Being my first “official” destination wedding, I came WAY over prepared. I think I purchased 2 more camera batteries, ANOTHER GoPro, all three of my DSLRs, more batteries for them, and cleared off every single one of my SD cards that I have in my inventory (P.S. that’s alot). I didn’t want anything to go wrong and be stranded out here and not be able to capture it. I brought more bags of camera gear than actual clothes, and I only had clothes in my checked luggage as my Husband and I split all of my camera gear between our carry ons.
Luckily, it all went way smoother than I had planned and I may be addicted to adventure and destination weddings…….
On the morning of May 4th, started at their Airbnb to capture them getting ready and packing up to head out to the park. The boys were mostly prepared when we arrived, but the girls were hanging out and relaxing while everyone was getting their hair and makeup done.
So I used this time to get a few of the little details.
Heathers Mom helped her get into her gorgeously detailed dress.
John and the boys loaded into their van and headed out to the park while we finished up inside.
On their way out, we had talked about meeting just outside the park for a few shots, but when we got there, they were no where to be found. Luckily, they were in our second location, Calico Canyon.
Both Heather and John enjoy rock climbing, so his was the perfect location for their first look. John was busy talking with his best man, so the gals had to continue to yell at him to turn around.
The canyon also gave us a dramatic background for some of their portraits. These two strapped on their climbing shoes and went all over the place. Heather had no issue getting up and down the rocks in her dress (after some small adjustments).
Red Rock Canyon has a 1-way road that snakes through the park. My husband and I had driven it the day before and marked up a map with a spot that we thought would work really great for images.
In the middle of the route lies the highest point you can drive to. Red Rock Canyon overlook gives you a fantastic look at the park that is nestled in between all of the colorful mountains.
So we shot some of the wedding party images from up there while we enjoyed the view.
One of the busiest parts of the park on this day was Ice Box Canyon. We couldn’t really get into the parking lot, so we parked along the side of the road and used the views.
The last spot before we headed to the visitor center for the ceremony was Pine Creek Canyon.
We packed back up and headed over to the visitors center to get things ready for the ceremony.
Friends and family from all over came here to see this sweet couple.
The ceremony started was held in the amphitheater of the visitors center overlooking the park. It’s kind of hidden which gave us a secluded spot for their ceremony.
Their friend officiated the wedding that was surrounded by views of the park and the sun peeking in and out of the clouds. Luckily, this was May, so while it did not get too hot, we are still Pacific Northwesterners, and anything above 75 is hot to us.
Tears were shed during the vows. You may not be able to see them, but we had a mic rigged up on the officiant…and you can definitely hear them.
After a small fluke of John still wearing a ring on his left hand, everything went smoothly.
Before we left for the reception, we gathered everyone and did their formal images.
But of course we couldn’t go without getting some fun ones, those are the best ones.
We had a small amount of time before the reception. So the husband and I swang by our hotel room, dropped off all of the excess gear and jumped the monorail up to the Paris on the central Las Vegas Strip.
Being May 4th, I am so happy that they decided to throw a little Star Wars reference in with everything. I was actually planning on bringing my lightsabers, but with everything else packed, there wasn’t room (enter sad face here).
One of the sweetest parts of the reception was when one of their daughters got up and read the sweet speech she had written. As you can see, Heather and John were so proud.
So many great speeches from everyone.
And of course, the cake. These two were nice to each other, even though others were goading them not to be.
The rest of the evening was spent hanging out with the friends and family that came into Las Vegas to see these two finally get hitched.
Congratulations you two, and I look forward to grabbing some brews and hanging out some more!
If you missed it, you can see their session in the Neon Museum the night before here.
