we live on front porches and swing life away,
we get by just fine here on minimum wage
if love is a labor i'll slave till the end,
i won't cross these streets until you hold my hand

i don't know the story behind the song they chose to dance to or why they chose to tattoo the lyrics to their arms, but as i have sung along with the tune over the past several days, i found myself pondering the words.  the idea of sitting on the porch and swinging with your love, to not be concerned about the cares of this world but laboring to make sure that your love is successful, sounds idealistic and trite.  it may be but i hope it is not.  i hope that there are those that still put their love first. that put forth the effort into something that takes work. and to be content with the simple things. i think marisa and cary really do strive for that, we saw a glimpse of it during their connection session when cary would repeatedly take marisa's hand to kiss it. not many people do that anymore, especially when they are around others.  we knew then that we had a very special couple in front of us.

the quirky casas de suenos was the venue of choice for marisa & cary's wedding celebration.  they loved the quaint courtyard with its mosiac gazebo and the hidden alcoves throughout the property, it suited them perfectly. 

as things began to get under way, the clouds rolled in, just in time to cool things off for the start of the ceremony.  cary's brother officiated and delighted the crowd with the retelling of what was supposed to be once in a lifetime adventure to the world cup in brazil complete with a proposal  and then the telling of the back up plan which was a weekend spent camping on the front lawn of a gorgeous family cabin and an unreliable boat. 

they each wrote their own vows and all became emotional to hear them spoken.  just as they were announced as husband and wife, thunder clapped and the clouds released their rain. it wasn't a typical new mexican storm, it lasted longer than five minutes.  but all was well, guests tucked themselves away and we all waited out the rain. 

many more raindrops fell, many more stories shared and lots of dancing and singing to billy joel's piano man.

it wasn't a perfect day, things didn't go exactly as planned, guests got wet, favors and linens were no longer pristine but i think that makes it all the more meaningful. it takes work and sometimes real life isn't pretty but you take the hand of your sweetheart and you dance in the rain and you love outwardly for all the world to see.

marisa & cary~

we are grateful to have shared this journey with you.  thank you for allowing us a glimpse into real life.

~desiree & seth

venue:  casas de suenos

hair design for the bridal party by the talented josh from @halladayhair

florals: melba's flowers

accoustic guitar: keith sanchez

photography: desiree & seth