Emilee + Lyle's Las Vegas Wedding

From the Bride: Honestly, the location. We were going to Las Vegas for a work conference and with the tornados that had recently hit our area, and COVID still being an issue we knew we wanted to elope. We didn't want to have to put any extra stress on people about attending or having to help us prepare and the location just kind of fell in our laps since we were already going out to Las Vegas. We are pretty introverted people, we live in a small, rural area and we aren't into the big city lights. So we flip-flopped quite a few ideas and knew that we wanted somewhere outside of the city and lights. We had initially kind of decided on the Grand Canyon, but we weren't completely set on the idea until I saw photos of the Valley of Fire State Park. I knew that's where I wanted to get married. I started searching for photographers. I wanted someone who had a photography style that we both liked. We found Jamie, with Rock N Romance Elopements and she did absolutely everything. She booked hair and makeup, she set us up with the florist and the officiant. She got all the permits we needed, set us up with Friar Tux for the suit rental, and she did the photography. We are still trying to figure out how we are going to get them all printed and into our home! We aren't able to choose favorites because we love them all! She did such a great job of capturing us! I literally cannot recommend her enough. She made the process so easy for two introverted people who did not want to spend all their extra time planning an elopement. It was the absolute easiest process ever.

There are a few different places in the Mohave Desert and surrounding areas where she does elopements at, and she gave me a list of places to look through and none of them spoke to us like the Valley of Fire did. The pictures are beautiful, that much is obvious. Being there, is something else entirely. It was hot, even in early May when we got married. But not a Kentucky hot, if that makes sense. There is a slight breeze. The heat is dry. You aren't sweating profusely. The landscapes are absolutely breathtaking and nothing is as it seems. The terrain is not hard to walk over. I did it in heels most of the time but eventually switched to flip-flops. The sand and dirt is so fine that my dress didn't even get dirty! I know, that sounds impossible but it’s entirely true. I have looked that dress over and I still can't find any traces that I wore it in the Mohave Desert. The area is so clean and untouched. It was absolutely perfect for us, because it was just us for endless miles and that is exactly what we wanted. We were there in the afternoon to late evening and there weren't a ton of visitors, maybe ten people the whole time we were there. It was almost like it was a secret place that not everyone knew about, and that made it even more special for us. No one bothered us, we didn't feel pressured to have to interact with guests. We got to be in our perfect moment, alone and together and just focus on us for our special day.

Bride’s Advice: How to take flowers home on a plane? That would have been it. Otherwise, I don't know that I would have done anything differently. My parents eloped, and that was sort of their advice to us. Focus on the marriage, not the wedding. I'm really glad that we decided to do that. Clearly, eloping isn't for everybody. But it worked out perfectly for us and neither one of us would change the way that we did anything. Were still taking that advice, we're focusing on the marriage and not the wedding.

Katelyn DaughertyMarch 26, 2023