Courtnee & Isaac’s Whimsical Scottsdale Engagement

Everyone she loved was there. At the top of of the Compass Room in Downtown Phoenix, where they had celebrated one month together, she walked in to see her friends and family all smiling back at her, but there was one face she saw that made her heart skip a beat. She had been on a “scavenger hunt” around Phoenix, orchestrated by the love of her life who arranged to have a friend or family member meet her at each place she went, greeting her with a rose (cue the romantic awww’s). It was at her last stop on the hunt, riding the elevator up to the top of the high rise that the butterflies danced in her stomach. And it was there where he bent down on one knee and held a small box in one hand with a sparkling rose gold ring as he told her how much she meant to him. She smiled bigger than she ever though possible as she reached out to grab his hand. It was a moment that was simply meant to be, one God had been planning in their lives since they first met in Berlin, long before they knew what was coming. And it was perfect.

Fast forward a few months to a warm, sunny October evening where they walked carefully over boulders and through trickling streams as we shot their engagement session. Courtnee’s shimmering gold skirt danced around her ankles with every step she took, while Isaac brushed back his hair as he snuck glances of his soon-to-be bride. We laughed and shot around the desert trails of Piestawa Peak, even snagging shots with vintage books they had brought that belonged to her grandmother! So sweet! And as the sun sank low and casted a golden glow on everything it covered, they danced as if no one was around to end the most perfect evening. And every step they took together was so beautiful for me to witness, because Courtnee’s story is absolutely incredible, and she didn’t know if she would ever be able to dance with her husband one day.

A few years ago, Courtnee was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. Not so technically speaking, this threw off her autonomic nervous system & made her tired, dizzy, have horrible migraines & many other side effects upon standing. She was confined to a wheelchair to minimize her symptoms, and had little to no hope of recovering from her condition. She graduated from theeee Harvard, receiving her master’s degree while her brother pushed her in her wheelchair and helped her walk across the stage, showing that her perseverance is simply unmatched! And by a miracle that only God could ever perform, Courtnee will walk down the aisle on her wedding day completely free of help, arm in arm with someone who isn’t supporting her physically, but morally. She is free from almost all of her previous symptoms, and hiked through the desert trail throughout our session without any help (except when Isaac so easily picked her up to help her over a stream like the gentleman he is). Her story is so inspiring and her’s and Issac’s faith in God is so encouraging, which is why I know their marriage will be so incredibly beautiful! And I can’t wait to not only capture their big day, but to watch their marriage grow and change throughout the years! So here’s to a story that is better than a fairytale in any vintage book. One that is just beginning, one they will never want to put down because every chapter will be better than the last…