If you have ever stood on top of a desert plateau, you know that there is an undeniable feeling of awe that falls over you. Samantha and Evan road tripped throughout the Utah desert, finalizing their camping adventure with a full day in two different Moab National Parks and a ceremony on top of one of these plateaus. These two had an incredible adventure for their Utah elopement in Moab National Parks.
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Utah elopement sunrise adventure in Moab's Arches National Park
After flying all the way from Florida to Denver, Sam and Evan rented a groovy escape camper van to romp through the Utah desert. They took a three-day, 350 mile road trip from Colorado to Moab, Utah, hitting all the beautiful spots along the way. Since we’ve done that road trip quite a few times living in our Airstream, we had a handful of incredible spots for them to check out on their way 😉 On their third day of camping out in the desert on BLM land, they met up with us for some hot cups of coffee and an absolutely breathtaking early morning sunrise photoshoot.
Want more Moab elopements? Check out this Moab desert elopement.
If you hike in Arches National Park during the sunrise, that majestic desert feeling is amplified by tenfold. And on this particular day we had a beautiful fog roll in. The park has over 2,000 towering red rock arches, formed by rain and river erosion. Countless balanced rocks and pinnacles are scattered throughout. Sam and Evan enjoyed their lazy morning stroll while sipping coffee and taking in the magical views.
A Canyonlands National Park Elopement Ceremony
Once the morning shoot finished, they hopped back into their camper van and headed to town and checked into their Airbnb. They deserved at least one night of luxury during their elopement 😉 Later in the day we all made our way to Canyonlands National Park to meet back up for the second half of their Utah elopement adventure. The two parks about a 45 minute drive between each each other and are part of the same geologic formation formed by the Colorado River, which extends all the way to the Grand Canyon! These two National Parks, although made up of the same gorgeous red rock, showcase vastly different features. While the first park shows off wind and rain formed fins and arches, Canyonlands highlights more rain and river carved canyons and buttes.
Want to see more desert adventure elopements? Check out this Valley of Fire adventure session.
We had scouted out a nice, private area in Canyonlands for Sam and Evan’s ceremony. Like most overlooks in Moab, this plateau overlooked deep canyons that seem to stretch on forever. The views took the breath away from everyone, including us! After the ceremony and a short portraits session, we headed back towards the van to sign the marriage license and make everything official!
A picnic and sunset adventure to end a perfect Utah elopement.
For an evening picnic and sunset portraits, we had one spot in mind but decided to take an impromptu turn off the road. All four of us were feeling adventurous and had plenty of time to kill before sunset, so the spontaneous decision was an easy one to make! The road brought us out to a location that was even better than the one we had planned to end at for sunset, so we decided to spend the rest of the evening out there.
Interested in learning more about these amazing canyons? Read more about the beauty of Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park on the National Parks website.
Sam and Even brought some delicious local beers from their home and we enjoyed a nice picnic while watching the sun begin to go down for the night. And of course, we ended their perfect desert Utah elopement with epic sunset portraits. From sunrise to sunset, Sam and Evan packed in all of the landscape the Utah desert has to offer for their Moab elopement, and we were lucky to be part of it with them!