nicole + dan
moab desert elopement
i’m pretty sure after i left my first meeting with nicole & dan, i did a little happy dance. they are so down-to-earth, are dog lovers (hello my people), and love this desert just as much as i do.
i’m always curious why couples decide to elope. it seems to be a new “thing” in this wedding world, nixing the traditional 150+ person wedding for an intimate, off-the-grid adventure with just you, your partner, and in this case, jack the pup.
“We decided to elope for so many reasons – our families live across the country, we didn’t want to go into debt paying for a wedding, we didn’t want to spend time worrying about others, and we didn’t want to spend too much time planning. Overall though, we just knew elopement fit us and what we value.”
when we first met we talked about what their priorities were for their elopement. they had three things that mattered most to them: the location – they wanted lots of red rock; the crowds – they wanted to avoid them as much as possible (we succeeded massively at this, given that their wedding was, quite literally, during the biggest weekend of the year in moab, the jeep safari); and, most importantly, they wanted their dog, jack, to be able to come with them, so national parks were out. as soon as they mentioned these three criteria i knew just the spot. casey and i had wandered down some dirt roads last fall with our own dogs, just checking out new views, camping for the night, taking lots of naps, etc. and we drove right by this beautiful spot. turns out this would be where nicole and dan would get married just a few short months later.
when i asked nicole what her favorite part of the day was, here’s what she said:
“I wouldn’t say I that I can pinpoint a moment in particular (I loved it all!) but what I loved most that I was able to be myself the whole time. I wasn’t smiling for friends and family. It felt so authentic, and so us, which we know wouldn’t have been the case if we had a ‘traditional’ wedding and reception. The whole environment that Emily created was so comfortable and laid back, it was just such a natural fit!”
and dan:
“It’s difficult to pick a favorite moment because really the entire experience was great and even better than we had anticipated. But if I have to choose one moment, it would probably be toward the end as we took photos while walking up the dirt road which lead to our ceremony site. The sun was setting as we walked and we basically had the area to ourselves. Emily made everything so comfortable it felt like we were out for a casual walk, chatting with friends. We felt like we could fully be ourselves and it was exactly the mood we were hoping for when we decided to get married this way.”
last but not least, their advice to all you couples out there who are considering having a elopement rather than a traditional wedding:
“Do it! And work with Emily! 🙂 In all seriousness, if a couple is interested, they just have to trust those instincts and go for it because they can easily be swayed by parents, or family, to go the more traditional route. With an elopement, think about the feeling after – that what you just did was purely yours to share and be present for.”
the four (seven, including furry friends) of us already have tentative plans for some sort of adventure down the road, and i can’t wait to spend more time with these three. congratulations! xo
