There’s nothing that says Wild West quite like an area called “Dead Horse Point”. Andrew + Tenille planned for their ceremony there, on a band of sheer cliffs set hundreds of feet above the Colorado River overlooking the snaking canyons below. Smoke leftover from a faraway wildfire left the skies hazy and warm. We hiked a short distance with their families to a little nook in the cliffside for their ceremony. Surrounded on one side by sandstone steps and boulders, and on the other by a vast network of canyons below, Andrew + Tenille said their vows.

This adventurous couples session took us deep into the remote desert landscape of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Southern Utah. We backpacked overnight and woke up to watch the sunrise and capture this couple doing what they do best -- exploring nature.

Jenn and Dillen drove overnight from California to Moab Utah just to spend a day and a half in the red dirt and cliffsides of the Southwest. A somewhat spontaneous trip, fueled by coffee and and an adventurous disposition, they met us near where we were camping by Canyonlands National Park and we woke up the next morning to watch sunrise and take engagement photos in the desert.

Their ceremony was emotional, warm, and dotted brightly with poignant letters from their best friends who stood by them. Grandparents and older family watched with caution as I’m sure they felt Shannon & Todd were a little too close to the edge for comfort. But for the couple, that kind of exposure is just their average weekend activity. After their first kiss, we snapped a few photos on the cliff, then quested our way down a switchbacked dirt road in their truck, stopping for photos at a spot appropriately named “Thelma & Louise Point”.

Hannah and Collin’s adventurous elopement in the Moab desert was embodied by an epic sunset and stunning landscape views. We started the day at Dead Horse Point and ended the day on a ridge as the alpenglow lit up the desert towers.

There is a magic to the desert that is impossible to truly understand until you’re standing 800 feet up on a cliff feeling the updraft from the canyon below, seeing the colors of the sunset dance across the vast open sky. Its ethereal—the way the space carries sound, the way you can feel entirely alone and yet connected to all that surrounds you. I will never, ever get over the way it feels to stand so small in a place so encapsulating like Canyonlands National Park.

When we arrived at the Salt Flats, we were all pretty blown away by just how huge the place was. Its a wild landscape—one that makes you wonder why and how, and makes you feel small in comparison. Aside from the wide open views, the way the tiny salt crystals form patterns was pretty mind-blowing. And even in the midst of the vastness that is the desert in the West, Mara & Chris’s candid affection for each other wasn’t lost among it.

Utah is full of hidden arches, funky rock formations, and endless corners of sandstone to explore. I'm so inspired every time we're there because of the vast, unique landscapes around every bend in the road. This time we got to explore a part of Utah we'd never been to before: Capitol Reef National Park.

We met Hannah & Collin two over a plate of Pad Thai after a week of backpacking and climbing all over Zion National Park. They found out we were going to be in Zion near the same time they were planning their trip to visit all five of Utah's National Parks, so we stayed an extra day to take some engagement photos with them. Over dinner, we nearly spat rice noodles out our noses from laughing so much at all of Hannah & Collin's stories and jokes. These two can't stop smiling when they're together and the joy they bring to each other's lives is so apparent (and SO entertaining to watch).