Viewing entries in
personal adventures

2019 in review | life on the road + at home in Moab

1 Comment

2019 in review | life on the road + at home in Moab


2019 in review | life on the road all over the west + at home in Moab, Utah | the hearnes


Miles Driven: 32, 445 (28,717 on our truck, 3000km in the Alps, 3000km in Iceland!)

Countries Visited: 10

Coldest Night: 10 degrees in Zermatt, Switzerland

Hottest Day: 88 degrees in Idaho (first time in our lives avoiding 90+ degrees all year!)

Miles We Hiked: 80+


10 Countries

USA / Switzerland / Germany / France / Italy / Austria / Liechtenstein / Canada / Iceland / Mexico

14 States

Texas / New Mexico / Arizona / California / Nevada / Utah / Idaho / Montana / Alberta (Canada) / British Columbia (Canada) / Yukon (Canada) / Alaska / Washington / Oregon

 12 National Parks + Monuments

Dolomiti World Heritage Site / Canyonlands / Arches / Zion / Bryce Canyon / Capitol Reef / Yosemite / Pacific Rim / Kluane / Wrangell-St. Elias / Kenai Fjords / Gates of the Arctic


This is one of my favorite blog posts of the year! 2019 is my fourth year doing it, and it’s always my favorite to put together + look back on. Here are our previous “Review” posts:

2016 Year in Review | 2017 Year in Review | 2018 Year in Review

And if you missed it, here is our 2019 Elopements + Adventure Sessions blog post from last week!

JANUARY

We typically try to do a big trip in January each year for a few reasons — it’s a slow time for booking, it’s not ideal weather in any of our main locations (Moab, Yosemite, or Alaska), and it’s easy for us to travel out of Texas where we spend the holidays with family. 2018 was a pretty hectic year, and as it came to an end, we didn’t have any plans for January 2019 because we didn’t know how my dad would be doing, or what we’d want to do that month. But then around mid December, things were looking more stable and while taking a lunch break from skiing in Utah, I got an email about cheap flights to Switzerland in January and within an hour we had booked two weeks in the Alps, a van to live in during that time, and immediately realized that it would be really really cold but we’d make it work 😜 It ended up being one of our favorite trips yet!

We flew into Zurich, rented a van in Germany, and spent two weeks exploring Lauterbrunnen, Grindlewald, Zermatt, Chamonix, the Dolomites, Austria, and then back to Lauterbrunnen before flying home! We ended up driving through 6 countries! We ate croissants and drank espresso every morning, hiked through deep snow, saw mountains we’d read about for years, and managed to stay pretty warm thanks to our boujee van rental!! It was such a fun whirlwind of a trip, but I’m so glad we pulled it off and I can’t wait to go back for something similar in the summer one day!

FEBRUARY

In February, less than a week after getting back to Texas form the Alps, we flew to Arizona to teach two back to back workshops (that both sold out in 20 minutes!) It was a really fun experience, and we met some amazing people that we’ve loved staying connected with since, but we both decided we don’t love teaching, and since our job and life is so demanding already, and so fulfilling, we don’t need to do anything we don’t love! So, while this was fun, we won’t be offering any workshops in 2020 or the near future.

After the workshop, we flew to Texas and loaded up a Uhaul with a few pieces of furniture from our parents’ houses to move into our NEW HOME!! By far the highlight of 2019 for us was buying a house in Moab and watching it become our dream home — not because of looks or anything money can buy, but because of the people who have filled it, slept on the floors and the guest bed, and in their vans in the driveway, people who have come for dinner, for rest, for N64…It’s been such an amazing experience!!

MARCH

March was an absolute dream, we got settled into to our house and hosted a lot of great friends. I set a clear goal of climbing Castleton for my birthday in April and was really motivated to work toward it all season. I hiked more than I ever have (and fell in love with solo hiking!), climbed more often, took up running (still working on enjoying that…), and visited the local gym a few times a week. It was really enjoyable to be working toward an objective and see myself improve! Meanwhile, Callen took a lot of trips up to Salt Lake to snowboard with his Ikon Pass. It was such a fun month for both of us!

APRIL

In April, we took a quick trip to Zion for a few elopements and sessions (always a good time!), we celebrated my birthday with a visit to some of our favorite hot springs, and we had more great visits with friends! For me, a big highlight was climbing Castleton with Mark and Jordan!! They were so kind to take me out there and encourage me, and I am so proud of myself for doing it!! One of my favorite memories from the day was after we got down to the saddle. Basically, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to actually climb the whole thing, so I told Jordan to bring aiders just in case because what I really, really cared about was standing on top of my favorite rock. He said sure and throughout the whole preparing process we made a lot of jokes about my abilities (in fact, a few months before when I first proposed the idea to him, he joked he’d only climb it with me if I proved I could do the hike 😜). So the day of the climb, I was pretty nervous that we’d put all this effort in and I’d be a total junk show because I tend to doubt my abilities often. We did the hike, and I was glad I’d done it a few times before because Jordan is an overstoker and hikes fast! As we started climbing, I felt great and was really excited, but also pretty scared at each belay! It was the most exposure I’d experienced and the chimney is pretty airy. There were a few parts that were quite difficult for me, and a few parts that I got pretty scared, but Jordan and Mark were super patient and encouraging!! We made it to the top and I was so so psyched!! The rap off was pretty scary but fun after I got over the fear. So, back to the favorite memory, we we got down and fetched our packs from the base, Jordan showed me that he’d left the aiders at the bottom because he knew I could send :) Now that’s a good friend!!

April brought a lot of great friends, and we also had both sets of parents come visit at different times. We explored in the Jeep, went skydiving, took a helicopter tour of Castle Valley and Moab, and shot a few amazing elopements!

MAY

In May, Callen and I tried to soak up the last few weeks in Moab before hitting the road again! We explored a ton of new places in our Jeep, hiked up on new mesas, and even climbed a few new routes! We skydived a couple of times, and then began prepping for 5.5 months on the road again through the summer. It was so bitter sweet to leave Moab an our new home, but we left it in good hands with our renter Katie and we got to go to Yosemite + Alaska, so it really wasn’t such a bad thing ;)

We also photographed some elopements in Zion, our good friends’ vow renewal out in the middle of nowhere, and a handful of couples in Moab!

JUNE

My very favorite memory in June was at the very beginning (actually, it might have been the end of May? Not sure). My brothers and I pulled off surprising both of my parents in Austin for my Dad’s birthday party!! It was AMAZING. Ben flew in from Oregon, I flew in from California, Conner picked us up and we just walked right inside the day of the party (a few hours before). My dad screamed, my mom screamed, my dad cried, and we were all so happy. It was a really sweet memory that Conner captured on video and I will cherish it forever!

June is notoriously our really busy season in Yosemite and while that was still the case this June, we did a much better job with our schedule and left room for fun with friends as well! I’ll remember this June as a wonderful time hiking a new trail with Eliza, lazy days relaxing in the meadow, swimming in the river (and the “El Cap Lake”), and nights with buddies cooking dinner in our rigs. Our Yosemite elopements were so fun, and extra spicy with the added challenge of a late snowstorm that all but destroyed our usual trails! But our couples were badass and handled it like champs, we had such a great time!

After Yosemite, we headed over to the other side of the mountains for my brother Ben’s wedding! He and Amelia got married in a small town where her family has had a little cabin for generations and we got to spend 10 days out there with family. It was a mix of relaxing, lazy days as well as work to get the wedding together, but all of it was so much fun. We photographed their wedding, something most people will tell you to never do for a family member, but it was honestly one of the most joyful things I’ve ever done for someone! I loved the process, and while it’s a bit of a bummer to only be in a few of their photos, I am so thankful to have been involved in creating the photos for them and for everyone present. While we were there, I motivated my mom and my other brothers’ girlfriend Cassidy to drive the 6 hours round trip for a visit to Yosemite! It felt a little silly to put so much effort into going back after we’d JUST been there, but Cassidy had never been and showing people Yose is one of my favorite things ever. I was so stoked!

We also took a short trip to Santa Fe to photograph a wedding, it was such a blast and I can’t wait to go back sometime soon.

JULY

At the very beginning of July, I flew out to Salt Lake City to spend a few days hanging with Bri and Keith. We spent every day lounging by the kiddie pool in their backyard, I got sunburned, and it was a perfect little trip!

After SLC, I met up with Callen in Seattle and we started making out way north to Alaska for the summer! We spent a few days exploring Vancouver Island and then drove for days to finally make it back to our favorite glacier ever!! We camped up there, explored the area, and even did a hike down to one of the toes of the glacier where there were a ton of beached icebergs. It was stunning and such a perfect little mission to get us mega psyched for Alaska! This year, we drove into Skagway again but then took the ferry to Haines and drove from there back through Canada and into Anchorage area. We loved Haines, especially the incredible pass driving out!! It was stunning. I fell even more in love with the Alaska Fireweeds everywhere and now have a tattoo of one on my arm :)

This season in Alaska was our best yet. We spent a lot of time with our good friends Grace + Austin and Hannah + Quillan in Anchorage, and we also spent a lot of time exploring some old favorites and finding new awesome places. We finally made the intimidating leap into glacial hiking and extremely moderate top-rope ice climbing, two things we are still reallllly psyched on and can’t wait to do more of! Our friends came up from Salt Lake and we had some great ignorant adventures with them, India graciously took some more family photos for us, and we all quested around icebergs in our packrafts!

ALASKA

AUGUST

We spent nearly two months in Alaska, and August was like a whole new world compared to July! in 2018, we left on the last day of July, so it was really fun to spend more time up there exploring and experiencing full on Fall. In August, my parents came up to Alaska for a week, which was so much fun. They got to meet Grace and Austin, which was such a treat for us (and them), and we all got to spend some time with our old friends the Minors! It was so surreal having them up in Alaska adventuring around with us.

Callen and I took an official Intro to Mountaineering course where we learned more about ice climbing, building anchors, and glacial traversing for more intense, long distance things. It was pretty intimidating but amazing to learn more in depth about the things that had been really scary to me before. We did more ice climbing, some rock climbing, and more paddling around icebergs. We also got to photograph a wedding where we took a helicopter to a glacier and went dog sledding!! It was amazing. I took my parents on a helicopter tour (their first one ever!), and then we got to trade photos with a heli instructor in Valdez — Callen and I each flew the helicopter, it was so scary!!

It’s really hard to pick a highlight of August, it was such an incredible month! But the very end will always stand out to me. As an early 5 year anniversary gift to ourselves, we took a flight tour into Gates the Arctic National Park, flew over the Arrigetch Peaks in the Brooks Range, and even got to land + walk around in Anuktuvuk Pass, which is within the Arctic Circle!! AND Charlie got to join, it was all so amazing. Then that night we saw the Northern Lights in full swing and it was absolutely mind blowing. We had seen them briefly in Girdwood earlier in the month, but this time they were MEGA and we are still reeling from it. This was probably one of my highlights of 2019!!

SEPTEMBER

After experiencing the arctic circle and the northern lights, we left Alaska on cloud nine an made our way (rather quickly) to Banff for an elopement! We got there in time to spend a day exploring Jasper a little more, do some rock climbing, and some more glacier hiking. We found a little icy slot canyon and wished we had more time to explore and climb! Next time! After the elopement, we drove down to Idaho so I could teach at a workshop put on by our friends Wylder Goods at the dreamy Maple Grove Hot Springs Retreat Center. After that, we drove straight to Sacramento to fly to ICELAND for a semi-impulsive trip 😅 We just didn’t get enough ice in Alaska!

Iceland was such a whirlwind but so much fun. We rented a little Jimny with a rooftop tent and rallied it 3000km in 6 days, exploring glaciers (of course!), hot springs (duh!), epic valleys and huge mountains, black sand beaches, more icebergs, and giant waterfalls. Our friends from Alaska convinced us to do this trip with them and the days that we overlapped were so much fun! It was amazing to get a little bit more time with them after our amazing summer together, and to get to hone in on our glacial hiking and ice climbing skills even more. Plus, Callen soaked in a natural hot spring almost every day of the trip, so he was stoked :)

ICELAND

OCTOBER

After Iceland, we took a couple days to rest before going straight into our fall Yosemite season! We’ve been better and better at scheduling time to actually enjoy Yosemite when we’re working there, and this season was probably our best yet! Between elopements, we got to go rock climbing with buddies, stay up late into the night having good times, an my parents even came through for a day!

After Yosemite, we drove straight to Moab for our friends Devyn and Adam’s wedding and then enjoyed an amazing week finally being HOME! We got to do a really fun desert tower climb with them a few days later. Then my friend Bri and I went out to Cedar City for our buddy Laura’s bachelorette party, and THEN Callen and I did a little road trip through southern Utah out to Zion for an amazing two day intimate wedding! October was a super full month, but it was so amazing to come back home and be in Utah for a majority of the Fall season.

NOVEMBER

We started November in Zion and then spent most of the month in Moab! This is typically our favorite time in Moab because it’s when a lot of friends come to town, the weather is normally quite amazing, and we almost always get the first snow of the season near the end of November! The biggest highlight of this month was our friends Brian and Sam spending a full week in Moab with us. It was SO fun having them around. We went rock climbing, canyoneering (total junk show), played video games (well, they played, i watched some), hiked, and stayed up talking every night. Sam joined us for an overnight trek around White Rim in Canyonlands, so we brought the Jeep and the motorcycle which was such a blast! Brian joined for our first tree-cutting mission in the snow the day after Thanksgiving.

I do want to mention, the lowest low of the year for us was the tragic death of our friend Brad Gobright. He died in a climbing accident in November, the day before Thanksgiving, and truly that night and the morning after felt a bit like hell. Sam had just left when we got the news, and Brian was here with us, and we all processed it together. I was very thankful for the community we’ve built, but also struck with so much sadness for everyone who knew and loved Brad. He was funny, unique, driven, and such a joy to have around. I always loved our times with him and was hoping to have many more. We’re so sad to have lost him.

DECEMBER

A few days into December, we took an impulsive trip to Baja California to visit our buddies Mark and Jordan in La Ventana. It was a super quick trip, but we had a lot of fun and it was so great to get some quality time in with them! And the weather was a perfect break from the cold, snowy weather in Utah. When we got back, we were pretty much sick for a solid week and a half in Moab before heading home to Texas for the holidays! We celebrated 5 years of marriage on December 12th, but both felt too sick to do anything significant, womp womp.

We made it to Texas in time for a party to celebrate Ben and Amelia, to go visit family in Waco, and spend Christmas with my family + the following week with Callen’s family! It was great way to end such a great year. On New Years Eve, we flew to Las Vegas and kicked off 2020 with Sam, Brian, and our friends Alex and Sanni! Such a perfect to start the new year!


We are so thankful for all of the support, for every person who follows our story on Instagram, comments on these blogs, shares about us on Facebook, and loves on us in real life :) 2019 had a lot of ups and downs, but overall it was our best year yet. We know 2020 will be full of surprises, and we can only hope it gets even better ❤️

1 Comment

The Hearnes Wedding and Elopement Photography Instagram Round Up :: December 2019

Comment

The Hearnes Wedding and Elopement Photography Instagram Round Up :: December 2019


A Few Favorite Wedding Photography Instagram Posts | @thehearnes | December 2019


Here’s a round up of a few of my favorite instagram posts from our @thehearnes account this month!

Screen Shot 2019-12-18 at 8.34.24 PM.png

December 2, 2019 | Audrey + Peter’s Moab, Utah Elopement

I took my mind off work a lot this past week. There were times that I was distracted by personal things, times that friends pulled me away for good reasons, times I intentionally took off, and times I meant to get stuff done but then gave myself permission to close my computer simply because I felt like it.

I haven’t always had this freedom with my job, and there are still times I just have to grind stuff out and feel overworked, but I have to say...looking back on this week I’m really proud of myself. I’m proud of the business I’ve built that is established enough to take care of itself sometimes. I’m proud of my own mindset shift that has allowed me to let emails sit for a day or two, to not be consumed with to do lists and new tasks, to say no to new ideas (that’s a hard one!!!) and amazing opportunities that seem great on paper, simply because I want more time. More time to play, to stay up until 2am with friends, to watch silly movies and go on 8 mile hikes (and that was just yesterday!).

The thing is, my original goal when I started my photography business was to have a job that allowed me to travel to the places I loved most. There have been moments during these past 5 years that I’ve certainly sacrificed a huge amount of my time to make this work. Moments I’ve taken on too much, been overwhelmed, felt stressed and like I have too many things on my plate. Moments I’ve worked really really hard, wondering if I’d ever see a pay-off for it. But I am so thankful for a week like this one, when I can look back and see that I have genuinely built this thing to be okay when I take a few days off. That the important tasks still get done, that my couples feel loved and happy and well taken care of, that I feel free and light, and I am even more satisfied in my friendships than in my job.

I still have a long way to go, but it feels good to celebrate the victory today. I hope to make even more progress in this direction next year 🖤

Screen Shot 2019-12-18 at 8.34.41 PM.png

December 3, 2019 | Lauren + Adam’s Yosemite National Park Elopement

When your wedding dress matches the pink wildfire sky 🔥

Screen Shot 2019-12-18 at 8.38.28 PM.png

December 4, 2019 | Victoria + Rob’s Moab Elopement

We hiked up here for sunrise on our very first trip to Moab all those years ago. It was pretty mind blowing, I’d never really seen a sandstone arch before that. I remember as the years went on and we explored hundreds more arches, I wondered if this one would still seem as epic as it had that first time.

We went back a few weeks ago with Rob and Victoria for their wedding day first look, also at sunrise (the way to go considering how popular this trail is!), and I am happy to report this arch is still as impressive, if not more, than the first time I saw it. What a bizarre thing, I feel so lucky that it’s relatively brief existence lined up with mine! #HearnesTinyCouples

Screen Shot 2019-12-18 at 8.39.05 PM.png

December 8, 2019 | Keith + Brianna Madia’s Utah Vow Renewal

After our original plans were crushed by a freak late spring hail storm, a sharp drop in temps and flood danger, our back up plan was pretty strung out but we rallied and rappelled and miraculously still made the day happen in an amazing way. Looking at this photo, you might not realize all that went wrong before getting to this moment; these two cuddled in the sand with their two babies, reading new vows to each other while their favorite music echos off the walls from a phone speaker. It took a lot of surprises and disappointments and re-evaluations and melt downs and motivation to get to this moment...but I don’t think anything could possibly be more fitting to the reality of marriage, of 10 years with someone you love.

I really love photographing married couples for anniversary sessions and vow renewals. Celebrating all that you’ve been through and committing to the continued process is so meaningful and special. And the moments like this one are absolutely magic 🖤

Screen Shot 2019-12-18 at 8.40.27 PM.png

December 9, 2019 | Devyn + Adam’s Moab Wedding

Ohhhh man that #HearnesOmbre 😍🏜 One thing I absolutely love about adventure weddings is how our couples throw caution to the wind and embrace the messy, dirty, muddy, dusty environment in their fancy clothes. It’s such a fun thing to watch and be a part of! I often joke about what their dry cleaner is going to think when they bring their clothes in, but then most of our brides say they never want to get their dress cleaned! They love the idea of pulling it out in 20 years and feeling the dirt again, maybe showing their kiddos just how adventurous they were.

I really believe your favorite clothes are meant to be worn and enjoyed, and your wedding dress/suit should be no different. Not to mention how much cooler they look with some custom ombré that perfectly matches the landscape 😉

Screen Shot 2019-12-18 at 8.42.35 PM.png

December 10, 2019 | Jess + Barry’s Seward, Alaska Wedding Weekend

Some people rent a fancy vintage car for their wedding day...and some people ride a sled pulled by dogs training for the Iditarod 🐶

Screen Shot 2019-12-18 at 8.44.50 PM.png

December 12, 2019 | Our 5 year anniversary in Moab

Today we’re celebrating 5 years of marriage! These past five years have been pretty wild, with some amazing highs and difficult lows, but I truly can’t imagine spending them with anyone else. From Patagonia to Alaska and everywhere in between, I love the life we’ve built here! Let’s keep going and see where it takes us for the next 500 years 💞

Screen Shot 2019-12-18 at 8.45.07 PM.png

December 13, 2019 | Keith + Brianna Madia’s Utah Vow Renewal

When I was in high school, I was really focused on fitting in, so much so that when I look back, I think I was quite square. I colored within the lines in just about every way possible, if you will. My Aunt Linda lived nearby and we would go spend time with her often...and she was quite the opposite. She was a hippy, she dressed like the 60s and listened to Grateful Dead and decorated her home with wild colors and patterns. I loved her so much, and loved spending time with her even though our fashion and music and basically everything about us was opposite. She had a little dog named Lucy that was her saving grace, the love of her life...her child in every way, and I remember one day she got a tattoo of Lucy on her heart, and I have to confess, I was so shocked. I couldn’t imagine why someone would get a tattoo of their dog (forgive me, I was young!). Anyway...I could go on with this story, but I was just looking through photos and came across this one and remembered Aunt Linda, her dog tattoo, and I’ve just now realized my best friend Bri reminds me a lot of her.


Aunt Linda died a few years after that tattoo, after a 10+ year battle with scleroderma. I learned a lot from her...I still do. Losing people is a strange thing, and I’m convinced the more it happens the less it makes sense. But I know for me personally, little random reminders like this tell me a person is never fully gone if you keep on talking about them. I am pretty sure I’m a little less square than I was when I was 15, and I am certain I’d love and understand Aunt Linda even more now if I had the chance. One thing I know for sure, if people that we’ve lost can watch over us now, Aunt Linda is probably wildly in love with Bri, singing along to all the old songs in the van and laughing at how naive I am not knowing a single one of them 😬 And she’ll certainly be thrilled when I get a tattoo of my dog one day soon.

December 14, 2019 | Britt + Justin’s Intimate Elopement in Yosemite National Park

I did a little Q&A in my stories the other day (saves in my highlights if you missed it) and someone asked me “Why weddings?” I wanted to share my answer here, too.

Honestly, I know I don’t seem like the most sappy person but I tear up at every wedding we witness. There is something so sacred about watching two flawed humans promise to love and support each other until death. It’s absolutely wild. The commitment of marriage is huge. It’s a choice, the day you get married and every single day after that. At times it may seem impossible, but getting to watch people make that commitment, hearing their private vows to each other, learning their stories and watching their pure intentions and hopes come to fruition...it’s truly the most fulfilling job I could imagine. I love photography, but so much more so I love giving people the gift of photos that will mean the world to them for the rest of their lives.

December 17, 2019 | Chris + Tash’s Canyonlands National Park Elopement

A last minute December elopement? Yes please! These two decided they didn’t want to wait another day, so they came out to Moab to hang with us and we had so much fun, even if it took a few hours to feel our fingers and toes again 😉❄️

Screen Shot 2019-12-18 at 8.50.50 PM.png

December 18, 2019 | Kate + Tyler’s Zion National Park Wedding

These two. We all partied into the night after their intimate desert wedding with their closest friends and family, and then they rallied and woke up at 4am so we could hike out to this spot for sunrise. It was such a dream! One day I’ll start blogging again and end this unintentional 4 month break 😅 and I can’t wait to share Kate + Ty’s wedding weekend when I do!

Screen Shot 2020-01-02 at 1.02.39 PM.png

December 19, 2019 | Kaitlyn + Jimmy’s Yosemite Elopement

I think one of the biggest misconceptions about elopements is the idea that you have to leave your family (or close friends) out of it. At least half of the adventure weddings we shoot include guests — they just invite way fewer than a traditional wedding! This more intentional guest list actually means more time with their loved ones than a bigger wedding, and it makes for some amazing memories. You’d be surprised what our couples have been able to convince their families to do...like when Kaitlyn and Jimmy’s family hiked through mud and snow, even across a creek on a narrow long, to sit on the edge of a cliff with them for their ceremony! And in formal clothes!

They certainly had some pushback when they first presented the idea to everyone (I don’t know if any of our couples haven’t), but once we were all out there, and everyone saw the spot that meant so much to these two, and saw the sunset that followed...they got it. They always do 🖤

Screen Shot 2020-01-02 at 1.04.13 PM.png

December 26, 2019 | Erin + Duncan’s Banff Elopement

One of our favorite things about adventure elopements is how un-planned they are. When we’re working with a couple before their wedding, our emails are less about exact planning and more about ideas and options, giving them the freedom to create an ultimate adventure day. The timeline conversations aren’t traditional (“ok, at exactly 4:37 you must be finished with portraits and walking to the bridal suite you’ll be able to eat four bites of food at 4:52-4:56pm...”), but more like “the sun will hit the mountains at 6:45, so let’s do your first look a few minutes before that so you can watch the alpenglow over the lake together.” And then we typically have big blocks of time on their schedule like “7:30-9:30 Portraits/Adventuring around the lake” and while that open-ended amount of time might stress out some people, we know the potential for that “free time” and what it can mean to an adventurous couple on their elopement day.

Erin and Duncan’s ceremony was later in the afternoon, so their sunrise first look and morning adventure time was really low pressure and all focused on the two of them enjoying Banff together. Our only “plan” was their first look and some portraits as the sun came up. They’d mentioned they had a kayak in their van, and we had our two packrafts on hand always ready to go. This lake is really popular for canoeing, but the canoe rentals start at 9am and are pretty pricey, so we decided to inflate our three boats and go out on the water before the rentals. We had the lake to ourselves, far away from the sunrise photography crowds, and these two got to experience a bucket-list adventure the morning of their wedding with two buddies taking epic photos of them! After we got back to shore, Erin decided to go for a swim in the glacial melt water! She has a personal tradition of always swimming in alpine lakes, and they both had different outfits for their afternoon ceremony, so they took a chilly dip in their fancy clothes, much to the concern of a few on-looking tourists 😝

It was such a fun morning and we got some epic photos, but the best part was that it was completely true to them! We believe that’s how any wedding day should be.

Screen Shot 2020-01-02 at 1.05.55 PM.png

December 27, 2019 | Keith + Brianna Madia’s Vow Renewal + Others

BEST OF 2019 🥳 My favorite blog post of the year is up! A portfolio review of 2019, including photos from every single couple we worked with! This year has been so freaking fun, inspiring, challenging, and incredible for us and our 58 amazing couples (29 adventure sessions and 29 elopement weddings, total coincidence!). We went hiking in the Alps and canyoneering in Utah and rock climbing in Yosemite and ice climbing in Alaska and hot tubbing in Iceland and glacial exploring in Canada, and so much more...we are still reeling from it all.

Head the the link in my bio or story to see the post, I highly recommend viewing this one on your big computer screen (you can email the link to yourself if you want to remember to look later!), pour a cup of coffee and kick back...I hope you love it! I’ve included some fun stats, our favorite photos, and my goals for 2020. Let me know what you think!

Also I want to say, truly every single comment, DM, IG share, text to your friend, word of mouth, all of it means SO much to us. We’re just two people with a huge passion for the outdoors and helping couples have the most epic wedding day they can imagine. We aren’t a big team or big corporation, and what we do is so fulfilling because of who we get to work with. Considering a huge majority of our couples find us on this little app, it’s safe to say your support truly has an impact on us, our couples, and our lives. So thank you! If you feel inspired by this post, remember you can easily pin our website photos on Pinterest, or save our IG posts for future reference. And if you want to share the love, we appreciate every single IG story mention, link share on Facebook, and DM to your adventurous friend that just got engaged and you know for a fact won’t feel “at home” in a ballroom 😉 and lastly, FYI, we are not booking more than 30 elopements in 2020 and we’re already over halfway full. If you’re considering working with us, fill out the contact form on our website and let’s get this ball rollin 😎

December 29, 2019 | Audrey + Peter’s Moab Elopement + Others

A few more favorites from our 2019 In Review blog post! If you missed the blog post this weekend head to the link in our bio to see! Thank you SO much to everyone who commented and shared about it. I’ve re-scrolled through the post myself probably 10 times now, it just makes me so happy to remember all the incredible adventures we did with couples this year 🥰

We’re getting excited for 2020 and all the amazing things we have in store! I want to work harder toward sticking with our values and goals even more so, and saying “no” to anything that doesn’t align, even if it’s a good thing. This year, we really want to focus on the big things that matter to us: • Giving each couple we work with an incredible experience and photo gallery that exceeds all expectations • Taking time for ourselves to foster our passions and try new ones • Taking time to enjoy and love our community of friends and family • Setting an example of outdoor and allyship advocacy with our actions as well as our voices.

These are the things that matter deeply to us! We always expect to grow and change, but these core values are so important and we hope to weigh our business decisions against them, every time. When you work for yourself, it can be so easy to say yes yes yes to every new opportunity and idea, but as my friend @indiaearl says, “every yes is a no to something else” and this year, I want to avoid saying no to the points above. I am excited to continue to share with you all how we stick with these goals in 2020 🖤


You can follow us on instagram if you don’t want to miss any posts!

@thehearnes | @abbihearne | @callenhearne

Comment