Taylor + Blake | Las Vegas / Valley of Fire Elopement
Taylor and Blake said ‘I do' in the most iconic way. About a month or so before they did - Taylor reached out to find me. However, they weren’t completely sold on where they wanted to be. The more spontaneous and indecisive they were, the more thrilled I became. I wanted to know if she had ever considered somewhere (in the US because of Covid) that she pictured herself to be. She told me that she remembered writing in a diary that it would be the coolest thing to get married in Vegas. Without a doubt, it sounded perfect. They wished to have ceremony and vows in two different locations. The ceremony was to be a silly, fun, small event with the family and the vows to be an intimate moment. After much deliberation of deciding between California or Utah for vow spot, we decided on Valley of Fire which is not too far off from downtown Vegas itself.
Here’s a small video recap I made of our adventure:
To start off, we had to do the slots right? Taylor and Blake wanted some pre-wedding photos the night before the wedding so we hit the casinos. Taylor really thought it would be funny to have the casino photos as engagement photos and not tell anyone who wasn’t already coming what was happening until after getting wedding photos back. As a photographer, I thought that was a great idea of course. Get this though..he didn’t actually propose until this day before I arrived! So these were their engagement announcements!
As if we weren’t having a blast already with free drinks and socially distant slots, we walked the streets as they showed me their favorite spots. I got a full tour from these experts as this was my first time in Vegas. No seriously, I’m 26 - I didn’t have a crazy 21st birthday or have a friend with a wild bachelorette party. This was great because now I know where to get free parking, good food, and see the prettiest lights. Yes - that’s what’s really important to me!
They set me up on the 74th floor so I had a calming editing night (to get these photos to them the same night) with a face mask combined with an amazing view of the strip. Probably not something you think about when you go to Vegas, but hey it was a dream for me. We had a long day ahead!
I woke up to meet them at their hotel. Blake was writing his vows as I heard about their adventure at the wedding shop. Taylor’s mom was the first to see her full ready. She was such a big help with Taylor’s hair and helping her in her dress.
Once Taylor had her dress on, she hid in the bathroom (LOL) while Blake came back in for final touches on his suit for a sec. I walked Blake back down the hall to set him up because I found a great spot for the first look. It was an elevator lobby! Ok hear me out, check out this light and cute rug (that’s the same thing I say when I’m in IKEA).
Heading out to the ceremony spot in the only acceptable way - a limo with champagne!
If you’re getting married in Vegas, you gotta get Elvis to officiate.
This was honestly not as cheesy as I thought it would be. Elvis really did blow it out of the water. He sang sweet songs for them to dance to and had really funny lines. 10/10 recommend.
Even though noon lighting isn’t something I would suggest to couples for their ceremony time, this was the only time available - being last minute. I think it went with the mood and we were still able to get great shots despite the fact of the sun beating directly down. One of my favorite shots is the celebratory dancing photo on the right.
Elvis in his money mask…can’t get any more Vegas than that.
Casinos - CHECK
Ceremony - CHECK
Vow time at Valley of Fire State Park.
A leather jacket and an all black Johnny Cash tux against the red rock was everything.
Blake and Taylor had hand written vows ready to go. After having some play time around the park, we found a secluded area for them to read to each other. I noticed they were both jittery so I gave them some space for privacy while I shot.
Tears. Hand kisses. Booty grabs.
We caught a beautiful sunset just as they finished their vows. Taylor ditched her shoes most of the day so guess who got free piggybacks.
The part of this mountain that split from white to red literally had me freaking out. I needed it in photos and there was a perfect path to line their portrait.
I think Blake got more into the photos when I said YES to their whispers about dropping all their clothes. Maybe they were joking but I was totally serious. If you have an idea, don’t think I’m gonna say no. Suns out, buns out!
I’ll leave this with a quote from Tommy Pickles from Rugrats - Nakey is good! Nakey is free.
