Northwest Wyoming is home to the one and only, Yellowstone National Park! Possibly most unique place a couple could choose to elope. After getting engaged on the shores of Yellowstone Lake, Jaime and Cody decided it would be the perfect place for their intimate National Park wedding. They invited their family and closest friends to come celebrate with them, and celebrate they did!
Because I’m an elopement planner in addition to being a photographer, I helped these two plan their entire day. They knew they wanted to see as much of Yellowstone as they could, and we narrowed it down to Norris Geyser Basin, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and Lake Yellowstone. One of the toughest parts was deciding where to hold their wedding ceremony since there are so many beautiful ceremony locations in the park. But in the end, they decided on the Bridge Bay Visitors Center beach for a sunset ceremony.
National Park Wedding Vendors
- Venue – Yellowstone National Park
- Photography & Planning – Tiana Olivia Photography
- Jaime’s Dress –Vera’s House of Bridals
- Cody’s Suit – Indochino
- Cody’s Accessories – Fossil Watch, Dazi bowtie and pocket square. DiAmore wedding band.
- Florals – Sola-Flowers
The First Look in Norris Geyser Basin
Jaime and Cody stayed with their family and friends at an Airbnb in Island Park and we met up at Norris Geyser Basin in the afternoon for their first looks with Jaime and her dad, then with Cody. There were a lot of people around, but we found a quite corner for them to share this special moment.
After that, it was time to start exploring the basin!
Exploring the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Our next stop was Artists Point to hike and take in the epic Lower Falls. By the time we arrived, a storm was rolling in. But we pulled out the rain ponchos, a few umbrellas, and waited it out. The good thing about summer storms in the mountains is that they typically don’t last very long, which was the case for us.
We waited under the trees for the rain to let up enough to continue exploring. When I’m creating timelines for my couples, I always include extra time for situations like this. Because I want the day to run smoothly, and in the mountains, sometimes things happen.
I will say, the stormy weather drove away a lot of the crowds for a little while, which made taking pictures at this typically crowded area super easy!
Hiking along the Point Sublime Trail
Right next to Artists Point is the trailhead for the Point Sublime trail, a 2.6 mile round trip hike along the rim of the canyon. We only ended up hiking a small portion of it, but it’s a beautiful trail and well worth exploring!
We got lucky and even caught a perfect view of a rainbow in the canyon! Definitely a highlight of the day!
Golden Hour Bridals
Our final stop for the day was the Fishing Bridge Visitors Center where Jaime and Cody chose to hold their wedding ceremony. Once again, as soon as we parked, another storm rolled in. This time with rain, wind, and hail! We grabbed some dinner and hopped into their two vans until the storm passed, which did in about twenty minutes. Before we knew it, there were clear skies and we even had a beautiful sunset that night!
As we headed around the corner of the visitors center to get to the beach, we found several fallen lodgepole pine trees. One of the rangers told us it had fallen over in the storm just a few minutes before!
Before we set up for the ceremony, we took advantage of the sunshine and took some beautiful golden hour bridals and family portraits.
Jaime and Cody had some really special details, like the park name and date embroidered onto the inside of Cody’s jacket.
Sunset Wedding Ceremony on Yellowstone lake
Jaime and Cody had their loved ones create a virtual “aisle” and as soon as both of them had walked down, they came together and formed a circle around them. I thought this was such a sweet way to include everyone.
For their ceremony, they had their family and friends share speeches and then they exchanged their vows. It was the most perfect ceremony. There was so much love and it was so sweet to see everyone come around to share their support and love for the two of them!
Blue Hour Bridals
After a quick celebration with champagne, we took a few last portraits as the sun finished setting and we fell into blue hour. This is always one of my favorite parts of the day because the lighting is moody and perfect, everyone is relaxed, and I get to get really creative with my shots.
A National Park wedding is such a great way to have a unique, intimate, and meaningful elopement. There are so many different ways you can include your family, bring them along like Jaime and Cody did, or celebrate with them afterwards back home. Either way, what’s important is that this day is intentionally celebrated.
If you’d like to learn more about planning a wedding in Yellowstone National Park, check out my full guide!
Happy eloping!
