January 16, 2023

Elopement day deep in the desert

Adventure Elopements, Arizona

A couple stands in the fading sunlight together on top of a colorful rock formation.

Maggie + Rex’s Desert Elopement

A bride reads letters from the couple's friends at their picnic.

A couple shares cake together as a boat passes by below them.

From the start of meeting Maggie + Rex over zoom, there was a bright light and high energy around their relationship and in planning this day. Maggie + Rex love spending quality time together doing new things, exploring escape rooms, playing games, road trips and more. They knew for their elopement day they wanted something new to them and different from what they see everyone do.

We selected locations for their day that felt out of this world and when the day came, there wasn’t a cloud in sight on this perfectly warm spring day in the desert. We met up with the couple at the trailhead after Maggie’s hair and make up was done. At the end of the trail, not only would we find a fantastic view of Lake Powell, but also the lovely picnic set up they had booked. It was so cute, complete with a table, pillows, lunch, drinks and a cake! From the start of the day you could tell how in love these two were, how excited they were to spend the day together just them two and to fully embrace all of it. They read letters together from their loved ones sharing in laughter. Rex cut the cake and they shared bites together as boats passed by below.

Once they were done with lunch, we slowly made our way to their Jeep taking in the views before they were hidden behind the orange rock cliffs.

A view of the road ahead from the back seat.

A groom puts on his suit outside of a jeep.

A couple walks together up the side of a sand dune.

We spent the next couple of hours road tripping deep into the desert surrounded by orange, red and white rock mountains with the contrast of green mountains graced with brush and grass. While road trips were something they did often, even on their engagement day, this was a new adventure for them to be off roading in deep sand. Doing a “first” together on your elopement day is so special and can help create even stronger memories from the day!

Once we arrived to their ceremony location, Maggie + Rex got ready outside of their Jeep. Rex’s suit had an awesome starry night like design on the back of his vest and awesome fun socks. Maggie’s dress was a blush color which I thought was perfect for the location with a cool texture of beading on it. Rex helped zip her dress and then we were off to explore this new outer-worldly place.

We ventured through the sand and over the rock to a perfect nook for their ceremony. They walked together down “the aisle” created naturally by the rock formation where Bill stood to officiate their ceremony. There is something so special about a just you two ceremony, no distractions, no eyes watching or ears listening, it can be as long as you want it, just you two and your words. Together they shared private hand written vows from the heart. Before sealing the deal with a kiss they also came together in a knot tying ceremony.

As their ceremony came to a close, their were claps from folks passing through the rock formations. One of them stopping to sign as our witness to their marriage!

A detail photo of the couples vow books and ring.

The couple holds hands and walks into their ceremony together.

Once their ceremony was complete we explore more of the stunning location, every turn you take a totally different view filled with color and wild formations. They popped a bottle of champagne in celebration of becoming husband and wife. As the sun started to set behind the distant horizon, we made our way back towards the Jeep. Rex stopped to collect a little bit of sand in a glass bottle his sister had given him for today. A token of this wild place and now a very special to them place to keep forever. We mad our way in the dark back through the winding desert roads. As we made our way closer back towards town we had one more stop on Mars to make. We pulled off on a black dirt road, stopping in a pull out surrounded by big orange boulders. It was dark. The only light coming from the stars. We took a few star photos to end the night in this stunning, serene place. It was the perfect way to end the day, still and soaking it in.

The celebration wasn’t over as they planned to spend the next day in the area celebrating and exploring with friends who were traveling over to join them! Their elopement day was a perfect celebration of them and their love. It was their story, creating new memories together to cherish as they started their marriage. A day filled with joy, awe and love. We are so thankful to have gotten to share this day with Maggie + Rex.

A couple sprays champagne in celebration of getting married.

A couple kisses sitting in the dirt in front of their jeep headlights.

“Five stars! Ten out of ten would recommend! Working with Traci and Bill of Adventure & Vow was exceptional from start to finish.

As an east coast couple with a Northern Arizona destination wedding plan, my now husband and I were initially concerned that connecting with a photographer long distance would be tricky (personality and aesthetic-wise). And we were new to realizing that elopements weren’t just the courthouse ceremonies we were used to thinking of them as, but more so, these truly intentional celebrations of love and fun-filled activities in gorgeous locations. Fast-forward to when our search led us to Adventure & Vow’s body of work and how they presented themselves online (both on their website and on social media) — their vibe completely sealed the deal for us even before our first virtual call. So much so that we moved our date up just to have the opportunity to work with them! It was one of the best decisions we’ve made and resulted in a fabulously stress-free kick-off to married life.

They gently guided us through every step of the process with clear and frequent communication, wrapped up with steadfast warmth and genuine excitement to be a part of our best day ever! Right out the gate, Traci was there with helpful tips, resources, advice, and recommendations for literally everything under the sun — from wedding dress stores and appropriate shoes to local restaurants, favorite hotels, Airbnb’s, and other vendors like for flowers, hair, and makeup, to vehicle rentals and everything else in between. Don’t have an exact location in mind? (We didn’t!! We were just keen on Northern Arizona…) They presented us options based on our loose ideas for 2-3 locations, an outfit change, a water backdrop at some point, to do an activity, and keep the hike at a beginner’s skill level. They even went in person to scout ideal photography spots, providing exact location coordinates and everything. Traci worked smoothly with our vendors and kept us all informed and prepared.

The day of was absolutely magical. Bill served as our officiant, and he must have been a poet in a past life or something because the ceremony he wrote for us was so beautifully written. There wasn’t much posing direction for setting up shots, as you might expect with a traditional wedding photographer (though I’m sure if you want a few exact photos, they’ll hand hold you through them). Their approach is to just “do what feels right.” Which, personally, we found to be in refreshing contrast to all the (a hem, overly) staged wedding pictures out there. Trust that they’ll capture you looking your best (even when you’re in your zone, behaving like your absolute silliest with the love of your life, completely forgetting that a photographer is steps away from you at most moments)!

Our full day with the power couple that makes up Adventure & Vow, included the highlight video add-on, and our photos and the final video were nothing short of majestic and stunning! Their photo editing style and creativity are chef’s kiss! (And pretty quick, too, with social media ready sneak peeks available practically immediately!) Working with Adventure & Vow for our adventure elopement made us feel like we were making smart choices for our pocketbook, the environment, our sanity, and most importantly, our memories!” – Maggie

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