Northern Lights Elopement… In the Desert

And how to plan a Northern Lights Elopement!

First of all, yes. You read that correctly. This northern lights elopement did, in fact, happen in the desert- Southern Utah to be exact. 2024 wound up being quite the year for Northern Light displays. I remember reading a little blurb on National Geographic that the odds were very good for a lot of really great Aurora showings through the year, and wishing that perhaps when I was in Washington or Montana, I’d get to see them.

Well, I did get to see them, but never in my WILDEST dreams did I think that I would get to see them in Flagstaff Arizona, Moab Utah, and then, finally with the Pièce de résistance, in Kanab Utah. I will tell the whole store here, and then include a few tips on how to plan your own Northern Lights elopement (spoiler: this happening in the desert will be a challenge lol).

So. This day. R + T had meticulously crafted their elopement day, really centering on the fun of it all. It was important to them to share their time- spend their ceremony and quality time with their love ones, then honor their shared love of adventure and set out into the desert just the two of them. The original plan was to meet up at some amazing sand dunes for their ceremony, go sand boarding, then meet up in the evening to head out to a new trail, watch the sunset, and then take star photos (an element of the day that T + R were *extremely* stoked on).

Well, that was the plan anyway. I remember driving into Kanab a few days early (as I always do- I like to leave wiggle room for random plot twists, which I’ve never been more grateful for than I was during this elopement). I was heading to sleep and I glanced through my socials real quick, and saw a flurry of posts that the next evening we were looking at the extreme possibility of a pretty spectacular Northern Light showing, with the lights being visible incredibly far south. Like… in UT south. It was something like 11:00pm at the time so I exercised some self restraint and texted the couple right when I woke up in the morning, with a super-no-pressure-heads-up that the freaking northern lights were gonna make an appearance in the wee hours of the morning… *before* their elopement. It was no small feat to make this pivot. We would be out into the extreme wee hours of the morning, before their morning ceremony.

And to R + T’s everlasting credit, they were unbelievably stoked and so so down. I emphasized that nothing was certain and anything could happen… but as I excitedly packed up my car just after sunset, light still visible on the horizon, I looked up and there above the red mesa in front of me, was an unmistakable splash of pink. I’d seen the lights with the help of my camera before, but never with my own eyes. They remained visible as I drove through the night to our meet up location, and there they stayed as we hiked out by headlamps in the dark, as R + T changed in the dark to preserve their first look the next day, and as I got my camera situated, took a deep breath, waited for my my first shot… and pink lit up the back of my camera screen.

I screamed. R + T screamed, because even if they couldn’t see my camera, they could tell by my reaction that what was happening was scream worthy. We were out there for 2 hours just… playing. We all knew this was once in a lifetime stuff. To get to see it, well. It truly was something else.

(And a note on the photographer side of things here- I get asked all the time if these are AI. Lol- no. These are all one shot, in camera, no external light sources (except for the lights on the couples heads haha). The moon was out, but not full, meaning that the stars were still very visible, but the moon lit up the couple perfectly. I couldn’t have asked for better conditions for this northern lights elopement.)

We got back to the car, tired, but overjoyed. I think I was probably physically vibrating. I’ve never had a harder time going to sleep (and you bet I edited a few photos real quick before my brain would allow me to sleep!)

So… later that day we all woke up for their elopement, which in and of itself was amazing, even without the astro show the night before. A sweet and touching first look, a ceremony surrounded with family and friends. Then R + T went sand boarding *in their wedding attire*. Legends.

We met up a third time for sunset, where we again hiked out in the desert, got a not insignificant amount of sand in our eyes, teeth, and hair, and explored the otherworldly landscape. R +T exchanged personal private vows (and had a blast doing so) and then…. the sky had looked a tad overcast, but as the way with the desert, things weren’t quite done putting on a show and gave us a gorgeous pink sunset. Yet another example of “never give up on sunset.”

I will never forget this Northern Lights elopement. Forgive the pun, but the stars truly aligned for this whole adventure. R + T? Thank you endlessly for the trust, and for following me into a dark desert with the hope that magic would happen.

UPDATE: I’m so humbled and pleased to share that this photo (below) was selected as one of the best of the best wedding images for 2024 by Junebug! With thousands of entrants to this contest, I’m so honored to have been picked as one of the winners. You can see that collection in all its glory here.

Tips for Planning Your Northern Lights Elopement

The Aurora is a fickle beast. You can plan and plot and do all the things you can to give you a good chance of seeing the lights… and they still may not show. The trick is to plan an elopement that you are over the moon stoked for without the Northern Lights showing up… and then if they did it would be the icing on the cake.

Location Matters

I know- I just shared about the Northern Lights in Utah. But under normal circumstances, you want to be as far north (or south!) as you possibly can get to increase your odds of seeing them. Think Norway, Iceland, Alaska, Greenland… as close to the Arctic Circle as you can get. For the Southern Hemisphere, think New Zealand. You’ll also want to be far from any major city centers to avoid light pollution.

Timing Also Matters

If you’re following the above instructions, you’ll know that if you are venturing as close to the poles as you can get… summers that far north or south are season long affairs. Meaning- the sun is out 100% of the time. And this goes without saying, darkness is a key component if you want a northern lights elopement. This means you will need to elope in off season or shoulder.

Be Flexible

And stay on top of the northern lights forecast. I would recommend giving yourself buffer days around your elopement if northern lights are important to you! This will increase the odds of overlapping with a day they make an appearance!

Come Prepared

If you’re eloping somewhere you are likely to see the Northern Lights and at a time you are likely to see the northern lights… that *probably* means it’s cold. Being prepared for truly cold conditions is a must- base layers, gloves, hats, coats, etc.

So there you have it, my friends! Now- to the images from this day. And check out my blog post on the best places to elope in Utah!