2024- A Year in Review

As Seen In: 

Junebug Best of the Best Wedding Photos // Junebug Best of the Best Destination Photos Runner Up // International Wedding Photo of the Year Finalist: Lit!  // Business Insider // Klettern Climbing Magazine // Real Weddings // Love on Earth Workshop Instructor 

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Previous Year In Reviews

2023 Year in Review // 2022 Year in Review // 2021 Year in Review  // 2020 Year in Review // 2019 Year in Review

Friends, here we are! The end of a year which means it’s time for me to do my annual wrap up of the year and pick some of the best elopement photos of the year. Predictably, the selection process of said photos went about as well as it’s gone every other time before. Meaning: I had a horrible time narrowing down favorites. I set the intention of picking 2-3 photos from each elopement… and then wound up with a collection of 160 pictures when all was said and done.

I did narrow down from there… but only a little. I can’t help it. And please understand, this isn’t some sort of humble brag or hubris talking here. It’s more that every elopement was so special, each couple so wonderful and all the adventures in-between being so worthy of being shared… that I find it impossible to pick “favorites.” It is my way. It likely won’t ever change.

Despite this struggle, this blog remains my favorite one to put together every year. I’m nostalgic by nature, so getting to take a trip down memory lane and relive each elopement I was so lucky to be a part of is truly such a gift. Looking back on this year, I can’t help but smile. It had all the trappings of the previous years; pre-dawn hikes, star-lit snuggles, off-road adventures, many many many helpings of easy Mac, belly laughs, tears, minor mishaps, (like my broken overalls. lol.) thousands of miles driven, countless hours of Taylor Swift played, mountains hiked, many lens caps lost… hard to believe it’s all in the name of this job.

But the point of it all, as always, is my couples. I feel so lucky to have worked with the folks I did this year. I have so much admiration for the couples I get to work with- whether their decision to elope is a total leap (one they are bound to get flack for) or the decision is the most natural thing in the world (the only kind of wedding day that ever made sense)- I can’t help but be in awe. Cause every couple you see here is going after what matters to them. They’re doing the fun thing, the rad thing, the brave thing… the thing that makes their heart flutter with the person they’ve decided is their forever.

And friends, there is not a thing in the world cooler than that.

In terms of life outside of work- I’m a big believer in balance. I love this job a truly disgusting amount (If I talked about how much I love it as much as I thought about it, everyone would hate me I fear) and because of that I’m pretty hell bent on protecting it. So building, and now maintaining, a business that is sustainable to both the boss and employee (aka: me) is massively important.

This year was a wild one! I had some personal victories outside of work- I started doing pilates and snowshoeing, I went on a Moab adventure with 12 other women on one of the best weekends of the year, I *finally* summited Humphrey here in Flag, read a lot of books (romantasy for life!), kept on cooking and making yummy cocktails, and continued to explore and hike with Rob, Jojo, and friends 🙂 I also had an image place as an finalist in the International Wedding Photographer of the Year awards, had an image selected in Junebug’s Best of the Best wedding photos, and had an image be selected as a runner up for the Best of the Best destination photos.

It was the first year I felt truly dialed in on my travel schedule, and despite driving to WA for a month, as well as driving up to Glacier NP later in the year, then Yosemite, with lots of Utah and AZ sprinkled in, I never felt spread too thin. I was always excited to head off on the adventures, and eager to return home when the time came. And it must be said- I was immeasurably grateful to this job this year. Hardships are a part of life, but this year in particular came with a particular volley of struggles and not a single day went by where my heart didn’t hurt with how grateful I am for this little business of mine. Even when I drive 14 hours straight, even when I’m living on easy Mac and tuna, or editing in the wee hours of the morning with one eye closed, I love this job. In spite of (and because of) the bits that are tricky. This job is the honor of my life, truly. 

2024 couples? Thank you. Endlessly. To say I’m honored to have been a part of your day doesn’t even begin to cover it.

I’m quite pleased with this collection of photos. Epic views, small moments, unbridled joy, peak existence moment after peak existence moment. All in my favorite places on earth. There are moments here that speak to the wide expanse of experiences of the year: Seeing the northern lights in Utah (twice! Once in Moab where I associate shot for The Hearnes in the middle of the night for 30 minutes, and again two days later with an Aimee Flynn Photo couple, when I took the photo that would later be named one of the 50 best wedding photos of the year), I got to teach at the Love on Earth Workshop for the third time, spend time in Moab, Yosemite, and then at the end of the year travel for 36 hours straight to once again visit New Zealand. I got to photograph one of my best friends elopement, which was more special and fulfilling than I would have thought possible. I visited a new national park, Glacier, which I fell in love with IMMEDIATELY. Got to take a helicopter ride with a couple and see Moab by air for the first time. And got to bear witness to so many amazing love stories. My cup is so full.

And now? After all that nostalgic chatter, the photos. Thank you 2024. My heart is full. I can’t wait for 2025 and all that it holds.

Onward.