It’s like renting your own private national park. This desert wedding venue is found in Moab, Utah surrounded by native desert vegetation, panoramic views, and red rock cliffs. It’s a Moab wedding venue that offers the experience, the privacy, and the freedom to hold your event in the desert under the stars. Celebrate at The Red Earth Venue with your own wedding in the desert!
Here, you get an adventure wedding and elopement all wrapped into one. Located on 17 acres of private land (there are no neighbors!), the Utah wedding venue provides the only access to a large red rock canyon directly behind it. Even though The Red Earth Venue has all you could need on your wedding day, it’s also worth exploring the surrounding area!
The venue is a 10-minute drive from the heart of Moab, Utah, located between Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and within a 20-minute drive to Dead Horse Point State Park. You can capture portraits at these nearby locations on the day or with a day-before or day-after session. These desert wedding photos make it look like you eloped while still having the full wedding experience.
Though open seasonally, the best times of year for the weather are April, May, September and October. It’s also open in March, June and November! The venue remains closed July-August due to extreme heat and December-February due to extreme weather patterns and the cold. It boasts of indoor and outdoor options with three sides of the venue made of glass for an outdoor feeling during inclement weather.
The Red Earth Venue is split between two primary locations on the property for ceremonies and receptions. I personally love dividing the portions of your day between these two sites which allows for a middle-of-nowhere desert feel for your ceremony. The two spots offer a variety of epic photo locations featuring natural desert vegetation and spectacular red rock views in every direction! One couple even mixed it up and were the first to use the front entrance to the venue as their ceremony site!
The Desert Platform Site is open land with a 20×20 platform. The platform location offers that raw, organic, primitive middle-of-the-desert feel perfect for your ceremony.
The Pavilion Site is a stunning 1,800 square foot enclosed building. The venue features glass doors on three sides which bring the outside in! These open to unparalleled views of red rock cliffs offering the ultimate backdrop especially at sunset.
The accordion glass doors open to outdoor patio areas for an incredible indoor/outdoor event. Three beautiful outdoor patio spaces are featured with romantic bistro lighting perfect for dancing the night away under the stars. The south doors open to the Iron Arches Patio with views of a natural sandstone butte.
The patio is a 2,300 square foot brick patio with four iron arches overhead, bistro lighting and ample outlets. The site is considered part of the Canyonlands Dark Sky Park designation which also makes for amazing stargazing.
The venue does not currently include a getting-ready space, so couples opt for a local Airbnb or the tents at Under Canvas Moab.
The concept of The Red Earth Venue was put together by Brian and Angela Hays. Angela is a former local Moab wedding photographer of 10+ years and a National Park Ranger. These two could not be a better fit to create this space!
Most of the 17-acre property is undeveloped with the intent of keeping their footprint small and the views big so couples can celebrate and party in the desert with minimal environmental impact. They are super mindful of the fragile crypto soil on the property and how it is so important to the life of the Moab desert.
My wife Hannah and I have lived on-site with our dog Sophie since the venue’s first wedding. Hannah is the General Manager and in-house wedding coordinator. Since we live on the property, I’m known as the resident photographer for The Red Earth Venue photos. Even when I’m not shooting and she’s not coordinating, we are both present to oversee every wedding. Together, we have managed every wedding since the venue opened.
We are honored to create these Moab wedding experiences and love hanging out often with the owners who have become great friends of ours. The venue is out of this world and still blows our minds. It’s always fun watching couples arrive with their jaws on the floor over how pretty the property is!