Category: Personal | Hannah Rose Gray

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Our happy place. Safe place. Healing place.
Ian and I both have dreams WEEKLY about the ocean. I’m not kidding you. It’s actually kinda funny because I’ll ask how he slept and says “I was in the ocean” and I laugh saying “me too”. But there is always a hint of sadness because we have to drive at least 7 hours to get to the sweet ocean.
One day.
But I FINALLLLYY edited some of our Hawaii photos from March. MARCH people. That’s how busy I’ve been with work that I don’t get to edit personal photos till I’m caught up. Or till enough is enough and I say everything else can be put on pause so I can stare at the beautiful ocean again with my love.
My annual pilgrimage to the Hawaiian ocean was 10x better with this man by my side.
We laughed a lot, ate good food, swam everyday, and got quality time with family.

Surpriseeeee proposal for her and for me!!! 😂❤️ I love when these happen. The woman books a couples session so they can have beautiful photographs of their relationship but are not engaged yet and then he proposes MID session without me even knowing it’s coming. Those are when real raw emotions come out! You can’t fake that shit!!! Obsessed with these two New Jersey lovers who fell in love with each other during 2020 and want nothing more than the rest of their lives together! #sedonaproposal

WHY do a first look you ask?
For these reasons:
-Intimate sacred moments ALONE with no one else (other than me hiding far away)
-Calm the nerves before the ceremony
-Get to hang out almost all day rather than just the ceremony on when really you don’t get alone time you are interacting with everyone else but your partner
-Insurance for photography! If ceremony goes late, family formals, and bridal party- you may only have 5 mins left before your reception for bride + groom portraits. But a first look offers “insurance”. Insuring you 100% get photos of you two before ceremony. So we can save sunset photos as the fun playful shots right before reception.

I’m a BIG person on experiences and what it a wedding day feels like. Doing a first look shouldn’t be about the photos (if I’m being honest) it’s about the experience you have together on the wedding day. So many of my couples love doing a first look because they get to share in a special moment alone away from other people for this day they have been waiting for together. It can be whatever you want it to be. Funny, sweet, sacred.

Kailee and Lance opted for a first look and it was SO sweet. Lance started balling while Kailee laughed the whole time. But I know they cherish those moments together before everyone else started celebrating their love.

First looks are always optional :)

Just a little butt grab never hurt anyone 🍑

Happy ONE year anniversary to my besties Kaite + Justin.
We woke up for a sunrise first look in the fields of gold. It was magical.

Their kind of love reminds me it’s possible and real.
Honest, consistent, and passionate love can all coexist together.
We do not have to lose one to say yes to the other.

Their love story isn’t normal.
They dated 8 years ago right after college.
But it wasn’t right.
It wasn’t good timing for either of them.
So they let it go.
Drifted apart.
Changed and evolved and healed.
Found other interests.
But never lost their love.
7 years later Justin wrote Katie a letter and sent it in the mail.
Katie didn’t write him back gather she showed up on his front door step asking
“What is this about? Is this true? Do you still love me?”
3 months after she showed up on this door step he proposed…
on her doorstep. (NO joke I’m not kidding you)
1 year later they got married July 19th 2020.
During a year of pain and turmoil for the world-
their kind of love combats chaos.
We need more of it.

And I was right along side Katie listening to every single moment along the way.
Smiling and trusting- when you know, you know.

It was a freaking honor to photograph their wedding day.
As a wedding photographer herself I imagined she would hire someone she’s been admiring their work for years but, instead she hired her best friend.
It will go down in the books for one of my all time favorite wedding days.
Not because of the beautiful photographs
rather
the love that is shared between these two.

☀️Elio Abbot Ren Titcomb ☀️
you, my love, are the new sunshine of our days.
Welcome to this planet. It’s a big, beautiful, messy place.
The world will break your heart but stay open hearted.
I hope you climb all the mountains (know your parents you will), swim the deepest oceans (knowing your uncles you definitely will), and love this planet and it’s people.
Life will not always be kind to you but it will be FOR you.
I hope you remember you are always home, no matter where you may go in this world.
Home is the present time within.

This wedding should have been in the rain BUT instead…some how, with luck, and grace of god it wasn’t!! For days, I’m telling you days, it was down pouring inches of water and the farmers were worried about their crops and some streets were flooded but, Sunday there was no rain. Rather beautiful clear skies and the warm golden sun came out for Micah & Krista’s wedding day.
These two live in Phoenix but got married in the green lush grass land of summer in Michigan.

This day was a good one. Reminded me of why I love my job, why I love weddings. People gathering, eating, drinking, dancing. Celebrating the old and new memories two families will have together. And this day was just that. Full of love on this beautiful property just showing off what the Midwest has to offer.

SARAH + RYAN! Flagstaff weddings in July are my favoriteeeee. You never know when a monsoon is going to pop up OR a wildfire. The clouds build, the trees sway in anticipation, and the flowers are bright and full. This Flagstaff wedding was unbelievably beautiful. After YEARS of waiting and a wildfire closure that week, this day happened!

I asked Sarah in a questionnaire the week before what are three words she would describe her wedding. And her responses made me laugh:
“LONG TIME COMING
MAYBE ON FIRE
HOPEFULLY STILL FUN
LITERAL SMOKE SHOW"

Sarah + Ryan met at a volleyball game where he asked to drive her home. She said no.
But he was persistent in his pursuit!! I’m so happy he was because this team they have formed together is nothing less than perfection. You know when two people have found their person in this life time. It’s magnetic, alive, pure magic.

Their wedding day did not disappoint. We danced till 12:45am under the tall pine trees. SO.MUCH.JOY! I’ve missed these big kind of weddings. People gathering from all over the country, family not seeing each other in years, and the weight of covid relief passing.

Venue: @thearbflagstaff
Florals: @foursistersfloral
Dress: @lazarobridal via @kleinfeldbridal in NYC
DJ: @dj_dfrsh
Hair + Makeup: @bombshell7beauty
Catering: @cafedailyfare
Invitations: @simplytoimpress

Many of you know how much I love this nonprofit @speakupforthepoor . So much so I was able to go visit them in 2019 to photograph. Their sweet faces and kind souls drew me in and I fell in love with their personalities and their stories. These girls who live in Bangladesh live a very different life than me in America.
They don’t have access to standard or higher education.
They don’t have the choice in who they marry.
They don’t have the ability to start a business and support themselves.
They don’t have the right to buy their own home.
But what they do have is hope.

They have BIG DREAMS and big hearts ready to explore and make new paths for themselves.

Organizations like @speakupforthepoor gives girls education TO make their dreams become reality. My business supports 7 girls education for 1 whole year. Every time a bride books her dream wedding to marry a man of her dreams, she is actually helping to do the same for a girl in Bangladesh.
Education is freedom.
Education is power.
Education can change the world.

Troy, the director of Speak Up, often will ask the girls..”who will you marry?” And they respond, “we don’t marry stupid boys.” It’s comical but also REAL. When a girl gets educated often she wants a partner who is educated too. This actually starts to break down the cycle of poverty in developing nations. It’s proven that when a girl is educated she helps the economy of her village.
LOVE gets to change the world through education and empowerment.

Will you be apart of the change with us?
Message me to sponsor a girls education through @speakupforthepoor for only $35/month! #speakupforgirlseducation

MATT & CHELSEA - your wedding in the woods was literally everything you my little photography heart but also my Flagstaff heart. It was the most perfect of days… a little cloudy, a little rain, a little sun. The Aspen leaves swayed and clapped their hands in the wind as you said “I do” to your best friend forever. We ate @pizzicletta under twinkle lights and danced till the moon came out. It was perfection. ☀️🌿⛰🍕

LOVED working with @stephanielarseninteriors
Her designs are clean, crisp, with a hint of modernist flare. Can we just be in awe of her interior design at this lovely Sedona home?! And that pool shot with the mountains in the background? 🏜
It was 110 the day we shot this and all I wanted to do was dive right in. But I kept it professional and didn’t.

Did you all know I LOVE shooting weddings but give me all the branding + cookbook sessions during the weeks pretty please?!

Let’s do this wedding todayyyyy!!! We’ve been waiting on this one for years!! After having a long engagement and then pushing back a year for covid, we’re all ready to dance! Soooo excited for Sarah & Ryan arboretum forest wedding day! 🌲🥂✨

Give me all that sunshine, country music, & warm summer nights ☀️🌲🥰 soooooo excited for Seirra & David to tie the knot in October!! I love the quick wedding! Let’s do the thing.

Your kind of love inspired me from the first moment we sat down to talk about your wedding day all together. And now watching you both parent new baby boy will only inspire me more.

The thing that is different I find in these two is, they love each other for EXACTLY who they are in this world. They never try to change each other or shape them into being someone they are not. You can feel the depth of love they have towards each other instantly. Out of this kind of love, a new human is born.

So grateful to witness this kind of love and be so up close. It’s the kind of love that people write books about that last generations through every kind of hardship.

I had to share some of these pictures now that baby boy is here cause let’s be honest he’s going to dominate the show from now on!! 🥰

Swirling in the sunshine and kissing in the rain. Sounds cheesy but you know, if you know. 🙋🏼‍♀️💕☀️
Sooooo excited for my dear friend Jessica to get married to this wonderful kind man, Paul in November!!

I have so loved shooting for @sakaralife the last 6 months or so as @whitneytingle was pregnant and now meeting her baby boy. ☀️ Along with @danielleduboise coming to town and shooting them as the amazing duo they are!! It’s these kind of women who inspire me to listen to my body, take control of my health, and figure out what works best to sustain in my business and life as a whole. I’m grateful topics around mental and women’s health are not taboo anymore but rather the main topic of conversation in podcasts, books, and women circles.

For far too many years, these topics were not normalized. They were seen as something private or made up issues women didn’t actually struggle with. 🙄 I felt super alone trying to deal with my PSCO and anxiety. After moving to Flagstaff this community of women , along with the Sedona community of women I’ve met, has normalized and created space for all things women health. From: period talk, the birthing process, hormone balancing, conversations around sex, and owning our bodies as we grow and change.

Companies like Sakara have made space in this world for women’s health to be at the center of our life, not just an after thought. Thankful for food being medicine and medicine being food.

SO grateful for these women who have showed me I’m not alone and that taking care of our bodies are our #1 priority in life.
@sweetoatarizona
@sheatinder
@summer.sanders
@jamieleighperry
@lady_named_vee
@hollanddanger
@tayloroster
@hollyfutch
@kaitlyn.kat
@grettamiller
@_abbychan_
@charlotteledvina
@jamieb_nice
@cierrawinters
@jenny_gormley3
@emriebe
@crystalpistolmcmahon
@gold.en.wave
@shebebrave

Ehhhh!!!!
HANNAH & SAM’s wedding day photos are here!!!
Oh I just love love love these two. Their day was…spectacular and SO FUN. Cannot express how lovely summer weddings are in Flagstaff with Mountain View’s and the forest shots for days. 🏔🌲☀️
Venue: @sycamorevenue

Instagram post 17882611760274261

So excited for Paul & Courtney’s Grand Canyon wedding todayyyyy! I just had to get some of the good shots from their engagement session out there before their wedding pics! Yes, the doggies will be at the wedding 🤗

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