Chris and Abby’s Zion National Park Elopement | Zion Wedding Inspiration | Adventure Elopement Photographer
Abby and Chris decided to forego a wedding, and instead to elope in Zion National Park. They had a trip planned to Las Vegas with a few of their friends, and got the idea to extend their trip by a few days and have an adventure within Zion, and have their elopement among the red canyons and desert sand that make up the beautiful national park.
They emailed me three weeks before their elopement date, and after a great phone call between the three of us, I knew this day was going to be awesome. This was both Chris and Abby’s second marriage, and they wanted it to be as low key, and chill as possible. Which, I’m equally down for!
We planned for them to have a little picnic before hiking to the spot where they had their ceremony. We found a cozy little spot full of desert grass, and they plopped a blanket down in the clearing, cracked open a bottle of wine, and had a wine picnic. It was absolutely perfect because they got to tame their nerves with some good wine, and spend a few minutes cuddled up, soaking in their last few minutes of fiance life, and truly take in the incredible landscape that was surrounding them.
We met the officiant and her husband at the trail head, the most excited, smiley, happiest officiants I’ve ever met, which made everything extra fun. We hiked the little trail up to an incredible view point, with tons of hikers stopping to congratulate, take photos and chat with Abby and Chris. They were quite the scene ;)
We made it to the overlook and took a second to take it all in, and choose a spot for them to settle in to have their ceremony. They had their ceremony, sneaked a first kiss when the officiant wasn’t looking, and were finally married! One of my favorite parts of the day is when Chris said he wanted a photo with all of their guests, aka everyone else that was at the overlook. So we rallied everyone to throw their arms up and cheer for them and took a group photo of all their guests haha!
We spent the rest of the time we had until the sun went down taking a few portraits, making our way around the rocks. I asked them if they wanted to do a first dance, which they loved the idea of and gave me control of the song choice. In a panic, to choose the best song (hello, big duty!) my brain went straight to my boy Ed, and we played Perfect. Very fitting.
We watched the sunset below the red canyons and made our way down the trailhead just in time for darkness. On the way down, Abby kept saying “how do I tell all the brides that this is the way to do it! Wine picnic and hike! So much more fun then a wedding day” which was a cool perspective to hear as they’d both had a traditional wedding before, and also got to experience an elopement. So there it is, straight from Abby herself!
Enjoy!
Are you planning an adventure elopement in Zion National Park, or looking to have a Zion wedding? Get in touch below and let’s get started with the best adventure of your life!
Chris and Abby’s Zion National Park Elopement | Zion Wedding Inspiration | Adventure Elopement Photographer