March 2024: The Busiest Month Emily Dawn Photo Has Ever Had

It’s April 1, 2024, which means we’ve wrapped up yet another Spring Break season! Living in a tourist destination, holidays like Spring Break are always extra busy for weddings and photoshoots. The majority of my couples are visiting Southern Utah from out of state and want photos while they’re visiting, or they have to plan their wedding around a time that they and their guests can easily travel. Hence the spring break wedding and photoshoot rush.

I thought it would be fun to walk you guys through what this past month looked like for me and give you a glimpse into my life as a wedding photographer located near Zion National Park.

Christine and Ricky’s Wedding Weekend

Christine and Ricky booked my largest wedding package, which includes 3 separate days of wedding coverage. They were visiting Zion National Park from Florida for their destination wedding with 110 guests. They rented out 3 different Airbnb homes for the event.

We kicked off the weekend with a rehearsal dinner. The guests had drinks and ate food while Christine and Ricky had a grand entrance and took pics with everyone. I spent the evening capturing candids and various group photos.

The next day was wedding day. It was an 11 hour event for me, the photographer. I brought along my second shooter/assistant and we captured everything from getting ready photos, to the ceremony and group photos, to the dinner and reception, and finally to the after party. Every detail was so perfectly planned and all the guests had a great time breaking it down on the dance floor.

The next day, I ventured into Zion National Park with Christine and Ricky for the bride and groom photos at the Canyon Overlook. It’s a 1 mile hike round trip. We were blessed with incredible lighting and we walked away with some amazing shots. These two are amazing in front of the camera! And can we talk about her dress?!

Triple Header Wedding Weekend

The following weekend, I had 3 elopements 3 days in a row with a sunrise session mixed in there too.

The first elopement of the weekend was Macy and David in Kolob Canyons, the Northeastern part of Zion National Park. None of us expected it to be so cold, but we were all caught off guard by the wind and snow. Yes, snow in March. This is pretty rare for Southern Utah, but the higher elevation of Kolob Canyons makes this weather a little more likely.

Regardless of the cold, we had an amazing intimate ceremony. Then we proceeded to take bride and groom photos of Macy and David throughout Kolob Canyons.

The next day, I drove down to Vegas (less than 2 hours from St. George) for an after-dark elopement on the Strip. Bri and Cody and traveled to Vegas to elope just the 2 of them. It was super special and intimate and stress-free. We had plenty of time for detail photos and photos outside of the wedding chapel before the ceremony. They were staying at the Flamingo and got married at the Little White Wedding Chapel. All of the photos were taken with flash, which I’m obsessed with. Bri really wanted that classic Vegas vibe, so they also added on a roll of film. We ventured to the Vegas sign and ended the night with a sexy shot in the elevator. I love shooting Las Vegas elopements!

The next morning, I had a couples session in Snow Canyon State Park. Addie and Ryan had also come to visit Southern Utah and wanted some pics on their trip. We explored this slot canyon together and they were great in front of the camera.

I immediately went from that session into Zion National Park for another elopement. Abigail and Samual were visiting from Alaska and had come to Southern Utah for their destination elopement. We met up at the visitor’s center and took the shuttle to the Temple of Sinawava for this riverside ceremony. It was the most stunning backdrop!

A Week of Sessions and Elopements

The following week consisted of 3 more sessions and 2 more elopements. I shot this senior session at Sand Hollow State Park. The lighting looked amazing and made the red rocks glow. We took some pics with Nick’s cap and gown and necklace with his jersey number.

The next morning, I photographed a surprise proposal at sunrise on the outskirts of Zion National Park. Eric had found me on tik tok from another proposal that I had shared. I brought my second shooter along and we hid in the bushes waiting for Eric and Diana to appear. We captured the moment and she was so surprised!

Next up was Allison and Chris’s bridal session in Zion National Park. Allison and Chris had also booked my largest wedding package. She wanted to use one of the days for an adventure session in the park.

The next day, I drove to Page, Arizona for Ally and Ashley’s intimate elopement at Horseshoe Bend. They are both very private people, so they only brought 3 guests along. It was a warm day and the lighting was incredible. We ended the day with an intimate dinner in Orderville, UT with a private chef. I ended up staying late just chatting with them and their guests because we were having such good conversations.

The next day was Allison and Chris’s elopement in Snow Canyon State Park. We started the morning off with some details at the Airbnb. Then we headed into the park for the ceremony. The rain let up just in time for them to get married. Allison really wanted artsy and creative shots. We went to a few different spots throughout the park for their bridal photos. We ended the night back at the Airbnb where we had tacos and they jumped in the pool. I’m meeting up with them in Baltimore in 2 weeks for their hometown reception!

Wrapping Up the Month

The following Monday I had two family sessions back to back on the outskirts of Zion National Park. The Kingstrom’s and Bohm’s were visiting for Spring Break and wanted some pics of their families on the trip. I took them to a pretty place with Zion views in the distance.

And that wraps up my busiest month ever! 6 weddings/elopements and 8 other sessions. It was so much fun and was the perfect kick off for 2024’s busy season.

If any of these sessions or elopements inspired you for your wedding or engagement, reach out to me here. I’d love to be your photographer and I have tons of experience in Southern Utah and Las Vegas weddings and elopements. I can help your vision come to life and take you to some incredible locations!