with him.”“I am the most gullible person in the entire world. We were going to Colorado for Thanksgiving, and it had been a few years since we had been on campus. We planned a day to hang out with Marco and Heidi, our best friends and decided it would be great if we took them to Boulder and showed them around campus. As I look back, Kile was trying to get me to take a dress and being stubborn I refused, and I didn’t even think it was weird when he asked if I wanted to curl my hair that morning. There is a place in Denver (and here in AZ) called Snooze. It is my favorite breakfast place, but the wait in Denver is always an hour or more so the one time that we went, Kile swore that he would never go back. He ended up finding a new one (that didn’t have a wait) and we met Marco and Heidi there. Throughout the day, we made our way up to Boulder and showed them around. Each year during fall and winter, they put a huge star up on the side of the Flatirons that lights up at night. It happened to be the place where we had our first kiss and I told him that we had to stop by before we left (which happened to be exactly what he planned). You can hike up a bit and get closer to the star but more importantly you can see all of Boulder and Denver from that point. I hiked the way up and Marco kept insisting that I go first and I started thinking that something was strange. When I got to the top, I couldn’t breathe and kept trying to sit down. Then Marco told me that he would take our picture and we went to take the picture and then Kile proposed to me. Surprisingly I didn’t cry, but I was just speechless. Marco and Heidi brought champagne and it was just so perfect.”“In the beginning there was an in between phase where we both knew we like each other but were not dating and both too embarrassed to tell each other. Kile invited me to go to the zoo lights to meet some of his high school friends. We planned on meeting there at a specific time and when we got there we found that the other people were running late. Turns out they didn’t show up until 2 hours later. I had spent all afternoon doing my hair and putting on make-up to impress his friends and by the time the others showed up, I was soaked and my make-up was running and I was absolutely freezing. I had worn some Ugg boots that just soaked up the melted snow and a cute but not practical coat. After all of that, we were walking around for the third time after everyone had shown up and as we were walking, I reached out instinctively to hold his hand and then apologized and took my hand away. He then grabbed my hand and told me it was okay and to not be sorry. Despite looking like a mess and being on the border of hypothermia, I couldn’t help but smile and feel so happy.”“I’m sure he will say this one too, but we were staying in Park City during the off season while he was there for work. They were able to upgrade him to this huge suite that had huge vaulted ceilings. We were laying in bed when we realized that a light was still on in the kitchen. I lost at rock, paper, scissors and so I was stuck turning it off. When I came back, he jumped out to scare me and I screamed and then just fell on the floor and cried. I am still two years later trying to scare him to get back at him, but it will never happen.”

Kelly picked out this adorable pair of Kate Spade tennis shoes to same her feet during the reception. She has flawless taste!“I was in Arizona and was unable to go back home for a long time because of the little vacation time that I had as a result of starting a new job. He was traveling to Las Vegas for work and I came home on a Friday expecting him to be there, but when I walked in, my brother was there. He had planned for him to meet him in Las Vegas and then drove him back here and I had no idea and couldn’t even think of what to say.”“We spend so much time laughing. I didn’t really see it until four years later, but he has two different laughs. When he thinks something is funny but just a little bit he will laugh out loud. My favorite though is when he thinks something is incredibly funny he looks like he is laughing, but nothing comes out. I know that I have told a solid joke when that happens. ““He takes such good care of me. Everything he does, he does it with me in mind to help make life easier for me. He wants to be successful and works so hard so we can travel and be financially secure. He constantly plans fun events so that we can make up for the weeks he travels. He cares so much about my health and always makes sure in every way that I know he loves me. It is such an amazing feeling to know that he loves me just as much as I love him.” “He is honest and very articulate. He somehow knows how to explain something to someone so that they understand and work with him rather than against him. When we moved to Arizona, the internet carrier was not available in the apartment that we chose to live in. I called them every single day and it would always end with them telling me that it was not their fault that I picked an apartment that they didn’t serve and that I would still have to pay the cancellation fee. I got so frustrated about it and Kile took it over and within 10 minutes it was resolved. He is also not afraid to be honest to people and to say what he thinks. Because of his ability to communicate, he can say it in a way that says it like it is, but doesn’t ruin any relationship or make people feel bad.”“Just recently, Kile had to take a test for his job. This test is a huge deal and it is rather difficult and a girl in his class didn’t do great. He spent weeks studying and ended up getting the highest score in his office and in his class. I am always so impressed by how smart he is and how well he succeeds. It just make me so proud to be standing next to him in events and honored that I am the one that he loves.”Kelly says she’s excited to marry Kile because “It sounds so cheesy, but he is literally everything that I am not. I am super emotional and empathetic where as he is more realistic and practical. He is great with money and always knows where we are at and how we can meet our saving goals, but I remind him that it is okay to splurge every once and a while. He is so social and gets along with everyone, where as I am more shy at first. He is spontaneous and it has created amazing memories, where as I need everything planned out bullet point by bullet point. He can speak his mind where as I am more passive. He is clean and I am messy. Everything just balances out and we have been able to also find so many things that we have in common. I just can’t wait and have no hesitation that he is the one.”

She says she’s the lucky one in this relationship because “When Kile and I first started figuring out that we liked each other, we had a few drinks and he asked me why I liked him anyways. I told him that he is close to his family, one of the smartest people I know, and so driven (his response was that he can be around me without feeling annoyed ha). Five years later these factors are even more predominate. He continues to care so much about his family and I know that he will be just as committed when we start a family of our own. He is so smart whether it is academics or just practical knowledge and I know that he is going to be a great leader one day. Throughout the years, I have been able to find out that he is so much more. He is so great at finances and I am so thankful for that. His ability to communicate and charm people has been so helpful when we moved to Arizona. His patience when I’m going crazy and his practicality when I am having a rough day at work. He lets me say what I want without judgement and always makes me laugh. I am just so honored and proud to be by his side because I know that so many people respect him. I could just go on forever, but in general I am so lucky because he loves me unconditionally no matter what and that is surprisingly hard to find.”I asked Kile to tell me a little bit about Kelly, and here’s what he had to say:

“Kelly and I met in college when we were resident advisers.” When he first saw her “We were on the same floor and helped each other get things ready for residents to move in.”“Kelly and I spent a lot of time together working in the dorms. We actually became really good friends before we ever started dating. Kelly is very kind and always goes out of her way to try and make people happy.”

Kelly’s grandmother brought this necklace to the wedding, which has been worn by every woman in their family on the wedding day. Kelly tried it on for good luck.“I am not sure I can even remember our first date! I do remember very early in our dating times going to hike the star up in Boulder (where I would later propose). Kelly and I had our first kiss on the star, and afterwards went to the Flagstaff House for desert while looking over all of Boulder. Great time.” “My favorite date was in Park City, UT. We had a great weekend, and one of the days there went to Olympic Park. They have bobsledding, high ropes courses, alpine slides, and gigantic ski jumps where you land in a pool. The whole day was fantastic and we got to do some very adventurous things. We went right when they opened around 9 in the morning and didn’t leave until 6.”I asked him to tell the most beautiful thing about Kelly: “Physically it has to be her smile. Kelly has the most beautiful smile and the way she photographs is fantastic. In terms of personality traits it has to be her empathy. Kelly connects so well with people on an emotional level and really feels for them, which is very difficult to find.” For the wedding ceremony, they separated out the words to 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 on different panels for each row. I love this idea for decorating the ceremony site!“Kelly and I have been very lucky to take a lot of great trips since we have been together. One of my most favorite memories recently was a quick trip to Washington D.C. I had to work all day, and we were only in D.C. for roughly 36 hours. Kelly made the most of her time there including museums, monuments, and a great lunch spot. She got caught in the rain coming back and was soaking wet by the time she got back to my office. She was not one bit upset and could not stop talking about what a great time she had!” “Kelly recently surprised me be retrofitting an Ikea office filing cabinet into the coolest watch case. She outlined all the drawers with foam and felt and put every watch I own in one place. I have always wanted drawers like this, and she did it just out of the blue.”“Kelly gets soooooo grumpy when she is hungry. Sometimes it can be debilitating. But then you ask her what she wants and she says “Oh nothing” or “I’m fine”, mostly because she is so indecisive. It is hilarious. All she needs is a little food and she is good as gold.” The Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch actually has their own in house florist, Kathy Cheatham. Didn’t she do an amazing job?Kile says he admires Kelly’s “ability to feel and connect with other people. This can be a really good thing and a really bad thing, but certainly something to be admired.” He knew she was the one because “Kelly moved down to Arizona with me so I could continue on with my career. I knew she was serious about the relationship because she gave up some of her prospects for me, which takes a lot of courage. Kelly gets along great with my family and can put up with me. Kile and Kelly created an event program with a map of all the places their guests traveled from, a little history of their relationship, the names of important people, times, locations, and their wedding hashtag.“I am excited to marry her so we can keep building our lives together and take on such a huge milestone.” He says he’s the lucky one in this relationship because “Kelly is a fantastic partner in life. She is there to help when you need it, and there to laugh with you in the good times. She is up for almost anything, and is adventurous with traveling and new experiences.”