Utah Desert Elopement: Bri + Nils + Lucy Dog

on the desert landscape-

“Of all the things I wondered about on this land, I wondered the hardest about the seduction of certain geographies that feel like home — not by story or blood but merely by their forms and colors. How our perceptions are our only internal map of the world, how there are places that claim you and places that warn you away. How you can fall in love with the light.” -Ellen Meloy

This place has had a grip on me for years. The magnificent red cliff walls that feel quintessentially western, the wide expanse full of nothing but solitude, the little plants, the red earth…If you are lucky enough to know this corner of Utah’s desert, you’ll know what I mean.

When Bri + Nils reached out to have me document their story, I was beyond elated. I’ve gotten to know them through photographing several of their friend’s weddings, and I was overjoyed that they wanted to bring me along for their wedding weekend.

I drove down a long highway for a couple hours, hit dirt, went another dozen miles or so, then took a few more turns before ending up in the quiet canyon they choose to get married in. They invited their closest people out here to camp out with them and soak up the scenery in the days leading up to their wedding day. The night before their wedding, we took a walk through the desert wash they were going to get married in, snapping a few photos and playing fetch with their pup Lucy. Then the next morning, it was time.

My couples are special, and by extension the people that love them are special. For this wedding, my biggest intention was to document the way Bri + Nils were held by their dearest people. If people are willing to drive 30+ miles of dirt road to camp out with you and celebrate you on your wedding day, you know they’re the ride or die kind of folks you want in your corner.

Throughout their day, there were these tender moments where I felt like I had the opportunity to capture what that looks like in a really tangible form. In the evening, we climbed some boulders that gave us a vantage point of all of the people that gathered in this landscape to celebrate them. For me, that photo shows the most important part of a marriage- the culmination of the people who led you here, and the people that will help you through the dark times that are inevitable in a partnership.

I hope you can feel the kindred spirits gathered here from these snapshots.

Florals: Native Flower Company