Las Vegas Intimate Winter Wedding | Seven Magic Mountains Elopement
Alright, I need to tell you a story for this one.
Once upon a time, my now-husband and I were celebrating our two year dating anniversary by returning to where it all began – the Roots and Blues festival in Columbia, Missouri. We were hanging out waiting for the next set to begin when we started chatting up a couple sitting next to us as they offered donuts to the people around them. We connected over our mutual love of music and made our friendship Facebook official. After moving to Vegas, we ended up seeing each other more often, since they lived about 6 hours away in Salt Lake City!
Well, fast forward to 2021, and we invited them to our wedding – to which they came! And they invited us to theirs – which I photographed!
It’s wild how easy it is to make lifelong friends if you just start offering other people your extra donuts.
So now it’s the 2021 winter solstice, and Jesse and Julie are making their years-long love official. This day was incredibly sentimental and oh so thoughtful, and the number of personal touches these two included were just too many to count!
Jesse and Julie opted to rent an Airbnb in town to house a few of their friends and family, as well as host the after party! With only about 15 guests, it was very easy to coordinate everyone for the day. Jesse was getting ready with his son Aidan while Julie put the finishing touches on her makeup. The two of them got dressed and got ready to head out for the day! To keep things special, we went out to the Red Rock area of the Las Vegas desert for them to say their personal vows to each other and grab some pictures with their pups, Bailey and Cooper. These moments are always my favorite during the elopement day. Not only did these two get to express themselves to each other so intimately (with me lurking around), but they also got two completely different looks for their elopement photos!
We headed out to the Seven Magic Mountains where their friends and family were waiting for us, and it was soon time to get married! Here’s where it gets extra special in three very distinct ways.
Julie’s parents passed away when she was pretty young, so her family stepped in to raise her and her twin sister. Her uncle is actually an ordained minister, so he married Jesse and Julie.
Julie’s uncle was also a fervent note-taker, and he loved keeping his planner filled out. So when they picked the date based on how cool it was (12/21/21), they didn’t realize that 37 years prior, that was also Julie’s parents’ anniversary. How magical is that?
And finally, by saying their private vows to each other in the desert, they opened up space during their ceremony to make vows to each other’s families. So, Jesse made his vows to Julie’s twin sister, and Julie made her vows to Jesse’s son.
When I tell you the goosebumps and tears were abundant – WOOF, y’all.
We spent a little more time enjoying the desert sun before heading back to town for some fun photos around Fremont Street, and then it was time for the party to begin! We recreated some of Julie’s parents’ wedding photos, we toasted the couple, and we pored over old family photos. It truly was the most magical day it could have possibly been, and personally, I am so honored to have been a part of their day.
Are you ready to plan your own intimate wedding with just as many special details? I know a pretty great photographer ready to document it for you. :)
What’s the difference between an elopement and a wedding? Read my thoughts on it as your friendly neighborhood Las Vegas Elopement Photographer and drool over the Payne’s classic Vegas elopement photos!