Ask me how much I love the Grand Canyon. Now ask me how much I love the Grand Canyon PLUS the most beautiful bridal portraits. I’m seriously going crazy over it! I could do this every spring of every year until my photographing days are over. Spring is such an amazing time to have an elopement in Northern Arizona. The weather is amazing and the crowds have not yet thickened. It’s that perfect slice of heaven before the hectic summers set in.
I’ll start off by saying that there are only a few specific places you can have an official ceremony in the Grand Canyon listed here. However, a married couple can take photos without a permit anywhere the general public is allowed! If a formal ceremony in the park doesn’t float your boat then ask your photographer about a separate location earlier in the day for your ceremony (officiant, witnesses, marriage license,…) which was the case in the photos included in this blog.
Fun facts about this day
The weather was sunny and 67F. I ALWAYS get my weather from NOAA, partially because my husband works for them and manages all the equipment in Northern Arizona necessary for forecasting but also because I heavily rely on the radar so I can have a handle on what is happening in nearly real-time.
This slot canyon trail leads directly to the Colorado River which, holy smokes, is a beautiful beast.
The Overlook has dispersed camping all around it, so it’s easy to hit it for sunrise OR sunset without driving hours to get there from an actually city like Page.
The locations were all within 23 minutes drive of each other ::blink blink::. Seriously! We hit 3 different places and made a day out of it! We DID NOT feel rushed and DID NOT have deadlines.
This is a watered down timeline of the day:
1:00 PM – First Location is a park and walk-up, easy peasy. Bright sun to contrast the remaining photos in slot canyons and at sunset and blue hour. This was a fun way to wear casual clothes and get some diversity in the gallery. As you can see, we weren’t afraid to get in the water or get a little dirty! This time could easily be filled with getting ready photos at your Air BnB.
2:30 PM – Second location, start hiking down the trail to look for juuuuust the right spot for that first look which happend to be right on the Colorado River! The towering canyons around us were so beautiful and made us feel so small.
5:00 PM – Arrive to the 3rd location. THIS is the ceremony location where we said vows at the overlook and got some stunning detail shots of them being happily married.
6:30 PM – We started bundling up for the coolness of blue hour and were able to slow the pace of the day with some nice deep breaths. This would be a great spot for astrophotography since there is NO light in the near vicinity.
There ya have it, a 6 hour day filled to the brim yet still has the feeling of TIME with your partner without rushing through your day. Check out my elopement photography website to start exploring your very OWN elopement!
-Clarice