Top 5 Decisions to Make for your Utah Elopement: Location, Season, Photographer, Invites, and Travel
Getting married is an exciting, albeit crazy time—especially when you are planning to elope. Here are five key decisions you need to make if you are planning a Utah elopement.
1. Ideal Utah Elopement Location
Your utah elopement location should reflect who you are as a couple and the things that bring you together. So, take the time to decide what you enjoy together and let that be a driver for where you choose to hold your special day. Luckily, the Beehive State gives you plenty of options for destination weddings. Choose from stunning red rock vistas in Zion or Bryce Canyon, high alpine meadows and glacier-fed lakes in the Unitas, or lush pine forests in the Wasatch Range. All of these are easily accessible and are less than a day’s drive from Salt Lake International Airport. Just remember to bring your hiking boots and give yourself plenty of time for exploring and photographs.
1. Utah National Parks
Arches
Bryce
Canyonlands
Zion
3. Utah National Forests
Permits
2. Season and Date for your Elopement
Choosing the season for your elopement determines a lot of the details that make up the whole tone of your event. Spring, summer, fall, or winter will impact the venue, the style, the weather, the outfits worn, and the people there. Holidays in a particular season will also impact such details. Each season has its pros and cons, so it’s up to you to decide what fits within your dream elopement. Summer provides access to all of Utah’s vast and different landscapes. In fall, Utah shows off with its gorgeous fall mountains, talk about the backdrop of all backdrops. Utah winters are full of snow and are gorgeous. There truly is no wrong elopement season to choose when it comes to Eloping in Utah!
3. Dream Utah Elopement Photographer
The next elopement decision is your dream elopement photographer. When eloping in Utah, you are spoiled with a wide range of talented elopement photographers allowing you to be picky with your choice! To begin your search look through hashtags on social media that are related to your location (i.e. #brycecanyonelopment). Search for posts created during the season you are eloping. Look at which style of editing, posing, and lighting you love. Head to their profiles to locate their website. There you will find their pricing guide to ensure they are within your elopement budget. Note their experience, have they shot at your location? How many elopements have they photographed? A photographer’s experience, advice, and recommendations are priceless when planning your elopement. Lastly, set up a meeting with any candidates. Ensuring that you and the photographer get along, have strong communication, and are excited to work together is key!
Check out a great Elopement Photographer Website for reference here.
4. Who to Invite to your Elopement
After you choose your location, time, and photographer, it’s time to think about your invitation list! Elopements are usually very intimate weddings with anywhere from 3-30 people. Yes, that’s right! You can even just have you, your partner, and your marriage officiant if that’s what you wish. If you’re open to inviting more, find out how many people can comfortably fit at your chosen location and with your elopement budget. After knowing a general number, you can ask yourself these guiding questions to help formulate a list: what friends or family would you consider being closest to you? Who has had a positive impact on you throughout your life? Has anyone been involved throughout your relationship? How many people does your location allow comfortably? Finding out who you want there will help you determine the rest of the details with ease and create a great elopement experience.
5. Travel and Board Options for an Intimate Utah Elopement
As previously mentioned in section one, there are various places to have picture-perfect elopements in Utah, but many are quite a drive from the Salt Lake International airport. You’ll want a car of your own to get to these remote destinations. We have found Enterprise to have the best service for rental car companies based out of the Salt Lake Airport. As for hotels we recommend Grand America if you are staying in Salt Lake and we recommend these unique stays if you are having your intimate elopement in Southern Utah. Make sure you download some maps offline before you head to your destination as many of the most beautiful locations to elope are often out of service areas for cell phones. Good luck!
