The Hearnes Adventure Photography | @thehearnes on Instagram

While numbers certainly aren’t everything, hitting 100k on Instagram feels like a pretty exciting milestone for us. When we started this account in March 2017, I wasn’t even sure people would be interested in it. I had a pretty good following of about 10,000 people on my personal account @abbihearne, and most people followed me for cute photos of Charlie and our personal adventures living on the road in the western US. I’d sprinkle wedding work in there occasionally, but it never felt consistent, so I decided to jump in and start a separate account when we changed the company name from Abbi Hearne Creative to The Hearnes Adventure Photography! It’s been amazing to see this account grow and inspire people all over the world to consider an adventure elopement. So many of our couples have found us through Instagram and it always amazes me the friendships we’ve gained through this little app! We’ve grown this account 100% organically, never using bots or buying followers, never practicing slimy follow/unfollow or generic commenting techniques, and I think that really shows in the community we’ve built. Everyone who has followed us did so by choice, and that’s something that makes us super proud!

I thought a fun way to celebrate would be to share our top 5 posts of all time. I will note, I know Instagram can be discouraging sometimes so I really hope this post is fun to see and inspiring for others and not a comparison trap ❤️ Know that so many factors go into IG, and a lot of them are just hoping for the best! We have always believed that posting interesting, genuine content is the best Instagram “strategy” you could have, so that’s what we’ve done from day one! So, without further adieu, our top 5 posts (based on “Impressions” in my IG analytics):

October 18, 2019 | Yosemite National Park

Amanda and Patrick spent 10 days backpacking around Yosemite after their wedding, which I feel is a perfect way to celebrate! We sadly couldn’t follow them around for all 11 days 😜 so we staged a cute little photo with their fully packed gear before their sunset hike on their wedding day. I told Amanda she should do all the hiking in her dress...but after we got back from their wedding day hike that night, she took her dress off, stuffed it in a big garbage bag, and gave it to her sister to deal with 😂 I’ll always have that visual from here on out when some nice old lady makes a comment on the trail about our brides’ “poor dress” getting all dirty! #HearnesOmbre

January 11, 2019 | Yosemite National Park

I know I’ve been sharing a lot of blogs here recently, but I can assure you, you don’t want to miss this one! Sidney and Dillon’s elopement in Yosemite was absolutely amazing. From Sidney getting dressed in our camper on the side of the road, to their sweet ceremony officiated by her brother, to our epic hike + sunset exploring above the valley floor, the entire day was so special.
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As we hiked back with the light of the moon and our headlamps guiding the way, Sidney reflected on how much more amazing the day was than she could have ever imagined. Dillon agreed :) Their elopement was absolutely magic and such a reminder that no matter how many sunsets we watch in these places, Yosemite always packs a punch and can be full of surprises...like bright orange light glowing underneath the overcast layer of clouds when we thought the sunset was over! You can find the blog [HERE] + be sure to comment your thoughts if you make it to the bottom 🖤

October 4, 2018 | Arches National Park

This is what it looks like when the it’s sunny and raining in the desert. This quick little sun shower was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever witnessed. It was right before sunset so the sun was shining straight through the rain droplets and it literally looked like gold glitter falling around us. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out on camera, but when I started uploading these photos I wasn’t at all disappointed 😍 I’m posting a couple of before/afters in my story because even I am struggling to believe this is real ✨💫💛 #HearnesTinyCouples

October 22, 2018 | Telluride, Colorado

I sent Brian and Noosha their wedding gallery yesterday and Noosha replied a lot of sweet things, but I think my favorite was when she let me know how stoked Brian was that he’d successfully mastered “the soft smile” 😂😂 these two told me they were awkward before we took their photos, but Ima have to disagree. And they most definitely mastered the soft smile 👏🏻🙂

September 21, 2018 | Yosemite National Park

She grew up in Scotland, so he wore a kilt for their elopement. He grew up in California, so she surprised him with her little white cowboy boots. Ailsa and Austin, you two are some of the best around. You made rolling around laughing on a 3,000 foot cliff look casual. Tuesday was such a dream and the perfect way to end our September Yosemite season! Now, time for a month in the desert 🙌🏻 (after a quick stop in Telluride for a wedding today)!

Yay! I loved looking back on our top posts, it’s so fun seeing what everyone loves on Instagram! I want to give a huge thank you to every single person who follows us, likes + comments + shares our posts, replies to our stories, sends messages, and so on! You guys are the reason IG is so fun, and in the end, your participation is what helps us grow and get in front of more incredible couples so they can see just how FUN their wedding day can be! ❤️❤️❤️