Las Vegas Elopement at the Sand Dunes

Meet the couple behind this Las Vegas Sand Dunes elopement:

Miriam & Sean… Wow. I honestly do not know where to start with these two. Miriam has the VOICE of an angel and Sean is the most supportive husband EVER. They completely said screw everything and did things on their own terms. They woke up at 4 am and got ready together in their future apartment, and Sean was able to help curl her hair and watch her do her makeup. With an intimate first look in their living room, we headed out to the sand dunes. We got their right before the sun rose, and headed for some portraits. Who knew walking on sand dunes was SO FREAKING EXHAUSTING. I shortly found out, it was and went barefoot, along with Miriam, to keep sand from dragging our shoes down. After a few hours exploring the Sand dunes outside of Las Vegas, we headed to their favorite Italian restaurant for lunch, and to also do some more photos. We use their gorgeous wall mural behind their building and hit up a few of their favorite city spots.

After all the ‘fun’ was said and done, we headed to Miriam’s parents house where the ceremony and reception would take place. Finishing getting ready with her mom and sisters, everyone got together to make their back yard a dream night time wedding location. They got married under the stars and twinkle lights, with their closest friends and families. It was the most romantic night time ceremony you will ever lay your eyes on.

How to plan your elopement in Las Vegas

There are so many gorgeous locations all around Las Vegas, that help you avoid the nitty gritty and crowds of actual Las Vegas city, so here are some tips and tricks to help you plan your elopement in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nevada in itself is one of the most gorgeous and vast states you can visit in my opinion, with so many things within driving distance to one another your options are endless. But there are a few things to think about before getting too deep into planning your elopement. Vegas tends to get SUPER hot and dry in the summer, I mean wow, it can be brutal. So one thing to think about is what time of year you want to elope, and where. I do not recommend the sand dunes or desert in the summer, as your feet are going to be BURNT at the end of the day and so will your skin! But another thing to note is that the winters can be harsh with some bad winds, so spring/early summer and fall are going to be the best times to plan for your elopement!

There is more to Nevada than Vegas. One of the fun things to do for your elopement is to make it a multi-day elopement, and do one ceremony/vows in one location or a park, and then have a huge party with your friends and family in Vegas! A few fun ideas for your party could be: getting tattoos together, going to a casino, going to one of the many shows in Vegas, or just wandering the strip in that wedding attire! Even the taco bell on the strip serves margaritas, so you could hit that up with all of your crew! I feel like not a lot of people know about all that Nevada has to offer so here is a list of my favorite places for your Nevada elopement!

Lake Tahoe
Valley of Fire
Jarbidge Wilderness
Great Basin NP
These are just a few of the MANY amazing and gorgeous outdoor locations all around Las Vegas, that are within driving distance! One thing to note as well is tourism in Las Vegas is practically year round, because people just love to gamble all year. So when thinking about eloping in Nevada, think about tourism for the park or area you are going to and do your research! You want to avoid the crowds and have intimacy as much as possible! I highly recommend using google earth to do some research for private locations ahead of time, and do your research on permits needed for the area, and what you need to obtain to get married there!

Best Las Vegas elopement packages:

No one wants to get married in Las Vegas and only spend one day there, so like I mentioned earlier your best Las Vegas elopement package is going to be one that is more than one day! You want the intimacy of your ceremony and vows being read covered while you are out exploring the park of your choosing, but you also want those fun epic party shots with all your friends and families! Maybe you guys did body shots, or won a game in a casino, or are drinking on the strip with huge beads and fake rings everywhere, maybe you met someone famous, whatever it is, those party photos are going to be your fun reception moments, and you do not solely want cheap iphone shots of those. So one thing to think about is finding a photographer who offers multiple day packages for elopements! An idea of this would be 2 day coverage, or weekend work of coverage and have different hours for each day!

A few examples of a weekend elopement in Nevada could look like: one day on lake Tahoe, swimming and hiking, one day exploring the park and having your vow reading, one day having a huge party on the lake with friends and family or one day on the strip with everyone. This would entail 1 day of casual fun lake photos, 1 day of bridal photos adventure style and 1 day of party bridal group shots! You could also do it over two days and do one day of vow reading and exploring a park and then the second day of party with everyone! I know this sounds overwhelming so I want to give you guys examples of these elopement packages from a photographers point of view and what all would be included in them! So here are two examples of Nevada elopement packages:

Find more of my packages here!

How to find your Las Vegas Elopement Photographer:

So we talked about your elopement packages, but what about the photographer? Your photographer is going to be spending multiple days with you and your partner, so you want to make sure they are a good fit for you, photo wise but also personality wise! So what are some key things to look for?

how experienced are they?
have they shot in that area before?
what tone of voice do they use online and on instagram?
are they helpful in planning?
what do they post on instagram?
how do they shoot in all sorts of lighting scenarios?
do you LOVE their posing?
do you feel drawn to their work and want to see yourself in it?
do you like their personality?
do you TRUST them fully with your elopement?
These are just a few of the many things to consider and dive into when looking for your photographer! See how they respond to your inquiry, is it robotic or do they personalize it to you, see how on brand they are, see how hands on and helpful in planning they will be with you! Find out all of these things before booking to help you decide who is going to be the best fit for you. And ultimately be absolutely in love with everything they do photo wise, all of their blogs, all their instagram posts, all their edits, love it all.