Zion National Park Elopement | Utah LGBTQ+ Adventure Wedding Photographer
The Couple and Their Search For The Best Location To Elope At Zion National Park, Utah
Hello and welcome back to another page in Henry’s Diary 😉. And if you have been exploring my website for a bit, you probably have read stories of Emily & Kiersten in my Snoqualmie Pass blog post and their engagement photos in Kauai, Hawaii.
The couple first inquired me in early Winter of 2018 for a fun photo session. Little did any of us know at the time but we truly became best of friends in such a short amount of time, it feels so unreal at time. Life is a series of events and experiences. Some planned. Some unexpected. But after all, I truly think everything happens for a reason.
So when Emily finally popped the question and proposed, the couple reached out and asked me to be their wedding photographer. I was screaming with joy inside.
Our initial plan was actually to go to New Zealand for their elopement. We planned our trip together. We looked up trails, elopement vendors, fun excursions for us to do prior to the elopement and even after. We were beyond ready to go.
Just like everyone else, the pandemic did interfere with our plans a bit. I remember how we tried to hold on to every glimpse of hope. We looked up COVID cases in New Zealand. We tracked the USA – New Zealand border almost every other day. We didn’t make the final decision until the 2 – 3 months before their elopement date. So reality hit us. We cancelled our plans for New Zealand. But one thing we didn’t cancel was the plan for Emily and Kiersten to elope on their original date.
I started my research mode to find locations within the United States that would be the most ideal for an October elopement. Location research is one of my favorite part of being an elopement photographer. An elopement is such an intimate experience that a perfect elopement location does not only need to be beautiful, it also needs to be semi-private so intimate moments can happen organically for my couples.
We crossed out Hawaii because we were already there for Emily and Kiersten’s engagement photos. We crossed out Washington State because the couple has already experienced so much of this beautiful state with me (this is our home after all).
So I looked up the red rock desert of Utah and came up with some recommendations. The moment Kiersten and Emily saw photos from Zion National Park, our search for the best location to elope was over 🙂 They knew 🙂
An LGBTQ+ Elopement With All LGBTQ+ Vendors: Planning For The Best Elopement Experience & Photos at Zion National Park
With the help of Rain and Pines, the best adventure elopement planner and stylist (I might be biased 😘), we found a super gorgeous Airbnb nearby Zion National Park for everyone. The house was perfect for us to hang out, take in every single moment, and just have the best time celebrating the couple before and after the elopement.
With using a public landscape for an elopement, I always recommend all my couples to elope on a week day to avoid crowds. You can see more of my advice and recommendations on how to plan for the best elopement experience HERE. Since Emily and Kiersten’s elopement date is significant for the couple but it also fell on a Saturday, I knew we had to make some modifications in order to preserve the intimacy for their day.
We woke up early, like really really really early :), to get ready. They brides woke up at 3:00am for hair and makeup so we could start hiking before the sun rose. I remember how exhausted we were from staying up late talking and connecting the night before (plus I got some sort of crazy stomach flu that very night, this is a story for another time), but I also remember how excited we all were to start this day.
We drove into the park and you could still see the stars shining bright. We were the first ones at the parking lot for this trail head. As we hiked up, the wind lowered our body temperature and swept away our sweats and exhaustion.
When we arrived, I quickly chose a corner that was tucked away from the general canyon overlook so we can have all the privacy we can.
The most memorable moment has to be right before the first look, Emily casually mentioned “Guys, I can’t find my [wedding] ring”. She told us she heard a clink while changing into her elopement dress and we all thought the ring must have rolled down the mountain into the desert. Rain and Pines, who is not only their elopement planner and stylist but also their elopement officiant, quickly jumped over some red rocks and saved the day with “Guys, I found it”.
Why One When You Can Wear Multiple Outfits On Your Elopement Day?
One of my favorite things about Emily and Kiersten’s elopement is that the brides did everything from the heart and didn’t hold back anything. For their ceremony, both brides wore their long white elopement dresses. But for the reception, which consists of their best friend, Rain and Pines, and myself, the 3 of us celebrated the brides on the roof top of our Airbnb and witnessed how stunning and elegant they look in their second outfits.
This was also the first time my husband and I get to make a toast for any couple ever. I am so honored to be alongside these beautiful brides right from the beginning.
From Zion To Moab, An Elopement Doesn’t Need To Be Just One Day, It Can Be A Week Full of Adventures
Knowing Emily and Kiersten, I knew the couple wouldn’t want to spend the whole day in front of the camera. I know the couple wanted to truly live their elopement day, to truly experience it, to truly immerse themselves into the moment. With that in mind, I planned on multiple events and activities for the couple.
For their vows and ceremony, we chose Zion National Park as the elopement venue. After the ceremony, we went home and all of us jumped into the pool and hung out till sunset. We celebrated the couple on the roof top and then spent the next couple of days exploring 4 different National Parks.
We ended the elopement week with a sunset first dance in Moab. Moab was such a perfect location to end this adventure elopement because of how vast the landscape here is. Standing 2,000 feet above the Colorado River, Emily and Kiersten danced in front of a breathtaking panorama of Canyonlands’ sculpted pinnacles and buttes. We witnessed an amazing sunset and photographed until dark.
Emily & Kiersten’s elopement is now featured on Junebug Weddings
Meet The Brides & The Best Utah Elopement Photographer Everrrr!!! 🙂😘🏳️🌈
Emily and Kiersten,
I cannot believe how far our friendship has come.
I love that you always say yes to opportunities, yes to new experience, yes to new friends, yes to durian snacks that I knew you wanted to throw up the minute you put it in your mouths
The day you went protesting and texted us about your wishes for us to take care of Thrux and Kendall in case something happens to you exemplifies the fact that You both see the world with kind eyes, you look at the big pictures, speak out about the big issues, but you never forget about the little people.
You are both strong and beautiful.
You are both kind and passionate.
You are both loving and loved
Knowing you probably won’t need this but you know when the world turns upside down, again, you have us. You have some quarantine friends right here for you, having your backs, supporting you, lending you a hand, giving you hugs.
When life brings you flowers and rainbows, call us.
When life brings rainy days, call us.
Call us with good news, bad news, pregnancy news, fur babies news.
Call us because we love you and we are looking forwards to celebrating many more news and milestones with you both
Meet The Best Zion National Park Elopement Vendors:
Photographer: Henry Tieu Photography (aka Me)
Event Planning – Rain and Pines
Ceremony Venue + Reception Venue- Zion National Park
Floral Design – Rain and Pines
Cake – Nothing Bundt Cakes
Invitation Design – Sincerely By Nicole
Makeup Artist + Hair Styling – Wild Cactus Weddings
Wedding Dress – Bhldn
Rings – Cartier + Tiffany and co.
This gorgeous elopement is now featured on Junebug Weddings
Meet Your Intimate Wedding & Elopement Photographers
We’re Henry, Sergio, and Nick, the faces behind these honest, meaningful, and artful photographs of couples eloping in the most beautiful places. Since 2018, we’ve photographed more than 200+ intimate weddings and elopements all over the world and on 6 different continents. Our work has been published on Junebug Weddings, Green Wedding Shoes, Brides, Dancing With Her, etc…We’ve won international awards for best wedding photos but what’s most important to us is actually winning our clients’ hearts with our art.
With 15 years of combined photography experience, we’ve learned that the only way to a beautiful wedding experience & photos is through intentionality.
We’re here for you and with you from “let’s do this” to “I do”, one step at a time, each step of the way. We’re in this together
