Tucson Hacienda Wedding Inspiration

Where better than to get some good Southwestern wedding inspiration than Tucson, Arizona? Elyse Hall Photography and Atelier De LaFleur teamed up to create this edgy-meets-soft stylish shoot with plenty of cacti, patterned tile, and one seriously beautiful cake made using locally sourced ingredients.

From the photographer, Elyse Hall Photography: We decided on an August shoot in Tucson AZ for the landscape, cuisine, people, and history… everything about the Sonoran desert has captured our hearts. We picked Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch mainly because of its gorgeous vistas, cactus gardens and famous Josias Joesler architecture. The ranch was founded in the 1920s as a boarding school for the daughters of socialites and in the 1930s it was turned into a guest ranch that attracted the Silver Screen’s most popular stars.

We chose to keep the floral and décor simple, highlighting the ranch’s existing beauty. Native plants and cacti were incorporated into our bouquets and centerpieces to enhance the desert surroundings. Lori from Sugar Song Cakes created a Mesquite honey and vanilla cake with an orange blossom, agave sugar frosting. We love that she used local ingredients! The invitations used beautiful blooming cacti watercolor images, raw leather binding and gold foil. Originally we had two different ideas and we couldn’t make up our minds, we loved them both so much. Our designer expertly wove the two concepts together creating a suite that captured our style perfectly.

From the floral designer, Atelier De LaFleur: Eco-friendly bouquets and centerpieces were selected to hold up in the July heat as well as celebrate the existing native plant life that you find in the Tucson desert. How often can you create an elegant centerpiece using only cactus? We wanted to display the beauty we see in the desert while using living plants that can go from the event to the garden.