Tuscan-inspired wedding in Scottsdale, Arizona

After meeting at a housewarming party Tenley & Alex started dating a year later and in late 2017 got engaged whilst visiting Cape Cod. In this time they're traveled to countless places and lived together in three cities and despite neither of them being from Arizona – nor having lived there at all, they chose to hold their wedding in Scottsdale after a number of visits to the groom's parents whom had moved there. RACHEL SOLOMON captured their beautiful wedding at SILVERLEAF COUNTRY CLUB.

The gorgeous bride shares with us, "The first time Alex and I saw the venue we knew it was a special place. It's a beautiful Tuscan style villa tucked inside of the McDowell Mountains in Scottsdale, Arizona. So naturally when Alex popped the question after five years of dating, Silverleaf quickly became the starting point for planning our wedding. We worked with Regan from IMONI EVENTS to plan our elegant, garden inspired, wedding. SARAH'S GARDEN STYLE helped us to choose lots of lush greenery, as well as white and light pink flowers, to bring our vision to life and to complement the warm tones of the venue. We pulled this theme through every aspect of the wedding, including the custom invitations and welcome bags, which had beautiful hand-painted watercolour florals by CHEZ LA MARIEE. The welcome bags included a lot of weekend necessities like "Desert Party Essentials" and a cute cactus sugar cookie from local baker, Ruze Cake House, that said "Love Is Sweet!"

From the beginning to the end, our wedding day was truly a fairy-tale! Alex and I chose to a do a first look before the ceremony. We met in the labyrinth at SILVERLEAF (a little outdoor oasis tucked behind the clubhouse). We took the time to read each other personal vows, whilst Rachel captured every emotion. It was nice to have a private moment just for us before we officially said "I do!". I wore a stunning chiffon and lace beaded wedding dress by PRONOVIAS. Alex was dressed in a handsome navy blue tux from HUGO BOSS. He also had silver golf inspired clinks and a black bow tie, which had a subtle pattern that looked like cactus prickers, as a nod to our surroundings. Both of our rings were designed and made by OSCAR HEYMAN in New York."

"We lucked out with an incredible May day in Scottsdale and the temperature was perfect for our early evening ceremony which took place on the event lawn. The guest chairs were arranged in a semi circle shape facing the floral arch and the stunning backdrop of the McDowell Mountains. I had a grand entrance which began at the top of stone staircase at the venue. Alex and I had both of our parents walk us down the aisle, which was a very lovely way to incorporate them. The ceremony itself was personal and heartfelt, Ian Templin, who officiated, had both us and our guests laughing and tearing up. After the ceremony, the staff greeted guests with champagne and rosé to begin the celebrations during cocktail hour. We had acoustic love songs playing as the sun set – it was magical. We took a few more photos and then had the opportunity to mingle with our 150 guests who had all traveled from out of town to join us for our destination wedding!

The reception was held in both the member courtyard and fountain courtyard. The indoor outdoor reception flowed well as guest dined both under the stars and under chandeliers draped in greenery. The overall aesthetic for the reception was very romantic. We incorporated the same beautiful dusty blue colour on Amsale bridesmaid dresses and La Tavola linen tablecloths for the guest tables, which really popped against the desert surroundings. The guest tables had a mix of lush floral centerpieces with textural greenery and bud vases, as well as, white candles on silver pillars with glass hurricanes and votives. For the head table, we chose to use two beautiful wood dining tables from Glamour & Woods, with a white runner and lush greenery and floral draping across. We also chose to use a lot of silver accents at the reception, as a playful nod to Silverleaf, and we even had Match Pewter chargers at the head table, which were extra special to us as we registered for the same tableware. We tried to think of every detail, which included adding an olive leaf sprig at each place setting and a customised menu with the guests name in calligraphy on top.  The food highlighted the Spring season, and the cake from Ruze Cake House left a bit of surprise – the elegant white three tiered cake was actually funfetti inside! 

Our first dance was to Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud and we had so much fun in that moment, in front of all of our family and friends, it was pure joy. After that, Desert House Productions kept everyone on the dance floor all night – it was a fantastic party! In addition to speciality cocktails for the bride (Le Fizz) and groom (Moscow Mule) we also had late night bites to keep the party going until 11:30pm, where Semisonic Closing Time and Sheppard Geronimo were the last two songs played. There is not a single thing we would change about the day, it was absolutely perfect!"