For Liz & Jim’s elopement, we hiked around to the backside of Cap Rock and met the family beneath the Joshua Trees for their ceremony. Their officiant, Garrett, had everyone in tears, which was spurred even further by the thoughtful vows Liz & Jim spoke to each other. They exchanged rings, kissed, then both wiped happy tears as they walked back down the trail/makeshift aisle. We spent the rest of the evening watching the sun go down from a hike near the top of the Mojave Desert.

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.

We met Mary and Joe in Telluride, Colorado at their hotel and started their day by driving up a bumpy dirt road and hiking out to a waterfall for their first look. From there, we continued up the road and started our 6 mile hike to an epic and secluded alpine lake. Mary changed out of her dress for the hike up and packed it in her backpack to put on again once we made it to the lake. Then she strapped her flowers to the outside of her backpack and we started up the mountain. The hike up was steep, but beautiful, with the landscape in the middle of its transition from summer to fall. Warm yellows and golds dotted the hillsides.

We started the day with a short hike on a secluded trail in an area of Big Sur that not many tourists go. Lyndsie put her dress on in the forest on the way to their ceremony site. She dawned an epic bridal cape in lieu of a veil, carried a mix of dried, foraged, and wild flowers from an amazing local florist, and put her mother’s garter on before walking down the trail to meet Brett for a first look. They met teary-eyed, and embraced before continuing down the trail to a sanctuary in the woods where they’d say their vows. Their ceremony site was a perfect bend in the trail flanked by four giant redwood trees—a hidden little spot we scouted just for them.

This adventurous and creative styled elopement on the foggy beach of Short Sands Oregon was a beautiful wedding set in the Pacific Northwest coast.

From spending sunrise watching the light gracefully warm the Joshua trees, to their ceremony at the base of Cap Rock, to getting tattoos (epic), and watching the sun go down behind mount San Jacinto, Diana and Isiah did it their way. No rules, no strict timeline—just love for those around them, love for the desert, love for the one they stood next to.

Patagonia brought out its finest for them. Between sunshine, wind, rain, and clouds, Caitlin and Tim said their vows, read from scripture, and exchanged rings. We scrambled over boulders and marveled at the gem-colored waters of the “Laguna” before us. After exploring the extents of walkable terrain around the lake, Caitlin and Tim popped champagne while it rained sideways with the wind. They hugged tight, stoked beyond stoked to experience the fullness of joy and love and adventure with Patagonia’s infamous weather. And just as soon as it came, the clouds cleared and we hiked down in dry weather to camp for the night.

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.

Ashley & Bradford had a first look in a sunny clearing with aspen trees surrounding them in the valley below Mount Bierstadt, Colorado. We hiked around a waterfall and followed Ashley & Bradford’s disposition as they danced in the falling leaves and played in the water. They said their vows in a meadow with a creek running through it before hiking through the views of Guanella Pass.

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.

We started Anna and Martin’s elopement with a first look in a wooded forest near Aspen, Colorado. From there we followed the two of them as they explored a granite cave carved out by ice, and walked along the wild, undulating curves of the cascades on the Roaring Fork River. We continued up the pass from there to the top of a mountain where we met their friends and dogs to have their ceremony.

Of all the weddings we’ve been part of, this one takes the cake for most adventurous. Since starting our business, I’ve dreamed of shooting a wedding on the summit of a Colorado “Fourteener” (local verbiage for mountains that extend above 14,000 feet in elevation). Colorado Fourteeners can be intense – they generally require an alpine start in the cold before the sun is up, there can be afternoon thunderstorms, they can involve scrambling and technical climbing, and the hikes are always unrelentingly steep. In other words, the perfect spot for an adventurous elopement for some Colorado locals like Monique and Craig.

Danielle & Cody eloped at Sapphire Point, an overlook on Lake Dillon with wide open views of the 10 Mile Range surrounding Breckenridge. They said their vows in front of their parents and Danielle’s three girls. 

Never has a wedding felt more wildly adventurous and still so intimately personal at the same time.

Kylie and Eitan's family traveled from all over the U.S. to a secret little corner of the mountains in Ouray, Colorado to explore dirt roads, hike through wildflowers, and ford a creek – all in suits and dresses. 

There is truly nothing like standing in the snow above treeline in Colorado. Feeling the wind whip through your hair, the biting cold on your skin, and seeing mountaintops that go on for miles is a humbling experience all of its own. Add to that reading your vows at 12,000 ft and its difficult to not have an overwhelming emotional response. Charlie & Larissa strapped snow spikes on their hiking boots, threw a bottle of champagne in their daypack, and hiked up the ridge to an overlook above Loveland Pass, Colorado where they said their vows. It was equally beautiful and adventurous.