Utah Destination Weddings!
INTRO:
Okay, okay, we get it. When you hear the words “destination wedding” you may not instantly think of Utah. But the Beehive State is fast becoming a hit location for destination weddings. Why? In a word: scenery. Utah boasts an impressive range of landscapes that make for enchanting backdrops on your big day. From hauntingly atmospheric red rocks to stunning lake and mountain duos and off-grid wonders like the Salt Flats, Utah just might have that dash of natural spectacle you’re looking for!
RED ROCKS & DESERT:
The red rocks are one of Utah’s most iconic geographical features. Prevalent to southern Utah, there are actually eight major locations that boast these environmental wonders, six of them national parks: Arches National Park (with more than 2,000 stunning sandstone arches), Canyonlands National Park (including the epic Needles Overlook), Zion National Park (slot canyons, anyone?), Capitol Reef National Park (more remote, less tourists), Snow Canyon State Park (with its lava flow formations), and the grandaddy of gorgeous—Escalante National Monument with its legendary Grand Staircase. Any of these renowned locales provides a backdrop for the most jaw-dropping wedding photos of all time. A white wedding dress posed against that vibrant red and orange stone? LOVE IT! A couple framed by towering structures as breathtaking and timeless as your love? SWOON! Including a red rock insert in your wedding bands to carry a literal piece of your wedding setting around on your finger? OBSESSED! Plus the dessert setting provides the perfect palette for a sand and stone wedding with rust, terracotta, and adobe clay tones taken from the landscape itself.
Venues include: Sorrel River Ranch, Red Earth Venue, Hoodoo Moab, The Ledges, Entrada at Snow Canyon, The White Shanty, and the ultra luxurious celebrity spot Amangiri.
MOUNTAIN & SNOWY RETREAT:
From the South, let us speed North to an opposite but equally opulent wedding location: the mountains. Utah is known for its mountains, offering a dizzying array of options for a nuptial celebration. From the star-studded Park City slopes to quieter peak retreats, if you love a mountain view, Utah’s got you! If you go with any of the ski resort options, you can pepper your celebration with charming ski touches; guests signing beautiful wooden skis in lieu of a guest book or posing for couple’s photos on the chair of a ski lift—so cute! Once again, we have Zion National Park with its exquisite glamping resorts. There’s the lavish ski town of Park City and all the Alpine charm that goes with it. Or, if you’re looking for smaller crowds, Snowbasin or Powder Mountain in Ogden Valley are great alternatives to Park City. And, of course, Sundance Mountain Resort. This upscale rustic retreat originally dreamed up by Robert Redford, Sundance is now the home to a major film festival and proudly hosts countless celebrities each year. But when it’s not welcoming the rich and famous, Sundance Resort is still a simply stunning place to hold a wedding.
Venues include: Zion Red Rock Oasis, Zion Canyon Lodge, Under Canvas, Stein Eriksen Lodge, High West Distillery, Montage Deer Valley, Snowbasin Lodge, Hidden Lake Lodge, and The Barn at Wolf Creek.
LAKESIDE AND FOREST:
Can’t afford the Caribbean for your destination wedding? How about the “Caribbean of the Rockies?” Bear Lake has been named exactly that. It’s a refraction of light off the limestone particles in the water that gives the lake its radiant turquoise-blue color; similar to the jewel-tone waters you’d find in a Caribbean setting. Whatever the science-y reason for such gorgeous visuals, we’re loving this locale! Pose in a flower-bedecked rowboat with your new hubby for swooningly romantic portraits or snap a pic of your wedding party dangling their feet off the end of a dock. How nostalgic and adorable is that?! If you’ve dreamed of a lake-forest duo for your “I do,” Utah just might have that winning combo. Although you can’t throw a rock in the Beehive state without hitting a forest or mountain (not quite, but close) some of the best options are Flaming Gorge or Red Canyon Lodge (secluded and stunning—another winning combo), and Mirror Lake Highway in the Uinta Mountains (for the adventurous couple that wants to frolic through a meadow on their big day).
Venues include: Conestoga Ranch, Lakeside Retreats, and anywhere else you can toss up a tent and say, “Glamping!”
OFF-GRID ELOPEMENT:
The term “elope” used to mean that a couple, for whatever reason, needed to run off and marry immediately. We imagine court house weddings with no one in attendance, no real celebration, nothing special about the event. No longer! Today “elopement” has a much richer definition. Elopements are now considered very intentional celebrations that are either private (the couple and witnesses only) or very intimate (a small gathering of the closest friends and family). The exclusivity of the occasion allows an elopement to be focused on the marriage itself, rather than the embellishments surrounding the wedding. The selective guest list also makes it possible for the wedding to take place in a more remote setting, like the Bonneville Salt Flats. The stark and surreal, almost unearthly beauty of the landscape will make you feel you’ve been transported to another world. Though we’ve already discussed it, we can’t talk off-grid elopements without again mentioning Capitol Reef or Escalante with its timeless red rocks. And, of course, there’s Dead Horse Point State Park. Ignoring the scary name, this state park near Moab boasts unsurpassed, cliffside panoramas over the Colorado River that have been compared to similar views of the Grand Canyon. Who doesn’t want that as a wedding backdrop? Utah also features a plethora (if you know, you know) of caves and waterfalls, including the famed Bridal Veil Falls—a favorite for engagement and wedding photos.
Venues include: Cougar Ridge, Escalante Yurts, and Yonder Escalante.
CONCLUSION:
Worried there won’t be enough amenities to make your remote romance a reality? Utah also boasts wonderfully adaptive vendors to provide luxury bathroom accommodations or anything else you require to make a rustic location possible. Whether you dream of posing with your future husband on the dramatic expanse of the Salt Flats or being silhouetted in an embrace against the red rocks, Utah has whatever visually arresting backdrop you could desire to say, “I do.”
