5 Real Palo Duro Canyon Elopement Micro-Weddings
These real couples traded a traditional wedding for an adventure elopement in Palo Duro Canyon.
Brides and Grooms find themselves loving the stress-free, drama-free option of getting married in the second largest canyon in the USA. It was very hard for me to pick my most favorite top 5 since I’ve been photographing weddings in Palo Duro Canyon for over 7 years. The most recent that still blows my mind to this day, you know- the one that’s been published by PopSugar and went viral, finds itself in the number one spot again!
Rebekah and David
Their large wedding was canceled due to COVID but that didn’t stop us from having a freaking amazing small wedding instead. Lucky for them, they flew in from Georgia with their family and had their wedding on the first day Palo Duro Canyon State Park opened back up from the massive shut-down. Long story short, we had an incredible star and sunrise experience of just them two and us. He got to see his bride for the first time while standing on the top of an old 100+ ft waterfall. As the sun came up, Rebekah walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. David immediately embraced her and cried tears of joy. They read love letters to each other and just soaked in the beauty of God’s creation right in front of them. Then we headed to the famous Lighthouse trail. If you’re not familiar with the lighthouse trail, it’s a 6-mile trail, that’s not included stopping for photos or drinking. They sat off cliffs and did some daring moves! After our adventure together for them to experience it alone, we met with their closest friends and family for their Mirco-Wedding by a cave. The special moments for me were when her mom and dad walked her down the aisle, her dad married them and then they washed each other’s feet. Oh yeah, they also went ziplining after!
Alison + Darren
Oh man, Alison and Darren came to me all the way from South Texas and I will always remember Alison telling me that the reason they decided to elope with just the two of them is that it brought the focus back to them as to why they wanted to marry each other. Their vows and unity are so sacred everything I offered filled their souls. That morning was a bitter cold around 38º but you’d never be able to tell. My hands were hurting by the time the sound decided to come up and in true Texas weather form, it was an instant heat. They read their handwritten vows to each other as the sun came up and I married them to make it legal. Darren is a Dr so of course, I had to ask about any crazy experiences and his favorite thing about his career. We ended up hiking and finding amazing places along the way for about 6 hours. It was magical! Then, of course, we came across cows… because… Texas.
Raul + Marcia
Originally from Valenzuela, Raul made his way to meet his bride, Marcia, here in the USA. The reason I’m ranking this elopement in my top 5 isn’t just for the sheer fact the wedding was gorgeous, but I genuinely loved getting to know them. I really enjoyed getting to hear their stories of how life was like in their countries that they are from and what they love about America. From the moment we jumped on our consultation call all the way to meeting them for the first time as they got ready, I really fell in love with them. They chose a sunset ceremony for just them two and wanted to have their first dance under the stars, so that’s exactly what they did.
Brittnié + Huey
This bride and groom flew up to be all the way from South Texas, along with their family. We did a full day coverage for them simply because we wanted to go have fun! Our day started off at 4:00 am and our wonderful make-up artist showed up super early for MUAH for everyone! We did a first look under the stars and headed off to the Lighthouse trail. Their family joined us for all the activities and it was amazing! After the lighthouse trail, we ended up doing their ceremony inside a cave where they had photos of their friends who were supposed to be apart. After the ceremony, we all went zip-lining then back to the cabin for celebration. We kicked it off by eating the best Mexican food, ate wedding cake, and drank some champagne! The locations were picked from them using my Palo Duro Canyon Ultimate Guide
Mikkie + John
This bride and groom came to me for a sunrise ceremony all the way from El Campo, Texas. Everything about Mikkies simple, stress-free wedding gave me life. The fact that her family wanted to join them and they also chose to have some alone time for just them in a gorgeous scouted location just completely made the day! And can we talk about her dress???! WHAT!
Okay, if you know me, you should know that I literally can’t just ever pick 5…. I’ve done hundreds of weddings, elopements, and micro-weddings out at Palo Duro Canyon that it just makes it hard to keep the photos under a certain number before the audience gets bored and bounces. If you’ve made it this far you must be feeling some pretty stellar feelings by now and craving more- so let me introduce you to Dr. Lindsey + Don.
Are you now ready to plan your dream wedding in Palo Duro Canyon? Click here to send me a message right now!