Intimate Wedding in Sedona with a Sunrise Day-After Session
Sedona in the Fall
There’s not much in the world that’s more romantic than standing on an epic windy cliffside while the sun rises between two sandstone towers on the first day of being married.
We headed out up a cliff before dawn with headlamps guiding our hands and feet as we pulled ourselves up a steep slickrock trail. The day prior to this we were dancing and celebrating and eating cake as Tiffany and Nathaniel had just said “I do”. Their whole wedding weekend was wildly romantic. There’s something quite lovely about a stringlit dinner with all of your closest friends while the sandstone cliffs in the distance glow in the moonlight.
Something I love about shooting weddings is getting to see people in very vulnerable moments in their lives. The hustle and stress of the morning of a wedding can be a little crazy, but then there’s this moment that happens after the ceremony and after family has gone away to the reception where the couple has a moment alone and realizes they’re now married to their very best friend. It’s like a big breath of fresh air. Tiffany and Nathaniel seemed to just melt into each other after the ceremony, finally able to relax and realize the significance of everything they’ve just committed to. It’s an incredible privilege to be a part of moments like that.
Adventurous Bridal Session in Sedona
The following morning, we woke up before the sun and piled into our truck to drive out to the trailhead. We arrive to pitch blackness and bright stars. We dawned headlamps and made our way up the route. We arrived at the top while it was still dark and I used an app to see where the sun would come up. It appeared that the sun would rise right between two huge sandstone towers and I crossed my fingers that my app was correct.
We watched as pink and blue hues lit up the sky and waited for that golden light to show itself. Soon we were all audibly shrieking, snapping photos over and over as we watched one of the most incredible sunrises I’ve ever seen. What a perfect way to begin your married life – watching the sun come up over the Sedona desert on the first day as an official partnership.
Venue: L’auberge Sedona
Hair/Makeup: Christopher Bullock
Flowers: Florals by Kris
Dress: The White Dress
Groom’s Attire: Samuelsohn
DJ: Johnny B’s Entertainment
Cedar & Pines is an adventurous wedding and elopement photographer duo made up of Nate and Megan Kantor, a married couple living in their Airstream and traveling the American West. They believe in honest wedding photography that tells a story, capturing the small candid moments to the epic landscape views. They travel to photograph intimate weddings and adventure elopements from the mountains of Colorado to destination weddings in California, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, Washington, Patagonia and the ends of the earth.
