Starry Sedona Elopement

This starry Sedona elopement was pretty unique, because these two were already married. To make things easier, they decided to get married at a courthouse in Ohio and came to Arizona to capture some adventure images, since they didn’t get any photos of their “actual” wedding.

Getting Ready

Christopher Bullock came up to Sedona and did Andrea’s hair and makeup while Seth relaxed at their Airbnb just outside of town.

Many brides I work with have never had their hair and makeup professionally done. The biggest concern I’ve heard is that they worry they won’t look like themselves on their wedding day. Chris is a MAGICIAN because he enhances a beauty without changing how you look. He also makes every bride feel comfortable during the entire process.

Driving Up Schnebly Hill

To get starry photos on your elopement, you need to be somewhere pretty dark. Sedona is a great place to capture star photos because of the Dark Sky Mandate. The city doesn’t allow too many lights, which means the light pollution doesn’t get in the way of photos.

I like driving further into the mountains to get to the even darker skies.

I always warn couples: this road is GNARLY. Schnebly Hill is one of my favorite spots to take my elopement couples because the crowds are a lot thinner, but getting there is tough. You need a high-clearance 4×4 vehicle. It’s not difficult, just extremely bumpy. But worth every bump for the incredible views.

The View

Sedona snows through March most years. This mid-February elopement was very chilly. Schnebly Hill takes you higher up into the mountains, so it stays a few degrees cooler than the valley of Sedona. Snow stuck to the mountains, and a biting wind made this a very cold evening.

How They Met

Seth and Andrea met when they were teenagers at the horse boarding stable. They dated for a few years, but then broke up. Eighteen years and a lot of life experience later, Andrea’s mom passed away suddenly. Seth reached out to offer condolences, and the conversation never ended.

“It was strange because even though we had spent so much time apart, we discovered that our experiences had similarities and we had traveled in similar circles. It was through this reconnection that we realized how right we truly were for each other after all these years. Seth was living 5 states away at the time, and due to all of the crazy events in the world, he had the opportunity to move back home and rekindle our high school romance.”

Dressing on a Cliffside

Because it was so cold, Seth and Andrea drove up in regular clothes and decided to change into their wedding attire at the viewpoint.

There are plenty of bushes to change behind at this location. It’s up to the couples if they want to drive up that road in their wedding clothes, or change at the rock.

Because it was so cold, Andrea wore thick leggings under her wedding dress. I highly recommend that both brides and grooms wear as many layers as possible if they want to get married during the winter. Boots, leggings, gloves, thick socks, and good jackets will make all the difference. You don’t want to be miserable!

Even though Sedona is a desert, it gets colder than a lot of people think.

Couples Photos

Because this was non-traditional, Andrea and Seth didn’t hold a ceremony or read vows. We started with the couples photos, enjoying the already glowing sunset.

How Seth Proposed

“One day, Seth came home from a trip and asked me if I wanted to go for a walk (at a local nature preserve that we frequent. After months of showing him ugly engagement rings on Reddit (hint hint), he still had not proposed. I was quite surprised to find that he rapidly dropped to one knee. Even though it was a very brisk and gray day, I agreed. I knew that something seemed a little off. Seth threw me off when he fake-proposed to me with a Sour Cherry Ring Pop. He is always messing with me, so I took it in stride. But as we kept walking, he showed a sign of remorse at the prank and told me he was sorry- that was strange to me. He seemed a little more concerned with how I took this joke than any others in the past. A few minutes later, we made it to the top of a gigantic, manmade overlook that has a 30 mile view across the central Ohio valley. He shared some sweet words with me, dropped to one knee and presented the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. I said ‘yes’.”

Dinner before the Star Photos

We were already pretty cold, and after the sun went down, the temperature dropped drastically. But we put on our headlamps and warm layers, waiting for the stars to appear.

The stars don’t come out until later, so we decided to make a meal together after the sun went down.

As we waited to take starry photos, we brought out the Coleman Stove. Andrea and Seth wanted to enjoy some food as we watched the last rays of the sunset, so we packed some hot dogs and had a nice meal as we watched the Sedona stars come out.

Starry Night Photos

We stayed out late enough to catch the stars. It was absolutely freezing, so I would have loved to stay out longer, but we were all ready to be back in the warm truck. I loved how the images we got turned out!

Astrophotography is one of my favorite ways to use a camera. If you want to capture the stars during your elopement, let’s plan it out!

You can contact me HERE

Hair and Makeup Artist: Christopher Bullock