the hearnes adventure photography best of 2020 » weddings + elopements

weddings and elopementselopementsintimate weddingsclientsweddings
Written By Abbi Hearne

Best of 2020 // Elopements + Adventure Sessions // Western US Adventure Wedding Photographer

» AT A GLANCE

We photographed 26 Weddings + Elopements and 9 Adventure Sessions, 19 of which were postponed from their original date! 3 originally 2020-scheduled weddings have now occurred in 2021.

» AS SEEN ON

TOP ELOPEMENT PHOTOGRAPHERS + GUIDES // LOOKSLIKEFILM MOAB PROPOSAL // LONELY PLANET // JUNEBUG TOP PHOTOS OF THE MONTH // GREEN WEDDING SHOES: MOAB PROPOSAL // BUSINESS INSIDER // VOYAGE DALLAS // JUNEBUG BEST IG ACCOUNTS // VUE NJ MAGAZINE + ONLINE BLOG // DRIFTER MAGAZINE // TOP 50 HIKING INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS // BACKCOUNTRY GLACIER ADVENTURE

This is usually my favorite blog post every year and I typically can’t wait to put it together! Well, obviously 2020 was different (understatement of the year) and the fact that I’m finally getting around to writing out this blog post in May 2021 just goes to show how I felt about 2020 haha. That being said, I’m kind of glad to be writing this after a few months of time to process last year, because the truth is, we’re very very lucky to say that while we didn’t make it out unscathed, it was overall still a positive year in our personal life and business. What started out as a lot of scary closures, along with our first (and second, third… tenth…) postponed elopement dates, flexibility I never knew we were capable of, and lots lots lots of stress over how to maintain our little business that is our sole household income, while serving the couples we love so much, PLUS not to even mention all the personal toils we navigated… well, let’s just say I’m happy to have that year over with, and I’m really grateful that in the end, it turns out this is a really good time to specialize in small, outdoor weddings!

I usually try to keep these posts positive, but I thought it’d be appropriate to summarize our response and experience with COVID as a small business this year. I am hoping this is mostly helpful for other photographers and small business owners, or at the very least encouraging to see that we all did the best we could — and I truly doubt anyone finished 2020 thinking they handled everything completely perfectly.

As hard as it is to remember, 2020 started off pretty normal for a few months there! We spent New Years in Las Vegas visiting friends for climbing and hiking adventures. We went to Hawaii in January, spent time on Kauai and Oahu, and were lucky enough to photograph incredible couples on both islands. I went on a backpacking trip to Havasuapi Falls in early March, and a week after I got back the US started to see cases of COVID-19 on the rise… within a week or so everything began to shut down and we started reaching out to the couples we had scheduled in the coming months to talk through options. I’ll never forget those first few weeks talking with my industry friends and all of us wondering what to do — what response is best for our business? for our couples? what is legal? what is best practice? It all felt like the wild west to us, but in hindsight, I’m really proud of how we handled everything and I’m proud that our couples felt loved and cared for throughout the process. We certainly made mistakes, even had times when we had to compromise on our own values and ideals, and it was a weird time of constant changes. I’ve reflected on the year with industry friends since, and the general consensus is that this year taught us that nothing is black and white, and we all have to accept that we’ll make mistakes in everything we do.

Our COVID Response:

Firstly, I want to reiterate that everyone’s knowledge about the pandemic changed as time went on — what was appropriate in March shifted by summer with further understanding about masks and distancing, and as time went on we remained flexible, adjusting as we knew more. I honestly think every service-based small business owner would agree that in hindsight, there are things they’d change, things they’d do differently, and probably even times they compromised their own values for the sake of customer service, as well as times that they had disappointed customers as a result of their decisions. I know that is true for us, and for any industry friends I’ve spoken with! So, I hope you’ll take the following as a candid, honest reflection on our response and how the year went for us.

In mid-March, Moab shut down to all visitors ten days before our first elopement of the season. At that point, we reached out to all of our March and April couples to discuss back-up plans, dates we had available later in the year for reschedules, and what our policies would be moving forward. Typically, we take a non-refundable deposit to secure a date with a couple. This deposit applies to a specific date and location, and we immediately begin planning their unique elopement day, sending vendor and travel recommendations, and coordinating almost everything for them. We also begin turning away other couples based on not only that date, but dates surrounding it. Because it’s just the two of us, we have a set amount of bookings we’ll take per week, per month, per location, etc. So basically, the reason our deposit is non-refundable is because we put in a lot of work before the elopement, and we turn away a lot of work as soon as we’re booked. This is all super clear in our contract and agreed on by our couples before booking.

That being said, COVID-19 was completely unexpected and unprecedented. In some cases, it meant our couples (or we, or both) were unable to travel to their booked destination, on their booked date. In many cases, even if we could have pulled it off, we and our couples erred on the side of safety and chose to postpone, especially near the beginning of the pandemic when so much was unknown; like the effectiveness of mask-wearing, whether or not you could safely travel by vehicle, and so on. This was the first time we really had to dive into some of our policies and make decisions that were both protecting us as a business, and serving our customers with the level they (rightfully) expect from us. We initially postponed everything until June, mostly using our remaining openings in the Fall for those spring “Plan B” dates. We waived all reschedule fees and allowed couples to book new dates that worked for both of us. We also stopped booking any new couples at this point, which was a minor financial hit in the grand scheme of things.

By April, we had e-mailed all of our 2020 couples to clarify our policies, our response, and to begin the process of postponing and/or adjusting their booking with us in response to the pandemic and how they were feeling. We gave couples the choice to reduce their package — for instance, if they had booked 8 hours because they’d planned to have 25 guests, they could reduce to six hours because most chose to invite fewer guests (or no guests). Another option we gave, for the couples who chose to go a different route and elope at home or elsewhere, was to use their deposit toward an adventure session with us. This session, or an elopement plan B could be booked at any point between their original date and July 2021 (over a year in advance at that point) within our general travel schedule with no extra fees.

This worked really well for a majority of our couples and we’re thrilled to have re-scheduled just about everyone and allowed these couples to still have the wedding day they’ve wanted. The thing I want to note is how absolutely resilient our couples are, and how impressed I’ve been with their flexibility and high spirits given the shit sandwich they were handed. That being said, I want to be honest and say we did have a few unhappy customers, and while I wish we could have pulled every string and made this work for every single couple, that simply wasn’t the case. It’s the harsh reality of running a business, especially through a pandemic, but it’s still a huge bummer to reach the end of any possible options and need to enforce your contract and policies in the end.

If we learned anything in 2020, it was that this job is really important to us, but it is still a job and sometimes you give it everything you’ve got, but you’ll never do it perfectly. When I get bummed about the “failures,” I remind myself of the other 26 couples we were lucky enough to work with, that were responsive and appreciative of our communication, that felt loved and cared for even when the world was falling apart, and that will always remember their elopement day as a bright spot in an otherwise horrible year. In the end, we know we did a really amazing job serving our couples and maintaining our business this year, and the biggest “win” of all — we were able to use masks, distancing, and careful practices to keep ourselves safe from COVID and in turn, keep our couples (and their families) safe too. (I do want to add, we also feel very lucky about this. I know so many people were extremely careful and still got sick, which is obvious considering the numbers and the fact that it was a pandemic! I am in no way insinuating that those who did get sick were less responsible because I know that is not the case for many.)

ANYWAY, I hope this is educational, or at least refreshingly honest and candid, mostly for my fellow small business owners. I feel like a year ago we were all in a wild west of not knowing how to handle this, and now I hope we’re all smarter about contracts, more knowledgeable about our policies, and more clear with our couples moving forward. In the end, we were lucky enough to finish the year strong and go into 2021 with a better appreciation for days that happen as planned, as well as a stronger understanding of how important this job is and how grateful we are to have it.

OKAY, that was intense. All that being said, I’ve still rounded up our favorite photos from every couple we photographed this year, and I always love the experience of reflecting on our portfolio like this. I hope you find it inspiring! If you’re a photographer, or a potential bride, remember that it’s super easy to “Pin” these photos to your Pinterest Board if you want to save them for the future! If you make it to the bottom, comment and let me know your favorite(s) ❤️

And now, for a bit of a laugh, below are my 2020 goals that I wrote at the end of 2019! THAT BEING SAID, I actually think we did pretty well this these. Booking less meant we were able to really care for the couples that we did have booked in 2020; playing more looked different than ever before, but I’m proud to say we still stuck to that one well; we still donated a large percentage of our income to organizations like Access Fund as well as new ones like Navajo Water Project, Black Lives Matter, a handful of COVID-response organizations, and a therapy fund for Black women. We also worked further with Moab BLM to establish a permit system for photographers and it’s doing much better now than it was a year ago. Personally, I feel I have improved my personal relationships tenfold in the past year, removing the toxic relationships from my life and pouring that energy into the healthy, close, meaningful ones. We have learned so much, improved both our craft and our business sense, as well as grown our business in ways that will bring longevity and matter beyond simply income. I am proud of the influence we have on our industry, even after stepping back from education in workshop form, we have some exciting things on the horizon. And lastly, I feel that our personal and business priorities are maintained very well right now, and I’m more proud of us than ever before. I really like these goal posts, and will continue with these in 2021! I love this opportunity to reflect on the year and prioritize what is important for next year.

One of the biggest changes we’re making this year is no longer booking in Yosemite, for the foreseeable future. I chose a photo from Yosemite, arguably from the most iconic location we photograph, as a way to bid adieu to a place that has meant so much to us in this journey. We will still visit Yosemite often (we’re actually going to spend some time there in just a couple of weeks!) and will absolutely enjoy it as a place of peace, spiritual connection, and for the landscape we love so dearly. But for our work, it became too intense to continue. The places we usually photograph there are extremely crowded now (for good reason!) and it’s not uncommon to see 5-10+ couples having their photos taken on any given morning or night in one spot. This is completely understandable, but is not the experience we want to give to our clients. We also found it feeling more like a place of work than a place of fun and joy (that it used to be) so we made the difficult but exciting decision to remove it from our list of locations we book and save it as a place for us to fully enjoy as pure recreation and play again ❤️

2020 GOALS (Basically the same for 2021!):

Our Goals for 2018 and 2019 were quite similar, with the same “blanket terms” and a few small adjustments. I love to look back over them at the end of each year and see how we did, as well as consider how we can improve and do even better in the new year. I honestly think in 2019 we did the best job we’ve done yet, and I’m so thankful to be able to set these goals again, with confidence we’ll continue to work toward them.

Book Less » By booking less, we open ourselves to an even better client experience. We are so passionate about our relationship with each and every client, we want every single person we work with to know we love them and we want to really get to know them. I'm convinced that the amazing relationships we form with our couples are a huge reason we take such amazing photos, and I am excited for even more of that in 2020.

Play More » Here's the thing. Do you want to know why we're so psyched all the time? Why we love Moab so much? How we find all these amazing locations? It's because we love to play. We spend our free time exploring, hiking, biking, rafting, skydiving, skiing and climbing all over these places! We didn't get to know Yosemite by shooting weddings there, we got to know it by PLAYING there. We also know we perform way better and deliver a much better experience if we've taken the time to enjoy ourselves instead of work all the time.

Have A Positive Impact » This looks a little different every single year. In 2020, we will continue working closely with our local Moab BLM office to improve their permitting and guidelines for wedding-specific events on BLM lands. It’s a grueling process at times, but I know we will have a positive long-term impact if we are patient and persistent. We also hope to donate more to organizations like Access Fund and Honnold Foundation, spend more time educating people about their impact on the lands, and be conscious of our own footprint as we travel, live, and recreate!

Be a Better Wife, Daughter, Friend, Human » This one should be obvious, but honestly in 2017 I was a really good photographer, businesswoman + entrepreneur, but the other things mostly took second-priority. I realize that's how it goes when you start a business (or in our case, drastically change it and grow it), so I'm glad my people stuck with me while we skyrocketed to success, but now that we're where we are, I want to focus more on the other aspects of my life. I want to spend more time with Callen (QUALITY time), more time calling friends and family, and more time enjoying myself and others without thinking about or talking about business. Any tips for overcoming workaholism are greatly appreciated!

2018: Woah, humble pie. I wrote the above paragraph for 2018, and while I do believe I’ve made steps in the right direction, I want to see a drastic change in 2019. This year my Dad was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor. I learned, in one phone call, how quickly life can be turned upside down. I am so thankful for the time I had to spend with him in 2018, and I want even more of that in 2019. I don’t want work to ever stand in the way of time with my people.

2019: Honestly, I believe I did a better job of this in 2019 than ever before, but it’s something that can always be improved. This year, I hope to spend more time adventuring with Callen for fun and encouraging his passions, more time with my brothers, and at least one fun trip with my parents.

Keep Growing, Learning, and Improving » Scaling back booking numbers doesn't mean we're going to stop pouring into this business, it simply means we'll do a better job of pouring ourselves into what matters! We absolutely love this job and are so thankful (and amazed) by this past year. Next year we will aim to work smarter and make our clients even happier than ever. I never want to think I know it all and I'll never stop growing and improving. One of my favorite pieces of advice I've received as a skydiver is to learn something new with every single jump. I believe in applying that to all that I do, so in 2020 I hope to learn something new with every adventure session and wedding we shoot.

Lead Our Industry In A Positive Direction » I’ve realized this year how big of an impact we have on the photography industry. A lot of photographers look up to us, follow our lead, and strive to do things like what we’re doing. Whether I like it or not, we have a lot of power over the direction in which this industry goes. In 2020, I want to do what I can to lead in a positive direction. I want to encourage photographers to care for the environments they’re shooting in, to put sustainability at the forefront of their minds, and to prioritize the longevity of these beautiful wild places. I am excited to be working directly with Moab BLM as well as consulting Park Rangers and staff members in multiple National Parks to learn how to make Adventure Wedding Photography a positive force in the outdoor world.

Maintain The Right Priorities » This one sums up most of what I’ve said above. This year, I want to keep my priorities straight. I don’t want to care about popularity or how cool people think we are or how successful we look. I want to prioritize my personal relationships, my beloved wild spaces, and my incredible clients.

If you made it to the bottom of this, you're an angel. Please comment on this post so I can thank you!! There is no way we could do what we're doing without the support of our online community. Every follow, comment, like, share, and late night spent browsing the website means the world to us — it literally gets us to where we are now (what a time to be alive!). We are so appreciative of you. I know it sounds silly, but I honestly feel like we have a little family of online buddies that love us and when I'm sitting in the rig in the middle of nowhere feeling a little lonely, it's awesome to feel connected to all of you. This is usually where I say something like 2020 was an amazing year (LOL) and I can’t wait to see what 2021 brings, but considering 2020 was mostly steamy garbage, and we’re nearly halfway through 2021 at the time of writing this, I can already confirm 2021 is much better 😜 Thanks for reading, friends!

Abbi Hearne http://www.thehearnes.com
Previous

Erika & Austin's Zion Elopement | Sand Dunes, Slot Canyons & A Desert Overlook
Next

Alex + Jake's Moab Elopement | Small Wedding in Utah