Why They Chose to have a Micro-Wedding in a National Park:

Jackie and Josh chose to invest their money into what matters most to them, and that didn’t include food and drinks for 200 people. They’ve always loved nature and traveling with friends and family, and it was very important to them that they have quiet sweet moments alone together during their day, so an adventure wedding was the perfect fit for them!

We hopped on a call together and it was the perfect fit! Their desire for an intimate wedding experience with their closest loved ones out in nature made an adventure wedding like this so perfect for them.

Glacier Point was the ideal location for their vision: they wanted their loved ones to witness their marriage with Half Dome as the backdrop, all while ensuring older family members would have seating. The park had everything they needed.

Checkout our Glacier Point Wedding Guide to learn how to plan your own wedding at this spot!

How We Helped Bring Their Vision to Life: Location, Permit, Timeline

From our very first planning call, Jackie and Josh knew they wanted those quiet, intimate moments together while also celebrating with their loved ones. We loved their vision and started elopement planning with them to make that dream a reality!

Finding Their Wedding Locations:

Using our experience helping couples plan micro-weddings, we helped them narrow it down to:

• Glacier Point Amphitheater for their ceremony, one of the few locations in the park that can accommodate larger groups with built-in seating for their older family members (we recommend a max of 30 guests which is around what Jackie & Josh had) and you can’t beat that iconic Half Dome view.
• A secret spot we knew about for their private vow exchange and intimate portraits away from the crowds.
• Their Airbnb for getting ready with family and hosting their reception with loved ones.

Helping Them Get Their Permit:

A Special Use Permit is required for almost any National Park ceremony. The application process requires sending documents to the park service multiple times, so we walked Jackie and Josh through each step to make it as smooth as possible. Our biggest tip? Apply early, the earlier the better to ensure everything is approved in time.

Making Them a Peace-Filled Timeline:

Glacier Point is one of the the park’s most spectacular locations, and it requires careful timeline planning. The drive up to Glacier takes over an hour from most park entrances and the valley, so we built their schedule to account for this drive time. Staying close to the park makes a big difference when it comes to making the best use of your time, but whenever driving is needed: a wedding road-trip is always a vibe!

Following Leave No Trace:

We always make sure to keep Leave No Trace principles in mind when helping couple’s plan their elopements. As one of the most popular National Parks in the country, preserving Yosemite’s beauty for future generations is something we take seriously!

Their Elopement Day: Half Dome Views and a Happy Accident

Getting Ready & Family First Looks

Thanks to all the planning, their elopement was absolutely beautiful. They started getting ready at their huge Airbnb with all of their family. After getting ready with their friends, they each had first looks with their own families. These were incredibly emotional and we tucked ourselves into the corner to photograph everyone’s reactions, it was hard for us to photograph without tearing up ourselves! Then came their first look with each other, just as beautiful and tear-filled as the family moments.

Ceremony at Glacier Amphitheater

We all drove up to Glacier for their ceremony. While everyone got set up, we grabbed some group pictures of the bridal parties and took Jackie and Josh off to one of our secret spots for a private moment together before their ceremony. These quiet minutes before saying “I do” are so important, and we made sure they had that time.

Then came the ceremony: with their small group of loved ones watching and the beautiful Yosemite Valley and majestic Half Dome in the background, they held a touching ceremony including all of the guests singing a worship song in Spanish with them. Micah backed up to capture wide shots of the ceremony with Half Dome in the background while Sammie captured closer shots of Jackie and Josh’s emotions. For the first kiss, we made sure to prepare ahead of time to get the perfect shot of the couple kissing with lots of guests cheering in the foreground, pure joy!

Unexpected Private Vows

Here’s where something beautiful and unexpected happened: they accidentally forgot their personal vows in their car, so they simply said the traditional vows for their ceremony. This turned into a hidden gift because it gave them exactly that quiet sweet moment they’d wanted! After exploring the area, they were able to have an incredibly intimate and emotional moment exchanging private vows with each other. We used longer lenses like an 85mm to capture close-up shots of their tear-filled vow exchange while still giving them the privacy they needed.

The Epic Merced River Jump

After lots of tears and hugs, they drove back to their Airbnb where their family had prepared their reception. They ate food and enjoyed many family members giving heartfelt speeches about their love, all underneath a beautiful canopy of lights complete with chandeliers! We used low aperture lenses like our 35mm f/1.4 to photograph the low light of their reception.

Jackie and Josh’s day perfectly captures what adventure weddings are all about: starting your marriage in nature, sharing quiet moments, spending time with your closest loved ones, and having every moment documented so you can remember it forever.

Checkout our full Yosemite National Park Elopement Guide for more info on how to plan!

Thinking about eloping? Let’s make it 100% YOU.

Photos From Their Amazing Micro-Wedding:

Want to start planning your elopement or micro-wedding?