A Perfect Elopement at Horseshoe Bend, Arizona

Tell us about how you decided to elope.

One day, in the middle of the pandemic, we were sitting on our couch and I looked over at Christiane and said “Hey, do you want to elope on the side of the Grand Canyon?” to which she replied “f*ck yes I do”. 

We immediately started planning our dream elopement trip. I had already been married previously and had no desire to do a big wedding again. Christiane loved the idea of it being a low key but intimate moment with just the two of us. 

We quickly decided that we would turn this elopement into a full adventure. We have always been and continue to be each other’s favorite adventure partner and we wanted our wedding to reflect that.

How did you tell your family and friends about your decision to elope?

We waited several months before telling our families our plan. We wanted to make sure everything was planned and firm before breaking the news. Ironically, my Dad called me one day and told me he was thinking about planning a big family trip to the Grand Canyon. I started panicking and trying to come up with excuses about why I wouldn’t want to do that. 

He knows me so she wasn’t buying any of it. Eventually I blurted out “we are eloping at the Grand Canyon!”. 

He was stunned but very supportive. 

After that we began telling the rest of our families. While there was some disappointment, understandably, our families were just so happy for us that their support came naturally. They could feel and see how happy we were and they followed suit. 

Why did you choose to get married in the middle of the week?

We chose to get married on a Tuesday for a couple of reasons. First, ‘Love is a Tuesday’ by Jake Scott is one of our favorite songs. Second, we knew a high tourist attraction like Horseshoe Bend would be quieter on a Tuesday.

Walk us through your Horseshoe Bend elopement.

Several days before the wedding we had flown into Vegas and rented a mustang convertible. 

We spent 3 days traveling and exploring through Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon. There is something unbelievably magical about driving through a national park blasting Florence and the Machine. We will cherish those adventurous days forever. 

The morning of our wedding, we woke up feeling absolutely electric. We shared a chocolate chip muffin and sipped mimosas while waiting for our hair and makeup stylist to arrive. We steamed our outfits and blared music while dancing to our favorite songs. We had so much fun with our hair and makeup team. The two women that came were an absolute blast and shared in our joy about the whole day. 

After we finished getting ready, we met our photographer for some pre-ceremony pictures at Lake Powell. We then made our way to Horseshoe Bend for our ceremony. We were met there by our amazing officiant, Jen Paul. Together we all walked to the viewing area, soaking in all the moments. When we got there, our photographer brought us to a spot that made us feel like we were the only people around. It was magical. We decided that we would ask the first person to congratulate us on the walk to be our witness. 

Our ceremony was perfect. We laughed, we cried, we were in awe of everything around us. It felt so surreal to be standing on what felt like the ends of the earth sharing such an incredible moment with one another.

After our vows, we spent another couple of hours taking pictures and soaking in every single moment of the day and the beauty around us. We were some of the last people to leave Horseshoe Bend that night. I don’t think any of us wanted the day to end.  While heading back to our cars, our photographer suggested an impromptu photoshoot of us in front of the Mustang and it was a blast!

After that, we headed straight to Vegas to sleep for a few hours and then catch a 5am flight to Cancun where our friends were waiting for us at a resort. On our way to Vegas we realized that we had not eaten since our shared muffin at 10am. Desperately hungry, we search on our phones for a quick place to grab a bite to eat. There was nothing. We were in basically the middle of the desert with no businesses for miles. Finally, after 2 hours of driving, we found a Wendy’s. One of my favorite memories of the day is going through the Wendy’s drive through in a wedding dress and full hair/makeup and then trying to eat a hamburger without spilling anything. I don’t think we have ever laughed so hard. It was the best and funniest way to end our day.