vicky + ben's adventurous yosemite elopement | sunrise first look at glacier point | sunset wedding ceremony at taft point | destination elopement photographer
I am not sure where to even start with Vicky + Ben's gorgeous elopement day, but I will mention that these two earned the spot of our shortest-notice booking at just three weeks in advance! I should give them a trophy! Everything about their day - from the short notice to the perfect sunset - was pretty much our dream elopement. We knew from the first e-mail that we were meant for each other and within a few minutes of shaking hands in the dark Glacier Point parking lot we were fast friends. These two decided to make a road trip out of their wedding, so they drove all the way from their home in Georgia hitting some awesome spots like Horseshoe Bend, Arches National Park in Moab, and the Bonneville Salt Flats. They chose to elope in Yosemite and after multiple different ideas decided that a hike-out elopement on the side of a giant cliff felt perfect for them. Ben is a fellow skydiver, so of course we talked about BASE jumping pretty much every time we found ourselves at a sheer edge!
We spent the morning at Glacier Point, soaking in the gorgeous sunrise and embracing the chilly wind. The nearby wildfires made for some really rad fog-like haze and since they eloped on a weekday, we didn't see many other people until we were leaving. We did a few hours of portraits in the morning and then met back up that afternoon to hike out for their ceremony at Taft Point. We love when our couples are down for this split-time elopement schedule because it allows for better lighting, two different locations, and they get to chill out for some of their day together without any distractions. We had so much fun hiking out with them and walking around the edges to pick a ceremony spot. I will never get tired of waching couples see a place for the first time, knowing that it will forever hold a sacred spot in their hearts as the place they got married. It's honestly one of my favorite things about this job! Despite a full parking lot and passing a few people on the trail, the area was pretty much empty for their ceremony which just added to the sweetness and the assurance they had made the right decision for a private wedding day. They promised forever to each other with El Cap and a trickling Yosemite Falls as their witness, their only decorations being the trees and rocks around them. It was perfect. After their ceremony, and an announcement to the world that they were married (their officiant literally shouted it from the mountain top!), they spend the rest of the evening dancing around, cuddling, and taking in the sweeping views around them. The wildfires made for a crazy pinky-purple sunset that seemed to last forever. We ended their day with a chilly hike back through the forest with headlamps and meaningful conversations knowing full well we had just made some great new friends. Vicky + Ben, you two are some of the best around. We are thankful to know you and so thankful you found us three weeks before your elopement day :)
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The Hearnes Adventure Photography is run by Abbi and Callen Hearne, a husband & wife wedding photography team with an emphasis on adventure. They live on the road as full-time nomads in their big white van, allowing them to serve a large portion of the western US including California, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming. They believe love is the greatest adventure and strive to create photos that are epic, romantic, true, and timeless.
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