Carson + Will's Last-Minute Desert Elopement | Moab Wedding Photographers
Canyonlands National Park | Moab, Utah
the hearnes » adventure elopement photographers
Carson + Will’s Last-Minute Elopement in Utah with their baby Opal
I am pretty sure Carson and Will win for our quickest planned elopement — they booked us 10 days before their elopement date!! I know 2020 has been pretty terrible, but I will admit one amazing thing from it is seeing how couples have adapted and how flexible they’ve been to create something amazing! Because when all is said and done, the goal is to get married…and these two did that with an amazing day in Moab that we’re pretty proud of throwing together in under two weeks!
Carson’s first email to me was short and sweet, basically a “hail mary” hoping we’d *possibly* be available for a last-minute elopement! They had planned an intimate wedding this fall in Marfa, Texas, but as they got closer to the date they realized they still didn’t feel comfortable gathering their family members with COVID still being a very real threat. They decided to elope, and had loved our work, so she reached out and asked what we had available “as soon as possible!” We were coming up on the time we’d planned to leave for Alaska, and didn’t want to add any anchor dates in place in case we were still able to make it happen as planned, so I replied asking if she was down for the date before we planned to leave — under two weeks out! I honestly figured there was no way, I assumed “as soon as possible” probably meant in the next few months, but by then end of the day we’d chatted on the phone, made a plan, and jumped into putting together their elopement in Moab! Thankfully, being Moab locals, we know this area like the back of our hands, so I knew we could plan an epic elopement for them quickly. We reached out to a friend about officiating, picked locations that we already held local special recreation permits for, referred our favorite hair + make up artist that was already in town for an elopement a few days prior, and had everything put together in a matter of days.
Carson, Will, and their precious daughter Opal road tripped to Moab for their elopement. We had so much fun showing them around the incredible Utah desert, and the temps even stayed relatively cool (compared to what they can be in July!) with great cloud coverage and a nice breeze all day. We met up with them in a dark parking lot in Canyonlands National Park for their first look — Callen, Will and Opal walked out to the point while Carson got dressed in our camper, and they shared the sweetest first look as the sun came up over the surrounding canyons. Side note, Opal was an absolute gem and handled the weird hours and adventures of the day so well. Seriously the worlds most chill baby! We hiked around soaking in the views, and then hiked out to a beautiful arch where Opal had a blast rolling in the sand :) After we’d had our fill of hiking and started getting hungry, we headed to town for breakfast at one of our favorite local shops, Moab Garage Co. It was so perfect and simple, and everyone we passed was psyched to see Carson and Will casually strolling around in their wedding clothes!
After a break for naps and some time to relax (essential after sunrises, but especially with a baby!), we met back up in the afternoon for a picnic complete with Topo Chico (Texans get it!), thai take-out, and pizza. It was the perfect way to get ready for their intimate ceremony. We brought them out on one of our favorite hikes and let them choose which spot felt best for their little ceremony. Our local friend Jackson officiated (side note, he does commercial plane tours and is a certified officiant so…epic potential for elopements in Utah!!) and their ceremony was so sweet. Opal cheered for them, so precious! We ended the day farther down the hike with a really beautiful moody sky (classic desert!), they shotgunned some coors (classic!!) to celebrate, and we all soaked in the last bit of light in the desert, still in awe at the incredible day everyone managed to throw together with such short notice!
This day in Moab was everything elopements should be — focused on their little fam, laid-back, adventurous, and beautiful. We made some really fun memories, and were so glad for the hail-mary email that connected us just two weeks prior.
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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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