Couples with stories like this just warm the heart. When I see a couple choosing both their dream location and a way to easily include family–it’s the sweetest combination. Darah and Robert chose Moab, then as their Moab elopement photographer I helped them plan their Utah elopement! See how these two stuck with what mattered most to them at their Dead Horse Point State Park Moab elopement.
Travel and exploration are an important part of Darah and Robert’s relationship which led them to choose a Moab elopement spot. As Darah puts it, “Every time we travel we always have a moment of gratefulness and think, ‘Wow, think about how some people will never see this. How blessed are we?’”
Darah elaborated: “We love to travel and are definitely more mountain people than beach people. My job as a teacher limits most of our travel to summer but we try to make it a priority. When we got engaged, we both knew we didn’t want a big wedding and started researching destination weddings and elopements.”
The couple traveled all the way from Arkansas along with their closest family and friends having never previously visited Moab, Utah. Darah commented, “We have never been to Moab but had planned on taking a two-week trip through all the national parks in Utah this summer. Every picture we saw of Moab was incredible and exactly what we wanted.”
They entrusted me to select the location for their Moab adventure. I helped them find the perfect spot based on what they were looking for and it turned out amazingly. Dead Horse Point State Park in Moab was my first suggestion since it’s so beautiful and accessible for their guests.
Being a state park, Dead Horse is a lesser known Moab Utah elopement spot. Most couples think of Canyonlands National Park images or the Arches National Park double arch. But, Dead Horse Point State Park is way less crowded and has arguably some of the best views in Moab. Darah later shared that they completely trusted me and appreciated how much effort I put into suggesting the best spot for them!
When Darah and Robert first inquired about Moab elopement packages, they wanted an epic place with very minimal hiking to accommodate Darah’s grandpa as their officiant! Darah explained, “My granddad will be 99 in September and is very special to us. He officiated my sister’s wedding years ago, and we knew we had to have him at ours.”
These two selected a small group of family and friends for their intimate elopement finding different ways to keep them involved. They had the few kids in attendance act as the flower girl and ring bearers.
I recommended the West Bench Site at Dead Horse Point State Park in Moab and it was perfect. The couple found that “experiencing Arches National Park, Dead Horse Point Moab, and the rest of Moab with family was something we will cherish forever.”
Darah and Robert are very sweet and all-around wholesome people. My favorite part of the day had to be the bond Darah has with her 98-year-old grandpa. He was killing it on the edge of that cliff!
The couple’s entire focus was on what mattered most to them, as Darah put it: “having our immediate families there, my grandad officiating the ceremony, and doing exactly what we wanted, where we wanted, without worrying about anyone else!”
They even kept the decor simple, allowing the Dead Horse Point State Park Moab scenery to serve as the backdrop with its red rocks and views of the Colorado River. Robert is also a bit of a country guy so Darah tried her wide-brimmed hat on him and we were all dying at his reaction!
The newlyweds summarized the joys of the day best in their own words, “We are so happy we chose Moab, it was perfect for us. There were several moments of our trip where we got emotional just looking around thinking, we are really here in this beautiful place with the people who mean the most to us. We still can’t believe we dreamed of something and then it really happened.”
Photographer | Matt Davidson Photography
Florals | Farm Yard
Cake | Sweet Serendipity Moab
HMUA | Lindsey Vaccaro Bridal Design
Videography | Spieler Media Productions