In 2023 I was so thrilled to niche more into my passion for wedding photography and working with the most down-to-earth couples. The best part about it was getting to explore and create at some of our most reputable wedding venues in Flagstaff, Arizona! While I love doing engagement sessions or elopements out in the Coconino National Forest or in the Red Rocks of Sedona, feeling like a resource among our local wedding industry in Flagstaff really humbles me.
I thought, since I'm snowed in for a few days in town, I'd spotlight some of my favorite venues I partnered up with during 2023 and that I'm looking forward to great relationships with in the years to come. Starting with an absolute classic cornerstone in Flagstaff, The Little America Hotel -- which was actually the first hotel my family stayed at visiting me while I was attending NAU. Leading up to actually booking with clients having a wedding at The Little America Hotel, I'd become pretty familiar with the trails behind it for individual photo sessions and playing their new disc golf course there once or twice over the summer. I'm not sure what I expected going into photographing a wedding there, but whatever my expectations were, they were blown out of the water!
I arrived at the venue for my clients (Gabby + Derek) wedding in October and met up with my good friends and acquaintances Dani and Tyler from Green Horizons Productions who were tackling videography for the day. As some of my closer friends in our Flagstaff wedding vendor industry, I always know that when we work together we can play with a lot of ideas, lean on one another if we're feeling a little overwhelmed and overall just create really excellent art and memories with each other and the clients. And as preferred wedding vendors for the Little America Hotel, Green Horizons Productions were an incredible resource throughout the day on where the best spots were and what to look out for.
We headed to the bridal suite which was my first pleasant surprise! The two level suite gave us lots of room to move around, set up flat lay photos and dress hang photos without being in the way of hair and makeup or the bridesmaids who were chatting with Gabby. As we started gathering content, my second photographer for the day, Amanda, arrived and went with Tyler to get content from the grooms suite while Dani showed me some of their favorite spots to consider for the first look of the bride and groom. We settled on a spot in the ceremony site area that had a stunning backdrop of changing leaves and with the artificial turf we wouldn't need to worry about dirtying up the bride's gown. Another incredible benefit of the ceremony site is that it was right next to the bridal suite, allowing brides to get ready and just make a quick trip downstairs to make their grand appearance!
After the first look, we tucked into the forest for group photos and some bridal portraits which is always my favorite backdrop for any photo. While this area may be a little dusty (classic Flagstaff problems!) it didn't seem to be too much of a problem.
The outdoor ceremony site here might just be one of the best ceremony sites we have here in Flagstaff. The gazebo is backed up against our national forest of ponderosa pine trees and the area was perfectly shaded during my client's wedding without being too dark or cold in October. Gabby and Derek opted to host their cocktail hour in the same area as the ceremony site, which allowed everyone to enjoy the last bit of the daylight while we escaped back into the forest for a few more bridal portrait photos with the San Francisco Peaks in the backdrop.
Getting the peaks is a bit tricky here as the I-40 Highway is in the backdrop- but when you're an absolute STUD at photoshop (oh, hi, hello) it just take a little extra time on the editing side of things. Totally worth it!
The reception area at Little America Hotel is huge. If you're having a big wedding in Flagstaff, this is the place you want to be. Even Gabby + Derek's substantial guest list seemed like a smaller group in this massive space! And as a vendor? The room they made available to us for dinner hour and the food we were treated with was top notch.
All in all, I have zero complaints about how well The Little America Hotel in Flagstaff makes its mark as a wedding venue. It feels very traditional if you love a bigger wedding (I'd say 150+ guests!), want everyone to be able to stay in the same area and share the various wonders of Flagstaff.
Vendor Team Credits
Venue: Little America Hotel
Photography: Nettik Photography assisted by Amanda Drendel | Flagstaff-Based
Videography: Green Horizons Productions | Flagstaff-Based
Florals: Four Sisters Floral | Flagstaff-Based
Planner: Danielle at Dash Event Co. | Greater Phoenix Area
DJ / Entertainment: Groove Booking Agency | Greater Phoenix Area
Hair + Makeup: Northern Arizona Glam Squad | Flagstaff-Based
