Love and Salt in Abundance: Utah Salt Flats Elopement

When you can’t decide between an elopement and a destination wedding, the answer is always going to be a Utah Salt Flats elopement. Oriana and Aaron were going back and forth between a destination wedding and an elopement themselves, eyeing a simple courthouse wedding, when they stumbled across Becca Photo’s work, and let’s just say, the rest is history.

Oriana says, “I knew, for sure, I didn’t want to do a traditional wedding venue, the whole shebang. And Aaron was on board as well. So we went back and forth, and I was looking at destination weddings. I realized that not too many people would be able to go, and then I stumbled upon Becca’s work at the Salt Flats. I fell in love with her work. So she’s really the one who really made this all happen.”

Eight is the Number of Abundance

August 8th was the perfect day for Oriana and Aaron to get married, for more than one reason.

“I’m a spiritual person, and the date was significant because every person in life has a life path number, and my life path number is number one, and Aaron’s is number seven. And when you add seven and one, you get eight. So I knew I wanted eight incorporated into our date, and eight is the number of abundance. That was really important.”

Beyond embracing their perfect numerology, August 8th ended up being the day that had the most beautiful weather for an outdoor Utah Salt Flats elopement on a frozen sea of salt.

“Initially, Becca was telling us that usually the temps at the salt flats were mid to high 90s in the summer. So we planned accordingly and made sure our guests were well informed of this. A week before the wedding, the temps were literally in the 100s. The whole week, I prayed and prayed that the weather would be perfect.”

“The day comes, and it’s 85 and lightly breezy. I told Becca I spent a lot of time and energy manifesting the most perfect day for us, and that is what we got! A week later, Becca texts me that the winds were up to 20 miles per hour! God works in mysterious ways, and I truly believe He was there for us that day, guiding us all along and creating something so beautiful and timeless.”

High-Fashion Getting-Ready Photos

The morning of her Utah Salt Flats elopement, after getting ready, Oriana and her photographers decided to take advantage of the stunning scenery at the Asher Adams Hotel, where they stayed during their wedding weekend.

“Becca and her second shooter, Nicole, took me to this little room in our hotel. It’s super cool and it had perfect lighting, with the yellow couch. And we basically just had fun and did a little photo shoot there, which I wasn’t expecting. I didn’t think they were going to do anything like that, but I think we were just so excited about the dress and how everything came together. I was on cloud nine.”

Take this as your sign to schedule in those must-have photo moments to capture your excitement, and of course, how amazing you look in your gown. One look at these photos and we’re sending a personal thank you note to Oriana’s photographers. It’s giving Vogue, it’s giving model, it’s giving bride-to-be in the most high-fashion way possible.

The Arch, the Moment

As Oriana was getting ready to walk down the aisle, it was Aaron’s job to set up their iconic fabric and floral black arch.

With the help of his best friend, a U-Haul truck, and a few more people, they got it set up. “We had practiced it together a few times. I’m an air conditioning technician; we used some insulation to cover the arch to put all the flowers into. It worked out perfectly.”

When Oriana began designing their Utah Salt Flats elopement, it all started with their colors, and the unique design of their arch followed.

“I knew I wanted traditional black and white, with everyone in black, so it would pop with the salt. I was trying to find arches that would pop against that white salt, too. I came across a picture of this arch that had black fabric with all white anemone flowers with a black center, and it was perfect for what I wanted.”

Salty Unity

Where do you begin when you decide to have your sweet I dos on the salty scapes of Utah? For Oriana, it was all about the elegant details and making sure they had those must-have moments, like that special second we all love when the groom locks eyes with his bride as she walks down the aisle. “We really wanted the first look to be at the altar, for sure. We wanted that to be a special moment, especially for him, to have a big surprise.”

Aaron says, “Right when we were actually in the midst of the big moment, that was my first time seeing her. I wanted to feel everything all in that moment.”

It was in that special moment that they said their vows to each other in front of their loved ones, letting everyone in on the celebration of love between the two. Oriana says, “We went back and forth on whether or not our vows would be private or public, but ultimately we wanted our family and loved ones to be able to experience and hear our profession of our love towards one another.”

They also incorporated a Chord of Three Strands Ceremony as a unity ritual; the braid with three strands represents Oriana and Aaron becoming tied together with God as their center of faith, and Oriana and Aaron braided the strands together as husband and wife in front of their guests.

Darling Details and Married Moments

But that’s not even the beginning of how they incorporated their guests into their wedding in special ways. From their personalized name tags for everyone to the unique crystal wine glass they picked out for every individual guest, no detail was missed in curating the perfect black and white Utah Salt Flats elopement we’re worshipping.

Oriana and Aaron each had memorable favorite moments from their Salt Flats wedding. Oriana was, of course, saying their vows, and unexpectedly, the moment at the end of the night when they had a moment to themselves as newlyweds.

“My favorite part was saying my vows and instantly feeling relief and a weight lifted off. That moment was like, ‘Oh my gosh, we did it, we’re here.’ And then at the very end of the day, also having another moment together, being able to walk through the hallway of our hotel and chat about how perfect the day was and how everything came together.”

“And other little moments that stood out, like the full moon with the moonrise that we saw. It was insane. The biggest full super moon you could ever think of. From that moment, to all the little confirmations that we got, they showed us that this was meant to be.”

And Aaron shared the same favorite moments. “When I turned around at the ceremony and saw her for the first time, that was probably the most insane round of emotions that came over me. And when we first got back to the hotel and we walked down the hallway; it was like we came to the hotel one way, and then we left to go out as a married couple. It was a great feeling.”

Prioritizing Peace

Their biggest priorities for their Utah Salt Flats elopement wedding day were having great photos and embracing every moment of the day, no matter what came. And we can say for sure that they accomplished both perfectly.

“A priority of ours, too, aside from the photos, was that if anything didn’t go as planned, we wanted to take it in stride. We knew this day was going to happen the way it happened, and we need to look at it as a positive because this is the day we’re going to remember. It eliminated a lot of the worry about the day.”

Oriana and Aaron’s advice to couples is to do just that. “Throughout the whole planning process, we made a decision that we wanted that day to be as stress-free as it could be. If something doesn’t go right or if something doesn’t get set up, it is okay. I promise you it will be perfect, and it will turn out beautiful, and it’ll be the best day ever.”

And of course, they couldn’t talk about their wedding without talking about how every single Utah wedding vendor went above and beyond to make their dream day come to life.

“We loved all of the vendors that came through and helped us. Everything that transpired and the timing of everything was so on point throughout the whole weekend.”

It’s no secret that we’re obsessed with every single salt and pepper detail of Oriana and Aaron’s perfect wedding day on the Salt Flats. If you’re looking for your own black and white, small wedding inspo, look no further than these two for the ultimate how-to on holy matrimony.