A venue that showcases the majestic beauty of Arizona’s beautiful landscapes was the perfect destination for this couple’s wedding. Not only did this venue offer a rustic look filled with a wonderland of greenery, but it also had some family history ties for the bride.

“When looking at wedding venues, we chose my parent’s property in Payson to have our wedding because not only did it give us the rustic look and outdoor greenery we were looking for, but it had an amazing history behind it … With the history surrounding our “Martin Homestead,” I couldn’t imagine a better place to have our wedding,’’ the bride says.

A few weeks after the couple’s engagement, the bride, Katie, wasted no time in planning the wedding of her dreams. In fact, she didn’t have to look too far to find the perfect planner. She used the same planning team as her sister (the maid of honor) did for her special day.

“Meagan and Ashley at Your Jubilee were saints and helped make the entire process stress-free. I always thought that planning a wedding would be stressful, and at times, it was a little bit, but having Your Jubilee take my visions and turn them into reality made the entire experience worry-free,’’ Katie said.

Although with amazing planners on her side, one thing that Katie could not have predicted happening was the fires that were happening throughout the state of Arizona at the time of their wedding.

“A week before the wedding was planned, there were several fires all over the state that we were afraid would cause issues and delay the wedding,’’ Katie said.

Thankfully, for the bride and groom, everything went according to plan. On the wedding day, 130 guests were set to celebrate the bride and groom.

Jet Limousine Buses picked up guests from a nearby hotel, thus eliminating the worry of guests not returning back home safely after the reception.

With a lot of careful planning, the couple’s wedding dreams turned into a reality.

“We loved every single thing about our wedding and all the vendors did an amazing job at creating the beautiful wedding we imagined,’’ Katie said. “We hope that others will think outside the box like we did and create their own destination wedding in a place where a wedding has never been held before. It will give them such a beautiful outcome and a memory that will last a lifetime.’’

After a beautiful day celebrating their love, the bride shares some of her wisdom with any future brides looking to have themselves a destination wedding of their own.

“After going through this process on our own, we highly recommend a good wedding planner. This will help you both to be stress-free throughout it all and make your lives easier. We also would recommend looking for locations that are outside of the norm. Places that are not popular or first thought of – those places will give you more leniency with designing your vision for the perfect wedding day!’’

Vendors: Photographer: Cori Delgado Photography; Ceremony/Reception Site: The Homestead Venue; Florist:  The Wildflower AZ; Stationery: The Paper Place; Gown Designer: Maggie Sottero; Groom and Groomsmen Attire: Men’s Wearhouse; Bridesmaids Dresses: Azazie & Nordstrom; Makeup: Lorraine Kendrickson; Hair: Rachel Burress; Cake: Fresh From the Kitchen; Wedding Planner: Your Jubilee; Rentals: Treasure Trove Wedding Rentals & Event Rents; Band: Jacob Morris Band; Catering: EZ Cattle Company Cow Camp Cafe’ Chuck Wagon Catering; Transportation: AZ Limo