There are so many benefits to having your wedding in the desert. For one, you can easily get married in the “off-season” months, of March, April, October, and November, when more wedding vendors have availability and travel and accommodations are cheaper. And if the location being secluded is important to you, you have your pick of absolutely incredible epic spots where you won’t find a soul in site—after all, eloping is usually about not having 100 people around to watch you say your vows, so why do it in an overcrowded view? The desert weather at certain times of year can be pretty mild compared to other places, and when it does rain in the desert, it’s a stunning thing to experience.

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.

Mandy & Corey told me that their favorite national park they’d visited was Joshua Tree National Park, and I knew exactly where to suggest for their Colorado elopement. I sent them a few photos of Great Sand Dunes National Park and their response was sweeter than I could’ve expected. Mandy said she cried seeing the photos, knowing it was a perfect spot for them to say their vows. A mix of desert sand dunes and snow-capped peaks, Great Sand Dunes sits at the base of the snowy & prominent Sangre De Cristo mountains, a perplexing landscape even for the most well-traveled person. Its a truly unique place that remains sort of a well-kept secret in Colorado because of its distance from the major resort towns. For the person who wants a truly wild & secluded experience for their wedding, this spot is ideal.