Small, COVID-Friendly Wedding | Moab, Utah
the hearnes » adventure elopement photographers
As is the theme of 2020, Sarah and David had different plans for how their wedding would go before the pandemic happened, but as everything turned out, the final result and their “Plan B” ended up being such and incredible day. They’d planned to have a bigger wedding back east closer to their families, but ended up doing a small elopement with just their closest family members in the Utah desert. It was such a beautiful day and we had so much fun making it happen for them! Sarah and David actually met in high school and were nearing their 10 year dating anniversary so we had a special connection as fellow high school hero sweethearts ;)
We started their elopement day with a sunrise first look in Canyonlands National Park, one of our very favorite places in Moab. Early in the morning, when it was still dark outside, we all met up in the parking lot and said our hellos. As the sun started to come up, Sarah climbed into our camper to get dressed while Callen and Dave hiked out to the point. First looks are our favorite way to start an elopement day. The anticipation and excitement is so fun, and I love letting couples do something so interactive (and with such little involvement/direction from us) before we jump into portraits.
As Dave waited on the edge of the cliff, Sarah and I walked down and chatted about how surreal it felt to finally really be here. I had her stop a little bit before we got to them, went and checked in on Dave (who I believe already had tears in his eyes!!) and then gave her the thumbs up to go see him. He was so stoked to see her, and they shared these first few moments of their wedding day just hugging and laughing, looking at the views and then looking at each other, and it honestly felt like they were in their own world even with us snapping photos nearby! We spent the morning hiking around, soaking in the views, and taking portraits of them with the glorious desert sunrise. It was so peaceful and such an incredible way to start their wedding day! After a while, we were all ready to head to town for breakfast and some naps, so we said goodbye and met back up in the afternoon for their ceremony!
That afternoon, we met them at Sorrel River Ranch where they were staying and getting ready, rounded up their family members, and had everyone follow us to a beautiful little nook in the valley for their ceremony. It was perfectly private and quiet, not a soul in sight, and their guests were beyond stoked about the off-roading and hiking required to get out there! Jenn Brook performed their ceremony and everyone had tears in their eyes, it was especially sweet to see (and hear) how excited their families were that they were “finally doing it” after 10 years together!
The weather was beautiful and there was a perfect breeze that kept everyone cool in the late September heat, and after some family photos and time reflecting with everyone on the beauty, their families headed back to the ranch while we stayed out for sunset portraits. It was so fun ending the day just as we’d began, watching the desert sky change colors and feeling like the only people in the world. As it was getting dark, we drove back to the ranch where they had a dinner and cake set up on the outdoor deck with views of the river and the mesas around us. It was the perfect day. Sarah laughed how it couldn’t have been more different from their original plan, but that they were so grateful for how everything turned out after such a sweet and beautiful day with their families in Moab!
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The Hearnes Adventure Photography is run by Abbi and Callen Hearne, a husband & wife elopement wedding photography (and planning!) team with a major emphasis on adventure. Unless stated otherwise, all blog and social media posts are written from the perspective of Abbi!
We’ve completely built our life around adventures in beautiful places, and one of our greatest joys is sharing the adventure with our couples. We lived on the road full time for a few years and then fell in love with a little house in the desert of Moab, Utah; our favorite place throughout all of our travels. We still spend about half of the year living on the road, traveling to more favorites like Alaska, Yosemite National Park, and beyond.
We use our extensive experience and expertise in the outdoors to plan unforgettable custom elopement days for every couple. We usually work with couples to plan everything from their elopement location down to the vendors they’ll work with and the timeline of the day(s) we’ll spend together. We always shoot together and we have kept things intentionally small, working with a limited amount of couples each year such that we can bring our full value to every single planning email, phone call, and of course, elopement day!
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