kim + ryan's wedding 400 feet above the moab desert | adventurous spacenet elopement | galia lahav bride | moab, utah wedding photographer
kim + ryan got married on a space net 400 feet above the desert near Moab, Utah. their story has taken the world by storm! you can find a news story about their wedding here. to see their pre-wedding day first look and bridal session, click here. see more from their wedding here.
since posting, this wedding has made lots of press! you can find it all over the web, including:
People Magazine // Cosmopolitan // Green wedding shoes // My modern Met // Buzzfeed // Design bloom // APLUS // Simplemost // California's FOX KTVU // Bored Panda
I honestly don't know where to begin with Kim + Ryan's Moab wedding, but I'll start with this: it's pretty obvious the wedding was epic, amazing, and crazy, but I hope that you take your time looking through these photos to see beyond the shock-factor because this wedding is a very accurate representation of nearly every reason we've fallen so deeply in love with Moab. I found myself feeling emotional multiple times throughout this weekend and while editing the photos not only because of my love for Kim + Ryan, but also my love for this community. The way everyone came together, put forth their talents, pitched in, and did everything in their power to pull this off honestly amazes me. Kim, the bride, is an absolutely visionary. She dreams big and comes up with huge, incredible ideas. Ryan, her groom, is a do-er. He makes things happen and has a blast problem-solving to figure it all out. They make an amazing team, which was definitely evident throughout the entire wedding planning process.
Kim and Ryan fell in love in Moab at this high-lining festival, GGBY, a few years ago and got engaged on the net at the festival last year (see our photos from GGBY 2016 here), so it only felt right to get married on the net the day before the official festival started. They worked closely with Andy Lewis, the best man and inventor/creative mastermind behind the space net, to plan a real wedding ceremony on the net 400 feet above the canyon. After throwing around a lot of ideas, they decided they'd use the original net and add an "aisle" so they could walk out to it. One of the things Kim loves about the festival is the amount of things going on in the relatively condensed space, so she wanted to encourage that vibe during their ceremony. Three of their friends (linked below) preformed aerial stunts below the net on silks, while a few friends did acro-yoga on the cliff edges, a friend painted the event live in the desert, a friend played flute, another blew giant bubbles nearby, some friends walked high-lines and some just hung in the dead airspace to watch the ceremony. Friends flew over in paragliders while some played instruments on the cliffs. As they ended there ceremony, exchanging "Hell Yeahs" instead of "I Dos," 10 BASE jumper "flower girls" lined along the cliff edges in tutus and jumped off one-by-one, releasing 5,000 flower petals that had been packed in their parachutes. Kim wore the most gorgeous Galia Lahav dress and a custom matching veil, which made her look like a total goddess in the typically rugged desert environment.
The entire wedding was an awesome show, all while remaining intimate and true to Kim + Ryan. These two are so charismatic, and Kim is a mix between bad-ass desert dirtbag and hot-as-hell glam queen, while Ryan looks at her like she hung the moon. This wedding day is an amazing reflection of their personalities and I honestly hope it inspires more couples to ditch the status quo and plan a wedding day that infuses their passions, hobbies, interests, and personalities into every detail. Kim and Ryan will forever be able to look back on this day knowing it was 100% them. Their family + friends that were present got to learn more about them, which is something I would hope for any couple that chooses to have guests at their wedding. The thing is, you don't have to listen to anything the wedding industry (or your family + friends) tell you to do. Other than a few legal steps, you should plan your wedding in whatever way YOU want and make sure it represents YOU. We're all for throwing tradition to the wind and planning a unique wedding.
If you're considering eloping somewhere unique, Moab is honestly the best place. We spend a majority of our nomadic life here, exploring every corner of the desert around Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, Bears Ears National Monument, and the BLM lands in between. We have an always-growing list of perfect places for cliff-side intimate weddings, adventurous hike-in elopements, and stunning portraits all over the Utah desert.
Moab, Utah Elopement Photographers: The Hearnes Adventure Photography
Bride + Groom: Kimberly Weglin and Ryan Jenks
Bride's Dress + Veil: Lily Rose by Galia Lahav and custom Galia Lahav veil
Bridal Store: Kinsley James Couture Bridal
Spacenet Venue + Construction: "Sketchy" Andy Lewis
Bridesmaids Flowers, Planning, Paper goods, Hand-Written Signs, Styling: Kimberly Weglin (the bride)
Bride's Bouquet: The Faux Bouquets
Bride's Hair: Kate Victoria
Ombre Groom + Groomsmen Tuxes: Generation Tux
Videographer: Scott Rogers
Aerialists: Liz Thomas, Caroline Dignes, and Aleta French
BASE Jumpers: Danny Weiland, David Laffargue, Joe Nesbitt, Jimmy Peterson, J.P. Sutjak, Scotty Bob, Nick Williamson, Taz, and Andi Greyling
Location: BLM Desert near Moab, Utah
…
The Hearnes Adventure Photography is run by Abbi and Callen Hearne, a husband & wife wedding photography team with an emphasis on adventure. They live on the road as full-time nomads in their big white van, allowing them to serve a large portion of the western US including California, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming. They believe love is the greatest adventure and strive to create photos that are epic, romantic, true, and timeless.
…