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Dan Jones, Wedding Officiant

Embracing Ceremony Blog

Taos Wedding Expo

Thanks to my intrepid friend Deanna Nelson of Poetic Images who drove across town to give me a ride down my snow-clogged country lane last Saturday so I could join her in attending the Taos Wedding Expo 2015 – the first of hopefully what will be an annual event. If you have the opportunity to attend a future Expo to get ideas and sources to make your Taos wedding an over-the-top success, I highly recommend it. In the meantime, here are a few of the vendors I spoke with at the event and links to their websites.

Of course, if you’re looking for a Taos wedding officiant, I hope that I meet your needs and am available, so please visit the rest of my Embracing Ceremony website for more information on my marriage celebrant services. Alternatively, I can recommend my good friend Sajit Greene as a seasoned professional. Additionally, Susan Carpenter Sims of Enchanted Circle Ceremonies was at the Expo and also presented tips to the crowd on designing your ceremony. There are many more wedding celebrants serving the Taos area and I’m honored to be in such good company.

For photographers, in addition to Deanna and many others, locally well-known Tina Larkin was set up with her gear taking imaginative and fun pictures of couples so they could get a sense of her style. I’m sure she captured the imagination of many couples by doing this.

The highlight of the event was a fashion show by Taos Pueblo celebrity designer Patricia Michaels of PM Waterlily. I think she was singlehandedly responsible for much of the crowd and her show did not disappoint. She spoke eloquently about the beauty of Taos and its community and her support of it and in turn I hope that this community and couples coming to Taos for their destination wedding in northern New Mexico will support her.

Venues – so many great unique wedding locations to choose from! If yours is a small wedding (under 18 guests) and you’d like an intimate garden wedding with a dedicated spot featuring a view of Taos Mountain, perhaps my SpiriTaos home gardens would appeal to you. And of course there is the quintessentially-perfect El Monte Sagrado right in the heart of Taos where they can accommodate just about any size guest list and provide impeccable services. Another event center capable of accommodating your large event is the Sagebrush Inn & Suites on the south side of town. If you’re looking for a mountain setting that is up to filling your needs, try the Angel Fire Resort about 45 minutes east of Taos. Give Traci Koesis a call to find out their venue options and availability. On the north side of town is the Solar Center at KTAOS Radio. Their view is outstanding and it is a fun and unique venue! And finally, if you’d like something extraordinary and stunningly beautiful, check out River Paradise Weddings south of Taos in Embudo.

Your outdoor event won’t be complete without the security of having a tent in case of rain or more likely to protect you from the strong New Mexico sun. And wouldn’t you prefer to dance on a wooden dance floor than the dirt? Whatever is on your “need” list, rent it at Celebrations Event Rentals. Owner Liz Gilroy will be excited to help you make your day perfect with everything you need to make the perfect party!

If you want sound at your ceremony and/or reception, check out Defiant Soundz Unlimited. And I’ve enjoyed listening to DJ Oliver Knight who has kept people in motion at many events that I’ve attended, including the Taos Wedding Expo.

If yours is a northern New Mexico elopement, I might be able to help you with a simple bouquet of garden and/or wild flowers. Beyond that, Taos is blessed to have many extremely talented floral designers and I assure you that you’ll be thrilled working with any one of them. They’re all great and I suspect you’ll have trouble deciding who best fits your style and budget. Margaret Palmer is The Flower Diva and loves working on wedding flowers. Mercedes Valdez of Elegante Florals provides the flowers for many of the weddings I officiate at El Monte Sagrado and they are always amazingly creative. And The Enchanted Florist has a shop just south of the center of town where you can peruse their many offerings.

Last, but not least, here is a fun idea for a wedding favor, part of the table decor or something to cleverly include in your ceremony. They are hand-painted, affordable wood disks and you can see them and all their potential at Wood Chip Wonder. They’ll put a smile on your guest’s faces no matter how you use them!

Artists don’t have the corner on the creativity market in Taos – there’s a huge amount of talent here. So whether you live here or are traveling here, utilize the many great resources available to you in Taos, New Mexico.

Want more information on this topic? Email Dan at Dan@EmbracingCeremony.com

Need more information on planning a wedding in northern New Mexico? Request our informative listing that includes options for other services such as wedding cakes, accommodations and fine dining.