Nicole and Sydney decided to celebrate Earth Day in the most incredible way possible – having a 2 day camping elopement in the Mojave National Preserve and exploring dormant volcanos. The Mojave Desert is one of my favorite places so I was so excited when Sydney and Nicole jumped at the location.
In my opinion, the Mojave Desert is like Joshua Tree National park but a million times better. You have complete solitude even in peak months. There’s miles of hiking trails and 4×4 roads and the landscapes vary vastly. You can find everything from looming dark brown dormant volcanoes to pitch black fields of lava flows. There’s massive boulders to climb around on, funky yucca and Joshua Trees, and even sand dunes to go sand boarding down!
Day 1 of this Mojave Desert Elopement
We started the morning early and met at a pull off at the start of a 4×4 off road trail that led us deep into a basin surrounded by dormant volcanoes and lava flows. We found a small alcove with towering walls made of black lava rock that was peppered with blooming wildflowers and grasses. There we set up camp and then had breakfast before Sydney and Nicole began to get ready in their tent for the day.
We hopped into the car and started our 3 mile drive back to the paved road where we then set out to explore lava tubes and dormant volcanoes. The road to reach the lava tubes was washboarded out – this meant that the road was so violently bumpy that we had to travel at a very slow 7 mph for 3 miles to reach our destination, which took longer than we planned for. We missed the lighting we were hoping for but had the entire place to ourselves.
Once we arrived at the trail head, we started towards the entrance to the lava tubes. It was a pretty short hike to reach and explore the tubes but it’s certainly an adventure. To get into the lava tubes, you have to climb down a latter then crawl through a small opening just above the floor. The temperature in the tubes drop considerably which was a nice reprieve from the scorching desert sun. When you finish crawling, you look up and see a dark “room” open up with light beaming through two holes at the top of the tube.
We spent some time enjoying and exploring the rest of the tube before we took some photos and began our hike out to explore fields of lava flows and yucca trees.
The landscape looks like what I imagine spring time on Mars would look like. Dormant volcanoes stand alone in a sea of black and brown rocks with shimmering grasses and flowers. On the horizon you can see layers of clay hills that have just a slight tint of orange, red, and green from different minerals.
We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering over lava flows and through Yucca trees. Nicole and Sydney had the entire day with no set schedule. There was no rushing or stressing. They got to spend the entire day completely at peace and soaking in every moment and detail. We finished up our exploring and went back to camp for the night.
Mojave Desert Elopement Ceremony at Blue Hour
Once we arrived at the camp, I got a fire going and we spent an hour relaxing and snacking before we climbed to the top of the lava rock that surrounded our camp for Nicole and Sydney’s ceremony and blue hour photos. At the top of the rocks, we were greeted by a single majestic boulder and the base of the boulder was a small field of orange flowers. Once the sun started to set, the night greeted us with an absolutely breathtaking sunset. Sydney and Nicole said “I do” surrounded by wildflowers and a view of volcanoes cutting through an absolutely perfect desert sunset.
They finished their ceremony and took a few moments to watch the sun completely dip behind the mountains for the night. We scrambled back down to our campsite under a black sky littered with bright, shining stars as far as the eye could see. Then we finished up our day with spaghetti by the fire and astro photos. We walked into the middle of the basin and admired the sky before turning in for bed.
The next morning we finished, packed up, and started our drive home!
It was the best way to honor our planet on Earth Day. Nicole and Sydney spent their elopement day in complete solitude, being fully present in each and every moment.
Wanting to Plan your Desert Elopement in the Mojave Desert?
Whether you are wanting to capture you are wanting to plan a desert elopement in Mojave or a forest elopement in the Redwoods, I’m your girl! From providing vendor recommendations to location ideas to just being someone you can rely on in stressful situations, I want to help. I not only consider myself an elopement and couples photographer, but also a wedding planner for all of my amazing clients.
Hey, I’m Gabbi!
I’m a wedding & elopement photographer based in Northern California. I’m a lover of the outdoors and spend most of my time with my husband and our 4 dogs camping, rock climbing, hiking, and enjoying nature!
Elopements hold a special place in my heart. They throw out the rule book on tradition and allow you the complete freedom to do what you really want to do on the biggest day of your lives!
Whatever your elopement day looks like, I can’t wait to help create the most intentional and authentic day that is perfectly and uniquely you.
I’m here to help you through the entire process of planning your elopement from start to finish. I’ll help you with everything from choosing a perfect location to creating your Day Of schedule to officiating and of course, photography!
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