Ralph & Mary

Working as an outdoor wedding and elopement photographer means my couples and I are often at the whims of the elements. Nature is full of beauty and fury, sometimes on the same day.

I snap beautiful photos regardless of fog, rain, snow, heat, and everything in between. That’s just part of the adventure of outdoor photography. And honestly, “bad weather” makes for good lighting!

To be honest, most of my couples understand this reality and embrace the elements. Even when the weather causes some chaos, it can still be an awe-inspiring experience and a great story for years to come.

An Unconventional Outdoor Nevada Elopement

Ralph and Mary wanted to elope outside of Las Vegas, which is an idea I jumped at. There are some great landscapes out there. The desert playa, especially, provides lots of negative space—which makes couples pop. Everything looked so dreamy and spacy, we were all excited about the opportunity.

We initially set up a table with lots of lovely decor. This is where we read the vows, had the ceremony, and would have had an elopement dinner. But that’s when the weather started to roll in.

Truth be told, we were watching the dark clouds and dust in the distance. We tried to time everything as much as we could. We even tried moving our vehicles in a way to block the wind. But hey—the wind had other plans.

Gust after gust came in, carrying dust. So, we had to make a quick decision to pack up and drive to our second location, Seven Magic Mountains. Before we got out of the cars, we checked with the couple if they were still down to brave the wind. Thankfully, they had a good attitude about everything. Which was awesome, because we got some amazing photos all the same.

We snapped photos of our couple by the colorful, rock pillars—taking breaks in between each shot to adjust hair and clothing. My husband, Isiah, was nice enough to carry everyone’s stuff, so our couple could focus on each other.

In the end, everything worked out. Maybe not as planned, but it was a lovely day all the same.

This just goes to show you… Sometimes, we can't experience the beauty of the great outdoors without courting a little chaos—and that’s okay. It can be an amazing experience all the same.

If you want adventurous wedding photography, contact Love & Latitudes. We specialize in outdoor elopements, adventure weddings, and couple’s photography.