So, you may remember these lovers from a couple months back. ‘Member that awesome sand dune engagement shoot in Glamis? That was them! Since that initial shoot, it was evident that we were a wonderful match. They love the desert and adventure, and uh, hello, have you met me?! Kinda my thing! So, anyway, deffo a good fit. Thanks to our familiar friend Covid, wedding plans went back and forth- city hall, backyard, dream venue… And then they stumbled across the idea of an adventure elopement at Horseshoe Bend. Count me in! I threw in the idea of doing an adventure session before and they gobbled it up. But with things being closed, we had to be flexible with all the uncertainty.
Luckily, these two were incredibly chill and open and in the end absolutely everything worked out- arguably better than if we had planned them in detail. There was a thrill about the spontaneity and hoping we would find the right spot that added an unmatched level of magic. “We got to admire the beautiful canyon red rock formations. You rally realize how amazing mother nature is when you’re in a place as jaw dropping as this. We have never seen anything like this in our lives and we were just so inspired.“ Couldn’t have put it better myself, Kendie! We weren’t prepared for the hiking aspect since just coming off the jetskis, but that just made it all the more fun and authentic. Let me tell you- it was adventure, in all the best ways.
And the very next day was their elopement! Kendie and Jeremy are very special, thoughtful, intentional people. Every step, every detail had some extra meaning. From Kendie’s bouquet charms remembering her late father and grandfather, to dressing their children in outfits reflecting their own, to Kendie’s make up being inspired by the rich red from our adventure session the day before (although this was a last minute change- it was still beautifully deliberate).
It was a mile walk to the ceremony location, and we all trekked along all dressed up. It was quite a beautiful sight to see. Once we got there we did a first look! I love these moments- capturing the raw, edited love, and pure joy! Shortly after we began the ceremony. Kendie and Jeremy chose to have a sacred sage cleansing.
This is a spiritual tradition of cleansing the bad spirits and welcoming the good energy. This was so fitting, both with who they are but also being in such a sacred land. Their ceremony was truly moving from start to finish. And just as it was ending, the sky gave us quite the show- to this day one of the most stunning sunsets I have seen. It was bright and glowy and the clouds were perfect. Made for the perfect background and perfect ending to a perfect elopement weekend.
If you’ve made it this far you might be thinking to your self Ya! an epic Elopement sounds right up my alley. Take a peek at some of my Favorite Arizona Elopement locations.
