Intimate Wedding in Sedona Featuring McDonald’s

Briana and Jesse’s intimate wedding in Sedona was a beautiful celebration of love and family. It all began with the excitement of getting ready, surrounded by their closest friends and loved ones.

---

The day started with Jesse creating a special, handmade bouquet for Briana. Making her bouquets is something that he does all of the time, so adding it to their wedding day just made sense. It was a sweet tradition, and it felt right that he would create the wedding bouquet too.

Briana had a surprise in store for Jesse, as well – a Pokémon card as a pre-wedding gift. The coolest part was it was customized as a special “wedding day” Pokémon card!

After Jesse and his friends raised a quick toast, they played video games while waiting for the ceremony.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the road, the girls were having their own special moments.

They wore robes and sunglasses, making for a fun photo shoot. Briana got ready with her mom and Emma, Jesse’s daughter. Watching as they helped Briana into her dress was the sweetest thing.

Emma’s mom gifted her beautiful earrings, and Briana gave Emma a heartfelt letter. This marked an important moment in their relationship since Emma was officially becoming Briana’s stepdaughter. Alongside the letter, Emma received a diamond necklace, and tears and hugs were flowing like crazy.

THEIR INTIMATE WEDDING IN SEDONA

The time finally came for the ceremony, and everyone met at Crescent Moon Ranch.

Jesse had a beautiful first-look moment with Emma, followed by Briana. The best part of it all was revealing the bouquet Jesse had put so much thought into! It turned out to be exactly what Briana had hoped for.

Their guests, including the cutest furry friends, gathered on the lawn for the ceremony. With the exchange of rings and heartfelt vows, Briana and Jesse expressed their commitment to each other for everyone in attendance to witness. They even included a special moment with Emma, tying a ribbon around a small bouquet to represent their complete family.

The ceremony ended with a kiss, family portraits, and a toast back at the Ramada.

A SEDONA WEDDING DAY WITH A SIDE OF MCDONALD’S

Their celebration continued as they headed to a private picnic set by Sedona Picnics, but the rain decided to join the party. Luckily, the picnic was arranged under a barn, keeping everyone dry. They enjoyed a yummy charcuterie board while waiting for the rain to subside.

When the rain finally eased up, they exchanged private vows and had their first dance. Briana surprised Jesse with his favorite song, a not-so-traditional choice by Papa Roach, which brought a smile to his face. They danced in the sprinkling rain, creating a truly romantic moment.

Their plan to catch the sunset had to be changed due to dark clouds, but they were fun enough to be okay with a McDonald’s pitstop – not just any McDonald’s, but the one with the teal blue ‘M.’ If you are on social media, I know you have seen it at least once!

They ate chicken nuggets and fries and reflected on their intimate wedding in Sedona. It wasn’t part of the original plan, but it felt so authentically ‘them,’ and the phrase “peace, love, and chicken nugs” became a cherished memory.

Briana and Jesse’s wedding day was filled with love, laughter, and unexpected moments, making it a day we will all treasure forever.

ELOPEMENT THOUGHTS FROM THE COUPLE

Why did you choose to elope? 

“We really wanted our day to be about us launching this next venture in life and we didn’t feel right focusing on hosting people on a really important milestone for us. We wanted it focused on love.”

How was your elopement? 

“We get asked this a lot and I say it was legit the best day ever. Everything went better than expected. Our dogs were there which was amazing. The picnic was such a good idea and letting us have a moment to soak it all in and still be able to share the day with some family and keep things to ourselves was the best of both worlds. Also doing something like McDonald’s was super fun and unique and summed up our day as it’s our day and we can do what we want. #peaceloveandchickennugs”

Do you have any regrets about your elopement?

“None!”

What advice do you have for future couples looking to elope?

“If you have any desire to do it- do it. We loved our day and we know if we planned a whole thing like a wedding we would have focused on the non-important stuff when it should be all about the couple!!”

Review from the Couple

“Our experience with Karen, we can’t put into words. From the moment we spoke to her in our initial conversation it was a no-brainer for us to go with her. She helped create the elopement of our dreams. There were a few things that were important to us for our big day that we weren’t sure how to incorporate and Karen had a plethora of ideas to make our day what we wanted. When some ideas couldn’t come in to fruition, she had a handful more ideas of things we could do. Our pictures were everything we hoped for and more. Our day wouldn’t have been as amazing and special as it was without her. She is very good at what she does. My husband is not comfortable around the camera and he can’t express enough how easy she made it on him. Our pictures were incredible and our experience with Karen was more than what we imagined it could be. If we could rate more than 5 stars we would.  Our pictures were incredible and our experience with Karen was more than what we imagined it could be. If we could rate more than 5 stars we would.”

THEIR INTIMATE WEDDING TIMELINE

1:00 PM Jesse Getting Ready + Bouquet

2:00 PM Briana + Emma Getting Ready

2:15 PM Leave for Crescent Moon Ranch

(eta 15 mins drive)

2:30 PM First Look at Crescent Moon Ranch

3:00 PM Ceremony

3:30 PM Family Photos

4:00 PM Leave for Picnic

4:30 PM Picnic, Private Vows, First Dance, Relax, Snack

5:30 PM Leave for McDonalds

6:00 PM Chicken Nuggets 

7:00 PM End Photos

INTERESTED IN HAVING KAREN CASTOR PHOTOGRAPHY CAPTURE YOUR ELOPEMENT?

Sunrise Intimate Wedding | Aleata + Cameron

All Day Sedona Elopement | Lexi + Brittany

Hot Air Balloon Elopement in Sedona