2018 Year in Review

Our Personal Adventures

sunset in the desert of Utah with two dogs

Our 2018 Personal Adventures

Holy wow. 2018 has been a crazy year of some of the wildest adventures Ed and I have ever experienced. From frolicking in alpine lakes to standing on cliff edges in Moab’s high desert, we’ve done it all. We started this year with the intention to get out and explore all we could of the western half of the country, and we definitely met our goal. We’ve wandered the Rocky Mountains from Colorado through to Canada, chased waterfalls (sorry TLC) and the ocean, and roamed as many deserts as we could. No doubt it’s been a wild ride.

It’s been so crazy to see how a few hundred miles can vastly alter the terrain around us. Drive 4 hours south of Boulder and you’ll find yourself in desert lands with the largest sand dunes this country has to offer. Drive 6 hours west from Denver, and all of a sudden you’re surrounded by Moab’s red dirt and canyons galore. Drive 22 hours northeast from Longmont, and next thing you know, you’re surrounded by aqua blue glacial lakes dotted throughout the Canadian Rockies.

Every twist and turn and dirt road we’ve taken has led us somewhere incredible. Some of these places were only 5 minutes from home (I don’t think I’ll ever get over how gorgeous the Rocky Mountain front range sunsets can be). Others were a day’s drive or more away. All equally incredible and awe-inspiring. The thing is, as adventure elopement and small wedding photographers, we’d be doing our couples a disservice if we didn’t spend all of our free time exploring cool locations for our couples. Sure, we love doing it, but it’s also a crucial part of our work. When we’re out in nature, we’re both scouting for locations and going on vacation. It’s always a little bit of both, and honestly we wouldn’t have it any other way. So scroll on below to see our personal travels and adventures from this past year. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find your perfect mountain elopement spot.

A Quick Snapshot | This Year By The Numbers

  • 21 states visited (soon to be 22 before the year ends!)

  • 11 National Parks seen (Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Petrified Forest National Park (before the end of 2018!).

  • Around 35,000 miles traveled (and this isn’t even factoring in plane travel!). Crazy to think we’ve driven so much this year!

  • Countless memories made: from jumping into alpine lakes to dancing on snowy mountains to watching the sunrise through our car windows.

couple sitting in the mountains with their dog
sunset in the desert of Utah with two dogs
couple sitting back to back in front of the Rocky Mountains in Longmont
the Rocky Mountains
couple exploring the Rocky Mountains
couple with their dog at the sand dunes
roaring waterfall in the mountains
couple playing outdoors in the mountains
Montana mountains at dusk

We Eloped!

And then, in the middle of all of our adventures this year, Ed and I eloped at one of our favorite places in Colorado, where the mountains and the desert become one. Huge thanks to our friend and talented photographer Heather Wall for capturing our day!

our sand dunes elopement
our sand dunes elopement

The Journey Continues...

But the adventures didn’t stop after the elopement! While we didn’t go on a honeymoon (we’re hoping to get out to somewhere awesome like Alaska or Iceland in the next year or so!), we definitely didn’t let that stop us from exploring even more of the country.

elk in a snowy field in Estes Park
couple running down mountain roads
couple standing on the edge of a canyon cliff with their two dogs
girl wandering through the high desert of Moab Utah
couple kissing at sunset in Moab Utah
couple wrapped up in a Pendleton blanket in the desert of Moab Utah
aqua colored alpine lake in the Rocky Mountains
couple exploring the high desert of Moab Utah at dusk and night with a full moon
couple exploring the high desert of Moab Utah
couple and their dog in an alpine lake
sunset by the Colorado River
couple enjoying a snow day in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado
jagged mountains and alpine lakes in the Rocky Mountains
oceanside sunrise in Daytona Beach
couple and their dogs on Loveland Pass in Colorado
night sky of Loveland Pass
couple and their dogs hiking by a frozen river in the Rocky Mountains outside Fort Collins Colorado
hazy cotton candy sunset on Loveland Pass in Colorado

P.S. As Colorado elopement and adventure wedding photographers, we pride ourselves on not just documenting your elopement or small mountain wedding, but helping you plan out all the little details as well — like helping you figure out the perfect time of year for your Colorado elopement.

Sure, we pride ourselves in taking killer photos of killer people in killer places, but we’re firm believers that your adventure wedding photographer should be so much more than that. They should be a resource and guide to you during the whole adventure elopement planning process. So if that sounds like your vibe, we’d love to chat with you about your dream adventure elopement.

Planning Your Adventure Wedding Or National Park Elopement?

Check out some of our favorite elopement and adventure wedding planning resources:

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Empowering You To Have Your Adventure Elopement, Your Way

Colorado Elopement Photographers + Adventure Wedding Photographers

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