Below is an original post from June 2010. This lovely couple was married at the Phoenician. Through all the trials and tribulations they had, they were always so pleasant and cheerful. Hard to believe it is nearly their 5th year anniversary!
Hello All,

This is the story of one of the cutest couples I have met in a long time (I reserve the right to not mention who the other cute couples are). They are from England and wanted to have their wedding here in Arizona as they have some history with this place. What could go wrong? They spend a great deal of time here anyway.

Their wedding was scheduled at the fabulous Phoenician in Scottsdale. The weather here was beautiful leading up to their date and they were ready to greet a long stream of guests that would not only attend their affair but spend a week on holiday. What could be more perfect? They forgot one thing… to plan for the possibility of a volcanic eruption in Iceland grounding most air traffic in the region (both in and outbound). A fairly easy oversight. The downside to this would be of course that the parents and dress were still in England. A dress, no matter how beautiful, is easier to replace than your mom  helping you dress and your dad walking you down the aisle (especially if you like them).

What to do? Wait of course. See what Hephaistos or Vulcan (depending on your Greek or Roman preference) has in store. As the day came close it looked sadly like they were going to postpone the wedding indefinitely. What happened was a lot better. Stephanie Mahrer, the Senior Catering Manager at the Phoenician was able to change the date for the wedding (difficult in such a large venue) and the vendors were also able to accommodate this sweet couple. The air traffic over Europe resumed and the couple got married with the majority of their scheduled guests intact. This is a great illustration of a point I bring up to all of my bridal clients. Be relaxed and flexible. You can’t control everything, no matter how hard you try. I have witnessed many things over the span of my career (this was the first Volcanic disruption) and the lesson is this: As long as you marry the person you love then the wedding was successful. Anything else is correctable even if it is not fun. It reminds me of something my dad said (and I have always agreed with) “Don’t sweat the small stuff and in the end it’s all small stuff”. With that, let me thank Jodie and Chris for your choice of Keith Pitts Photography and acknowledge the other wonderful vendors from the day.

Wedding and Reception coordinator: Stephanie Mahrer for The Phoenician, Scottsdale

Videography: Jeff at Serendipity Videography Click Here if you would like to see a video clip from their wedding. Courtesy of Serendipity Videography

Flowers: Brady’s Floral Gallery

Makeup: Linda Wagner