A couple shares their first dance at Red Earth venue.

Cynthia and Paul met by chance. They started their relationship as friends and overtime it became clear to them that they should be more than that. Each of them have a quality that sparked their interest beyond anything they had ever felt before for anyone else. Within each other they found passion, love, friendship and a balance within each other and their lives. A push to be better and a love for sharing life together.

After getting engaged at a local park with their friend capturing the YES moment, it was time to start wedding plan together. Neither of them envisioning the big wedding day most people dream about, they decided to plan something more intimate and intentional where they could share quality time with each other and those they love. As far as where to get married, they knew they often felt their happiest outside and they love road tripping together, knocking National Parks off their places to visit list. With their love for the road and travel, they decided to bring their closest family and friends to one of their favorite places, Moab!

In this blog you will find their wedding day story along with tips for your own wedding or elopement at Red Earth Venue.


Portrait of a wedding photography husband and wife team in moab

Hi! Meet your Red Earth Venue Wedding Photographers!

We are Traci + Bill, a husband and wife, elopement photographer team. We are both ordained and we offer video packages to go along with any of our photo packages. Moab is our home during the Spring months and we love getting to share this little slice of the desert with our couples while capturing their wedding day.

While we focus on adventure elopements, we understand not all of our couples want to celebrate this day(s) without their closest loved ones. Sometimes an intimate venue bridges that gap for family friendly and still adventurous! We could not recommend Red Earth Venue enough for all of the couples bringing their loved ones together here in the desert.

Within this blog you will get to read the story of one of our couples elopements/small wedding at Red Earth Venue, along with exploring the National Park’s in Moab. From there we will take you though some thoughts and tips for planning your own wedding here at Red Earth! We can not wait to connect!


Pre-Wedding

Sunrise First Look at Canyonlands + Private Vows

Cynthia + Paul’s day started well before the sun was up, getting ready along side a few of their friends in town for the wedding day. Being sure to keep their space so that they could share a sunrise first look, the couple arrived at Canyonlands National Park without seeing each other by shuttling in different vehicles. Their first look would be with the first light of the day gracing the canyons as they stood above the canyon floor thousands of feet below. Why here? Cynthia + Paul’s favorite National Park they have been to so far is Canyonlands. So the stoke was high to start the wedding experience off here, a place that feels familiar, beautiful and meaningful to them.

Paul and Cynthia’s first look was beautiful – they looked great, the view couldn’t have gotten any better. More importantly, it was a moment that you could tell was fully felt. Meaning they took their time looking over each other’s outfits for their wedding day, taking in the view together and just relishing in the moment of we are finally here. It was quiet, it was still, it was joyful.

A couple looks out at canyonlands.

Cynthia and Paul opted to read their vows (looking for advice on writing your own wedding vows?) in private following their first look along the canyon rim in Canyonlands. They shared their vows and many tears, as Paul would wipe away each tear that fell down Cynthia’s face. However, there was also lots of laughter. Their vows they found were actually pretty similar to each other’s. They both promised to enjoy food together that maybe them selves didn’t love, but the other did. They promised to finish seeing all of the National Parks together during their marriage. They shared what each other has meant to them in this life so far, with future promises of continued growth in their relationship. It was the most perfect way to start off their two day wedding adventure with laying the foundation of what they are here for – joining together in marriage.

After sharing vows we decided to off road down Shafer trail to have a picnic overlooking the river. Cynthia + Paul had always wanted to do this drive, but had never been here during a time the road was open. Paul was also very stoked to take his own personal truck down the road for the adventure! We made our way down the winding road through the changing views. Cynthia and Paul, in their true fashion, stopped along the way for some “window shopping”, stopping to see the different view points. They also stopped once for an impromptu dance together by their truck with an incredible view. We had lunch at a famous movie view point filled with their favorite things – flaming hot Cheetos, sandwhiches and their favorite wine.

Sunrise in Arches National Park Wedding Day

On the day of their wedding, we met together for sunrise in Arches National Park for some morning quality time together before getting ready separately before the ceremony at Red Earth Venue. We spent the first bit of the morning at the Windows Section exploring and taking portraits along their favorite arches in the park. Later heading over to Sand Dune arch, a new arch for them to see and explore together. It was a great way to start of the day, together with their best friend watching the sun rise on the day would become husband + wife, before separating for the next several hours.

The couple poses for a portrait once the sun rises in Arches National Park.

Wedding Day at Red Earth Venue

Getting Ready for the Wedding

Since Red Earth Venue doesn’t have a designated bridal suite, the couple decided to get ready at their stay, The Moab Resort. The guys got ready all together in the Lobby area where they also played pool and took some time just relaxing together. Before the fella’s set out, Paul’s best woman gifted him with a local liquor that had a story of two coming together, in honor of their wedding day.

The ladies got ready together in Cynthia’s room getting their hair and make up done over mimosas and snacks. Cynthia had her mom help her get into her dress and shoes, her mother praying over her before setting out for the big event. Cynthia’s sister helping her put all of her jewelry on before sharing a first look with her bridesmaids.

Red Earth Venue Ceremony

Paul gathered his guests outside under the iron arches to have a seat and prepare for his bride to walk down the aisle. On the other side of the glass room, Cynthia shared a private and emotional first look with her dad before he walked her through the building and down the aisle to Paul. While their private vows were already shared with each other, their ceremony was filled with key moments from meeting, dating, getting engaged and other moments that lead them to this day. However, they had a surprise for their parents and bridal party. They asked each of them to join together in helping them with the more formal vows. Each person would read a line, then Cynthia or Paul would answer “I do” to them. It was a fun surprise and a beautiful way to include their loved ones in the ceremony, helping them come together as one big unit. Elopement ceremonies offer so much freedom to curating the moment to be exactly how you’d like it to! They sealed the deal with a kiss and celebratory walk back down the aisle as everyone cheered in congratulations to them.

Before joining all back together for the reception, guests took in the views surrounding the venue, captured group photos and then snuck Cynthia + Paul away for some final sunset portraits of just them two!

Red Earth Venue Reception

Cynthia and Paul entered the reception by going into their first dance together as husband and wife. Setting the tone for a fun, love filled evening ahead. The chef had prepared a very special meal at Cynthia + Paul’s request. They looked high and low for a chef that would create a specific vision they had and found a company in Salt Lake City excited to honor their idea. Done to Your Taste prepared a fusion dinner in honor of Cynthia + Paul’s two different cultures and of course, their two favorite cuisines. The food was amazing, and accompanied by their favorite wine, which is also their go to choice for a sunset hike to take along the trail to sit at the end, taking in the view, chatting and simply enjoying their time together before hiking back.

Following dinner there were a few toasts made. First, Paul’s best woman and best man shared in a toast together to honor Paul and congratulate their marriage. Complete with the text messages of Paul letting them know he was going to propose passed around for everyone to share in that moment, which was mostly communicated via emojis! Then two of Cynthia’s friends made toasts sharing stories of who Cynthia is as a person and how excited they are she found her soul mate. Paul’s brother gave his first speech/toast ever ending in a huge hug with his brother. The last speech was Cynthia’s father’s which was the real tear jerker – welcoming Paul into the family as a son. He ended his speech with a Father Daughter dance. Cynthia’s mom, sister and brother watching along with happy tears in their eyes.

Before the evening got too late and before the group dancing started, Cynthia + Paul did a bubble send off out of the of Red Earth Venue on a path that led to their truck where a friend had put Mr. and Mrs on their windows and Just Married on the back window!

Once everyone was back in, the party was on! Cynthia and Paul danced with their guests to an array of music, some from their cultures, some that were lively dance songs, but also several slow, loving songs.

It was a magical, happy, fun ending to their two day celebration and honoring of their commitment to each other.

Guests of the wedding clink their glasses after a toast.

Things to know when Booking Red Earth Venue for your Wedding

  • Red Earth Venue is located just north of town on the corner of the main highway into Moab and the 313 which is the road that takes you out to Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyonlands.
  • The venue pricing starts around $4000 for the space. The venue offers the ability to add on things through their own rental options once you book the space like tables, decor, fire pits and other items.
  • There are two main spaces at the venue – the glass house and the platform. We recommend the platform for your ceremony and the glass house for the reception!
  • Be mindful of the time of year that you’ll be holding your event here. There is no central air and the heaters must be rented and aren’t included automatically. That said, they have plenty of big doors that open for the perfect draft and more than enough heaters to keep you nice and toasty
  • Depending on your group size, the indoor space may not be enough to hold your entire party. Somewhere around 50 people can fit comfortably depending on your table lay out, but the doors all open up and can be a wonderful mix of indoor and outdoor spacing.

When do you need to book with Red Earth Venue?

As you know, we are mainly adventure wedding/elopement photographers. We encourage our couples to book a venue if they have 25+ more people in total coming to their elopement. We have laid out this foundation for many reasons, a few of them being: the ability to follow Leave No Trace, the ability to easily get married without stress to you or worrying about sticking to your timeline and not disrupting other people enjoying nature. It is also important to know that getting a permit in the National Parks around Moab (Arches and Canyonlands), only allows for a 15 minutes ceremony time limit, having your event fully or partially hosted at Red Earth Venue allows you all the time you want in an incredible canyon.

Photography Packages for Red Earth Venue

Our photography packages are broken down by 4 hours, half day, split full day (sunrise/sunset) and multi-day. We think Moab is the perfect place for a two day elopement if you want to spend one day adventuring and exploring the area with just you two and one day gathering with your loved ones – much like what Cynthia + Paul did. Otherwise for coverage at this venue we would recommend either the half day or full day. Our packages start at $4500 and our average booking is $8000. All of our packages include assistance in planning, a two person professional photographer team, same day sneak peaks, full printing rights/high resolution downloads and officiating. We offer video as an add on option to your coverage.

Red Earth Venue Wedding Vendors from this wedding


We’d Love to Hear More About Your Moab Wedding Plans!

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“Traci and Bill were suggested to us through word of mouth and we are so happy we chose them. From our engagement photos to our wedding day, they were nothing short of spectacular. They are an amazing team that will bring your wedding day to life. Our original wedding venue cancelled on us 2 weeks before our date… Traci & Bill were prepared and helped us still make our dream day a reality in no time. The result was the most beautiful photos and memories we will cherish for the rest of our lives. They are extremely responsive, receptive to our ideas, and super punctual. They are (literally) willing to go the extra mile to make your day as special as possible.

We had very little idea what we wanted our elopement day to look like and Traci & Bill put together the most amazing timeline. They were always willing to hop on a call and we never felt alone throughout the entire process. Traci will also climb rocks, or on Bill’s shoulders, to get the perfect shot! They are a seriously well oiled machine and it shows.

Bill officiated our ceremony and had everybody in tears with his beautiful words. His drone skills are also amazing. My only regret is not also getting videography – do it!

We worked with Traci & Bill for over a year and they became friends to us. We will miss our regular chats and calls ❤️” – Cynthia