A Modern Southwest Wedding at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona

Amy Sneed (24 and a 6th grade English teacher) and Timothy Boven (28 and a mechanical engineer) planned a modern Southwestern affair for their late spring wedding Phoenix, Ariz. The couple met in Arizona and love the desert, so a venue that exuded Southwest style and paid tribute to the state’s beautiful natural landscape was a must. “There was really only one place where we wanted to celebrate,” says Amy, “the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. I grew up visiting the gardens every spring break as a child and that is also where Tim proposed.” With many of their family and friends coming to celebrate with them from out of state, the gardens allowed Amy and Timothy to give their guests a true taste of their desert home.

Working with Sterling Weddings and Events, the couple brought their vision for a vibrant desert celebration to life with a color palette of turquoise, orange, copper and cream and plenty of playful desert-inspired touches. Cacti were incorporated throughout the day to create a feeling of visual cohesion, while playing up Amy and Timothy’s Southwestern theme. Blue cacti featured on all of the couple’s stationery, petit potted cacti took the place of a more traditional cake topper, and the arid plants even lined the ceremony aisle. “Each table was identified by a desert plant rather than a number to incorporate our theme,” says Amy. Turquoise and coral table linens brought the beauty of the desert sunset indoors, while bundles of fiery red, orange and coral blooms infused the reception space with vibrancy and life.

Details like a menu featuring dishes Amy and Timothy love to make together, lawn games like corn hole (the game that ultimately brought the couple together), a photo booth and an ice cream sundae bar were fun touches that added a personal dimension to the day. A tip for the taking from Amy and Timothy: “Don’t rush the planning. We’re glad we took our time planning, so we could secure the vendors that matched with us perfectly. We also made the decision to hire a wedding planner to help our vision become reality. With us both working full-time, we found that Care of Sterling Weddings and Events was able to narrow down vendors that she thought would be a good fit for us, which was a big time saver.”