Full Day Moab Adventure

I think its pretty common for people to wonder “what the heck do you do during a 12 hour elopement?” It sounds like a truly ridiculous amount of time- but honestly? When you’ve got *that* much time? You can have *this* much fun.

I remember when I first sent J + L their location options. They responded so excitedly (a theme in our correspondence!) and said they were were stuck between three options, and didn’t know how to chose. I studied their top picks, and knew that it was 100% possible to do all four spots. It would be a full on adventure of a lifetime…so I pitched to to them. It’s always little nerve wracking to pitch an out-of-the-box idea. I never want couples to feel like they should do what I think they should do, or what I like the most. I will 100% offer my advice and expertise, but my full on priority always is that couples do what sounds fun *to them.* That’s the key.

And it just so happened that J + L responded back (again, so excitedly) and were 1000% down. Which is how they wound up having a Moab elopement adventure that dreams are made of.

I met up with J + L at their airbnb before the sun even came up. It was late October (the exact date may be evident based on the theme of their donuts) and we lucked out with some perfect late-fall weather. It had been very chilly the days previous, but desert sun kept us all warm and happy during the entire day. We carpooled together to the first spot to watch the sunrise, enjoy some hot cocoa with peanut butter whisky (um. Yum.) and enjoy their vegan donuts (shout out to Doughbird!). After that we rambled down a desert dirt road, with J off-roading for the first time like a total pro. It was *so* fun seeing the desert through J + L’s eyes. Constant wonder, constant awe, lots of joyous (and sometimes nervous) off-roading screaming.

After a super brief break, we all hopped back in the jeep and made our way out to the couples ceremony location. The road out to this spot is pretty rough, but again J drove like a pro (but the couples cake was a bit worse for wear by the end). The couple ate cake first, enjoyed some quick sandwiches, then said their vows as the sun dipped low to the horizon. After, they watched video toasts from friends and family.

And we *still* weren’t done. For our last spot, we hiked out to one of my favorite spots for star photos. Some clouds wound up blocking the Milky Way but these still wound up being some of my favorite star photos ever.

I think the thing that sticks with me the most after J + L’s elopement, was the dove head first into adventures that were a bit outside of their comfort zone- first time off-roading, first time night hiking by headlamp light, first time in Moab. There was true excitement woven throughout the day and they were not being hyperbolic when they said it wound up being an adventure of a lifetime.

I genuinely feel so honored to have been part of such a day. So much fun, so much laughing, so much desert beauty. Thank you J + L. It was an adventure of a lifetime for me, too 🙂

And here are kind words (honestly the nicest review I think I’ve ever gotten!)

“Wow- I have no words to describe the amazingness of Aimée and our experience with her. When we started looking into an adventure elopement, we had absolutely no idea where to begin and both of us felt a little bit like imposters too- like are we even cool enough to do this? Can we even do this? Then my partner found Aimée’s instagram page and immediately fell in love with everything about her and once they showed me, I was hooked too. Aimée’s incredible photography skills are seriously just the icing on the cake. Obviously we hoped for epic photographs (and she delivered and then some!) but it was just as important to us that we find someone with whom we could feel as comfortable as possible. We can both be a bit shy and like so many, are not used to being photographed. As a queer couple, one of the biggest things we were looking for was someone who was not only inclusive, but also just comfortable with us, so that we could feel comfortable too. We found in Aimée all of this and more. She put us at ease from the very first phone consultation we had with her and, though I hate planning, I found myself getting so excited about our elopement. She is so down-to-earth, thoughtful, patient, funny, knowledgeable, talented, encouraging and just an overall really cool person! Throughout the whole process, we felt so reassured knowing she had our back regarding every single little thing. She really took the time through our phone conversation, surveys and messaging, and eventually an in-person meeting to make sure she knew exactly what we were hoping for, what our biggest concerns and needs were, and what would make our day the most epic and uniquely “us” as possible. She walked us through the entire planning process step-by-step and made it stress-free and actually fun! I think I would have been a thousand times more nervous had we gone with any other photographer.

I seriously cannot rave about Aimée enough. Whenever she would ask us what we hoped our elopement day would be, the word that we kept using was “magical,” and that’s truly how it felt. It was the coolest day ever, with both of us stepping out of our comfort zones but in a completely awesome and rad way. It was, to use the cliché, a once in a lifetime experience and I wouldn’t have changed a thing. Her top priority at all times was our safety and comfort, whether it was while we were off-roading, standing on cliff’s edges, saying our vows, or doing a night hike to get the most insane star photos ever. I was also nervous to see myself in the photos after the fact, but Aimée took that into account too. She gave us as much privacy as we wanted but still captured all of the little moments perfectly. She made sure to only get as close with her camera as we were both comfortable with. We never felt rushed or awkward. It seriously felt just like hanging out with a very dear friend all day, going on some awesome adventures, and getting married to the love of my life to boot. We have had so many comments about how our elopement pictures are the best wedding photos our friends and family have ever seen! That was never the goal but it is a pretty awesome compliment. Most importantly, the day was our favorite day ever. If you are considering who to book for an adventure elopement, don’t hesitate- book Aimée while you can because she is a rising star!”