Mariah’s Quinceañera was one of the highlight events of  my work last year. Mariah’s mother Peggy had done all the proper research to make sure her daughter’s fiesta was the best it could be. After a long search to find the best quinceañera photographer around, Peggy ran into me. Her search was over. LOL

We ended up having to pre shoots, one with Mariah and her family in normal everyday clothes which in the end resulted in some great family poses. During the shoot we initially focused on the family but in the end it was all about Mariah. On the second shoot, Mariah wore her Quince dress and we paraded around downtown Glendale, AZ to get some nice old town/urban shots.

Quinceañeras of this kind don’t happen everyday and when we finally got to the big day, it lived up to all of the promises. Mariah’s court consisted of all girls and one Chamberlane whom was her escort. The day started at Mariah’s home where she of course got ready and where all the court met for the limo ride to the church.

After the church ceremony, we took a cruise in the limo to Glendale’s infamous Westgate where the Cardinals’ and Coyote’s stadium reside. One day prior I had a run in with security at this place as I have in the past but it was made very clear to me that pro photographers were not allowed to take pictures on the premises. Unfortunately we had planned this moment months ago and we decided to go ahead and give it a go anyway.

I made it clear to everyone that we might be welcomed and that we had to get the pictures done as fast as possible. So I had all the girls and the one guy shuffle off the bus to the first position, we posed them quickly and got off a few shots. From the corner of my eye, I could see security walking towards us but I continued anyway. Once security was tapping at my back, I thought we were through but….. lol this particular guard decided to compliment us on what we were doing and before long, we had at least 6 security guards standing around watching us work as well as other passers-by.

We did get the shots we were looking for and continued on our way to the Quinceañera Hall called Estrella Vista Reception Center in Avondale, AZ. Once there the rest of the night went without a hitch. I would go on with the rest of the story but my time is short.

In the end I was able to get Mariah’s story featured Teen Magazine in their first Quinceañera section ever.

To see more of Mariah’s pictures visit my blog or visit my website www.azweds.com which will only be weddings soon so eventually www.azprincess.com will be my quinceañera exclusive site.

Daniel Magallanes
Southwest Styles Photography