Planning a National Forest Fall Elopement? Utah has some of the prettiest national forests close to it’s big cities. Just 30 minutes from Ogden sits part of the Wasatch-Cache National Forest. In the fall, it’s absolutely gorgeous up in the hills and is a Utah wedding photographer’s dream. Last year, my cousin and his fiancé were married in the presence of their children among the fall foliage, and we were able to witness it all!

Officiating a Snowbasin Utah Wedding

After photographing their private first look and portraits, I had the honor of officiating my first wedding! It was very different being on the other side of the camera during the ceremony, but I trusted my husband to capture those moments for us.  Before officiating a wedding for your friend or family member, you will need to be ordained. This is very easy to do on a lot of different websites, and most are free. I chose American Marriage Ministries, which takes just minutes. You will also want to check with state guidelines for where the ceremony will take place and verify if you will need any additional documentation or witnesses for the ceremony to be legal.

I found several potential script ideas online through TheAmm.org which were so helpful for choosing what to include in their ceremony.  I found this poem that we also included in part of their ceremony:

Buried Light by Beau Taplin

Home is not where
you are from

it is where
you belong.

Some of us
travel the whole
world to find it.

Others,
find it in a person.

National Forest Fall Elopement

During their National Forest Fall Elopement, they exchanged rings. I stepped out of the way for their ring exchange and first kiss. I highly recommend asking your officiant to step out of the way for your first kiss, but you might also want to encourage it for your ring exchange too! After their ceremony, we took a few family photos, then switched to a slightly different location for additional Snowbasin Utah forest wedding photos.

Contact us today about booking your dream Utah wedding photographer.