Zion Canyon Overlook Elopement Styled Shoot
Zion National Park is the place you should elope
There, I said it! I absolutely LOVED spending time in Zion National Park and getting to photograph this gorgeous bride. The red canyons at sunset were something absolutely magical to witness. However, this bride wasn’t originally going to be our model. Story time!
My friend Darien (check out her website here, you Illinoisans!) and I went on a road trip through all of Utah. Check out the other places we went here on the blog! For this Utah trip, we wanted to set up plenty of elopement styled shoots since it’s such a gorgeous state, we wanted to make sure to get beautiful photos!
Darien and I were waiting for our couple to arrive at Zion National Park, then we were going to drive to the Canyon Overlook trailhead to hike to the gorgeous views for our styled shoot. We had the dress, the jacket, flowers, the hat, EVERYTHING ready. We were just waiting for our couple.
Well, 10 minutes before we were supposed to start shouting, we get a text from them that they are no longer coming. 😳 Uh oh, what are we going to do now? Our models aren’t coming and we have SO much wedding gear we were waiting to show off! So, we’re sitting in the parking lot, stunned for a moment. Holding a wedding dress and all the gear for this bride to try on.
I look at Darien and say, “well, I’m ready to ask someone to model for us in this line, but what do I say? ‘Hey is anyone a size 2 and want to model this dress for us?’”
“No” says a girl walking by who heard me. When we look at her, she explains, “I am NOT a size two, but I’ll try it on if you want.”
Darien and I look at each other. There’s NO way this is actually turning out. I’m waiting for the ball to drop, for her to say she’s kidding, or for the dress not to fit, or for her friends to not let her trust two random strangers they met in the parking lot, because, WHAT ARE THE ODDS? And what do you know? It fit perfectly, and 5 minutes later, we were off to this gorgeous outlook.
So came to be our Red Canyon Queen! Jenna was SO fun to hang out with and work with. For never having modeled before, you’d think she was a trained pro! I also have to add that this girl had been hiking all day, wasn’t wearing any makeup, and modeled the outfit in her Chaco’s sandals! She went from hiking superstar to bride model so quickly it made my head spin.
HEY YOU!
I’m Emily, a Colorado Elopement Photographer with a passion for giving joyful, electric couples the ultimate adventure-filled elopement! I’m ready to help curate your adventure and get our boots dirty in the process. Are you?
Dress: Raw + Golden Rentals
Bouquet: Fern and Sun Palm
Jacket: Raw + Golden Rentals
Shoes: Chaco’s
Check out Jenna’s adventures as a bride at Zion National Park.
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