adventurous mountaintop elopement in telluride | colorado wedding photographer

---

jenny + ashley's mountaintop intimate wedding | telluride, colorado elopement photographer | fall mountain wedding inspiration

---

When Jenny + Ashley first reached out to us about shooting their elopement, they mentioned a few details they were hoping for - somewhere with mountains, somewhere green and not snowy. We ended up choosing Maroon Bells near Aspen, Colorado and booked plans for next June! A few days later, Jenny emailed me to see what our schedule was for October (it was September at the time!) because they had decided to move the date up! Honestly, this type of thing probaby seems crazy to some wedding photographers, but as someone who specialized in elopements and on average books weddings 1-3 months in advance, I live for these e-mails ;) It keeps things spicy! We ended up having a weekend open between our work in Moab and a session in Page, Arizona, so we said we could do Telluride, Colorado and they were down! It lined up with a trip they already had planned to Denver to visit friends, and they got to get married 8 months earlier than originally planned - which engaged folks will agree can feel like lightyears when you're waiting to marry your person! It was a fun challenge to essentially plan their elopement in such a short amount of time (special thank you to Amy Bluestar, a fellow adventure wedding photographer, for helping with locations!) and it all came together perfectly. 

They ended up getting married on a gorgeous hillside completely surrounded by mountains that had been recently dusted with the first snow of the year while the aspens rained down yellow leaves every time the wind blew. After their ceremony we spent some time hanging around the nearby campsite with their family and friends before sending them off and heading back out for some sunset portraits. We ended the evening on the banks of Trout Lake as the last bit of light hit the surrounding mountains. At one point during the day, Jenny shared that she had already been eyeing us as photographers before they got engaged, and shortly after they got engaged Ashley showed her our website (completely randomly), which is when she knew we were the right photographers for them. What a great compliment! One of the things we feel sets us apart is how much grooms love our work (and working with us), even when they're typically not as psyched on photos. With us, photos aren't just a necessary part of a wedding day, they're one of the most fun parts of the day, and I'd bet every bride and groom we've worked with would agree!

…

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.

…

moab hiking elopement | married in the desert | utah adventure wedding photographer

---

bob + janice's adventurous hike-in elopement | desert arch wedding inspiration | moab, utah intimate Wedding photographer

---

Oh man, these two are the real deal. Bob has been coming to Moab for over 30 years, so to have him reach out to us about shooting their elopement in Moab was a huge honor. When Bob first emailed me about their elopement, he mentioned they wanted their wedding at one of their favorite arches and then to do portraits somewhere up high with an overlook. We tossed around a few ideas and ultimately decided to take advantage of the best light available and do a sunrise first look + portraits at the top of a canyon, then take a break in the day and meet back up to hike out to the arch at sunset for their ceremony. Sunrise was gorgeous, watching the light come out from behind the la sal mountains and we ended up getting a few photos with their adventure vehicle - a rad sprinter van with everything you could possibly need for spontaneous roadtrips across the country, something Bob + Janice are pretty much pros at!

After a break that included breakfast at the Love Muffin and some climbing on Wall Street (could you think of a more perfect Moab day?), we met back up and hiked out for their wedding ceremony at Corona Arch. One of the super fun details about their wedding was they had my brother be their officiant! It made for a really fun dynamic since we obviously knew each other and were able to plan the ceremony together. We had so much fun hiking out together and spending the evening soaking in the beautiful Moab desert. Their ceremony was in a small alcove underneath bowtie arch and afterwards we took portraits around Corona Arch. One of my favorite details of the day was that they wanted photos in their hotdog costumes, which is kind of a tradition between them now. Overall, it was everything a laid-back elopement day in the desert should be and by then end (or really by the first few emails) we knew we had found some new friends.

…

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.

…

adventurous desert elopement in moab, utah | southwest intimate wedding photographer

---

moab desert elopement inspiration with ray + weston | windy southwest elopement | moab, utah intimate wedding and elopement photographer

---

If you follow us on instagram, you're probably aware by now that Moab, Utah is our favorite place to play, explore, hike, skydive, etc, and you've probably realized it's also our favorite place to photograph adventure engagement sessions, weddings, and elopements too. So it should be no surprise that these photos of Ray + Weston in the desert outside of Moab are some of our favorite adventure photos yet. These two are so adorable together and we had so much fun with them! I also can't say anything else without mentioning the incredible Val Hunter of Tellurian Events, who planned and styled this entire day. Aren't those florals amazing?! And Lesley Lind, who did Ray's hair and make-up, which perfectly complimented the moab desert landscape. Weston also handcrafted their gorgeous rings! You can find his website, Rose Anvil, here. We had so much fun working with everyone involved creating this absolutely perfect adventurous elopement in Castle Valley, which happens to be one of my favorite places in the Moab area. They got ready together in a yurt up in the La Sal Mountains overlooking Castle Valley - compliments of Talking Mountain Yurts, and then we headed into the desert to a little hill surrounded by some of the most stunning mesas in the Moab area. It was insanely windy, which just made these two look even more glorious. Weston + Ray are serious #hairgoals. The sunset was gorgeous and we were even treated by about 20 skydivers doing an off-site jump for the Skydive Moab Boogie nearby! Overall, it was such a sweet + rad day. 

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 a 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

Utah Planning + Styling + Florals: Val Hunter of Tellurian Events

Utah-Based Bride + Groom's Handcrafted Rings: Weston Kay of Rose Anvil

Utah Bride's Adventure-Ready Hair + Make Up: Lesley Lind

Bride's Sustainably Produced Black Wedding Dress: The Reformation

…

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.

…

intimate wedding at ruby beach + kalaloch lodge | olympic national park elopement photographer

---

christina + dan's adventurous intimate wedding in olympic national park | kalaloch lodge + ruby beach elopement | washington wedding photographer

---

Christina + Dan's wedding day had a rather ominous forecast. Despite the day before and day after being clear, their's called for 100% chance of storms all day. In the week leading up to their wedding, we texted back and forth about all kinds of contingency plans and scheduling changes and decided we'd play it by ear. Thankfully they only had about 20 guests who were all staying in Kalaloch Lodge for the weekend and we were their only vendors, so we had quite a bit of flexibility (one of the billion reasons I love intimate weddings!). 

The day-of started off rainy but we held out hope it'd clear, and sure enough as soon as our schedule time began for photos, the rain stopped and didn't pick up again until that evening! It was perfect. They shared their first look on the beach by Kalaloch Lodge, took some portraits around there (even some with full-on sun!) and then we all headed to Ruby Beach for the ceremony. Dan went down to the beach in front of everyone to pick a spot and I've got to say - he couldn't have picked a better one.  Their ceremony was so sweet and the love between them and their community was amazing. Christina chose this wedding date because it was her late Grandmother's birthday, and you truly could feel her presence in the whole day - including the miraculously perfect weather. They ended the day running around the beach barefoot and taking in their first sunset together as husband and wife. By the end we all had dirty feet, messy hair, and Christina's dress carried a bit of Ruby Beach on the hem.

…

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.

…

mount rainier national park elopement | washington adventure wedding photographer

---

erin + ryan's intimate wedding in mount rainier national park | washington adventure elopement photographer

---

When we first started the process of moving toward smaller, more adventurous weddings, I'm pretty sure I couldn't have conjured up Erin + Ryan's intimate wedding day in my wildest dreams. Erin's initial inquiry said something along the lines of "we want to do an elopement-style ceremony with our family somewhere beautiful in Washington. Do you have any suggestions?" I pretty much died right there. But thankfully, I survived the shock of a dream e-mail ;) and got to planning. We decided on Mount Rainier National Park for obvious reasons and found an adorable little A-Frame cabin in the woods nearby. Erin still wanted to have some creative, stylistic aspect to the day, so she asked her father to build them a picnic table that she adorned beautifully with sweet treats and decor that looked like it belonged in a magazine. 

After their first look and pre-ceremony cake-cutting (we like to keep traditions non-traditional around here), we met up with their family on the flanks of Mount Rainier at what I'm certain is the most beautiful ceremony location imaginable. Their ceremony was perfect - sweet and full of love, followed by celebrations with their family as they were showered in lavender. After their family headed down, we hiked out to what has become a favorite spot in the park for sunset portraits. The nearby wildfires filled the air with an orange haze that made for some gorgeous light (shout out to Callen for the epic silhouette photos!) and we ran around the mountain shooting until it was dark. We especially enjoyed playing with Erin's STUNNING two-piece dress from BHLDN with the flowy-est skirt known to man. By the time we got back to our cars the mountain was covered in fog that lasted days. It was such a magical day and these are some of our favorite photos yet!

…

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.

…