Adventurous Wedding in the Utah Canyonlands | Moab Elopement Photographer
Jeep Elopement | Moab, Utah
the hearnes » adventure elopement photographers
Audrey + Peter’s Jeep Elopement with their dog in Moab, Utah
We had so much fun photographing Audrey and Peter’s elopement in Moab! One really fun fact is that Callen and Audrey actually went to high school together! They stayed pretty connected through social media and such, and Audrey always kept up with our elopement photography business. When she and Peter got engaged, they knew they wanted to elope immediately. She mentioned that they agreed they didn’t want any guests there because they wanted to celebrate their relationship privately and casually, because it felt more authentic to their personalities and their relationship!
They were totally open to ideas when we started planning out their elopement location in Moab, the only requirement was that we chose a dog-friendly place so their sweet boy Beansy could join! One of the amazing things about Moab is all of the BLM land outside of the National Parks! It’s gorgeous land, some of our favorite hiking and jeep trails, and dogs are allowed! We’re actually the only wedding photographers that are currently Special Recreation Permit holders in Moab’s BLM area, and we have an endless list of epic locations on BLM! This was one we found a few years ago with friends, and while it requires some slightly intense Jeeping to get out to, Audrey and Peter were up for the challenge! They rented a Jeep in town and we made our way out to the spot in the afternoon before sunset. It was such a sweet day, hiking around with them, soaking it in, taking photos with Beansy (he’s so photogenic!!) and then watching the incredible sunset over the canyons below.
We absolutely love when couples choose to make their elopement a new adventure in a place they’ve never been! I wrote this IG post about that very thing and thought it would be appropriate to share here:
“Why would someone want to elope in a place they’ve never been to before? We get this question a lot — it’s something that often surprises people: the fact that a lot of our couples are seeing Yosemite for the first time the day of their elopement, or they’ve never been to Moab, but they choose to come out here for their wedding day.
It might seem strange, but it really isn’t. You see, marriage is new. It’s a marking of a new turn, a new life, a new promise. Why not explore a new place while you do that? Often times, our couples decide to elope, or plan an intimate destination wedding, because the idea of a big wedding back home doesn’t feel right to them. So they choose to have an epic, exploratory, adventurous wedding day instead. They choose to go somewhere new together, experience the place for the first time on a day that they’ll never forget.
And the thing is, when they do this, they forever have a place that means everything to them. Callen and I were married in a typical venue in Texas. We’ve never gone back to it. It’s fun to pass the highway exit occasionally and remember our wedding was there, but the place itself doesn’t hold much meaning. For our couples who promise forever to each other on the edge of a cliff in Moab (like these two), they can always return to this beautiful cliff and it will continue to hold meaning in their hearts. They can be 80 years old and run into young tourists and say “we were married right here...” and to me, that’s sort of the coolest thing ever.”
Instagram Posts about Audrey + Peter, in chronological order:
October 24, 2019
Holy cow Audrey + Peter, yesterday was so much fun!!! These two came all the way out here from Texas to elope in the desert with their sweet dingo Beansy (who I’m convinced is not only Dagwood Madia’s long lost brother, but also 100% fit into the rock scrambling, adventuring, lizard chasing desert life like a pro) and we spent the day doing all kinds of adventures. We ended up at this epic overlook for the perfect fall sunset and never ending blue hour, and then grabbed Thai take out when we got back to town...perfect day. I am so thankful for couples that trust us 100% with their elopement plans and locations!!
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Also, super fun fact, Audrey and Callen went to high school together!! It’s always such an honor when people that know us in “real life” come out to elope with us 💞 #HearnesTinyCouples
April 1, 2020
We forgot it was Wednesday and forgot to put our trash out on time this morning 🙃 We also keep going between “productive knock out a bunch of random work stuff” and “stay up until 2am to finish tiger king” and I also downloaded tiktok (only to watch and be aware I am too old for such a thing) and have texted no less than 7364484 dog tiktoks to @indiaearl. Including one of a dog getting adopted followed by a photo of me crying about it.
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All that to say, this series from last fall of Beansy being *very* over the whole camera-in-his-face situation pretty much captures all of our emotions over the past few weeks 😂 Which one do you relate to most right now? I think I have to go with the second to last one...where it looks like he’s yelling.
April 13, 2020
One of the biggest reasons we chose Moab as “home” is the endless adventure. You can live here 100 years and never run out of new dirt roads to drive down. Never run out of new outcroppings to sit and watch the sunset from. Never run out of new places to climb, at any grade. Never run out of trails, of nooks to find little bitty blooming cacti in, of sandstone arches to discover, of canyons to rappel into.
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We explore a lot. We take our Jeep to new places a few times a week, and then when the road thins out we park and go by foot. We walk washes (where the water runs when it rains) and skip across exposed rocks. It never gets old. There are times that we’ll find a really amazing hidden gem and I’ll almost worry there is a scarcity and we’re reaching a limit, and then I remember how big and vast this land is...and that the limit does not exist 😉
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Moab is magic. A new adventure every day. Oh, and our couples benefit greatly from this exploring because I’m never not finding a new spot and saying “ohhh imagine a ceremony here!” 😜
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The Hearnes Adventure Photography is run by Abbi and Callen Hearne, a husband & wife wedding photography team with an emphasis on adventure. Unless stated otherwise, all blog and social media posts are written from the perspective of Abbi! Our photography style is adventurous, full of stoke, and centered around telling a true story. We are nomadic wedding photographers living on the road, which allows us to photograph your adventures anywhere in the world. We especially love the sierra mountains in California, southwestern desert in Utah, and the glacial landscape of Alaska. We have updated passports and are ready to travel anywhere your love takes you!
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