Wedding Date on Sep 9, 2019

1) How was it to prepare for this desert elopement? Preparing for our adventure elopement was so exciting. We turned it into a road trip across Texas and New Mexico. We selected some fun cities and state and national parks to visit along the way. We chose our date and vendors, charted our course, picked out some clothes, and hit the road! 2) What are your top tips for brides and grooms when getting ready for an event such as this? 1) If you’re looking to elope somewhere remote, understand that it requires some planning, but not nearly as much as a traditional wedding. Know that this type of wedding does not favor those who try to control every detail or plan for every outcome and is best experienced by fully embracing the adventure and whatever comes with it—rain, shine, and everything in between. No matter what happens, it will be one of the most memorable days of your life. 2) If you’re interested in that kind of wedding, find vendors that have some experience with what you’re wanting to do and have the same creative style as you and your fiancé. Once you secure them, trust in their talent. Be open to their ideas. Work with them to figure out the plan, give input when they ask for it, but ultimately trust their expertise. Don’t over plan, go with the flow, focus your energy on the few details you need to, and above all else, enjoy the ride. 3) If you’re nervous about what family and friends will think about your decision to elope, the best thing you can do is to let them know beforehand, ideally when you tell them you’re getting married. If those closest to you know it’s your intention from the start, they’ll be much more understanding and less likely to feel left out after the fact. It may not be the easiest discussion to have, but a little honesty up front goes a long way and you can fully enjoy your big day without any difficult or awkward discussions looming over you. Your friends and family may also offer to help you plan or prepare. That way you and those close to you can still feel like they were a part of your big day. 3) What planning was involved and what was the planning process like? We were fortunate to have some talented and dedicated vendors who brought some amazing ideas to the table and turned everything into a cohesive plan for us. They made it easy for us to just show up and enjoy our time with each other in an incredible place. Our coordinator in chief, Desert Harbor’s Raymond Linam, actually suggested White Sands to us. The first time we talked over the phone we knew it’d be a great fit. He had a cool vision and we were down for anything he had planned. He also recommended other vendors that he had worked with, so everyone from our photographers to hair and makeup were down for the adventure and even stayed to camp overnight. 4) What was your favorite part of the experience? Our favorite part of the day was the ceremony itself. We didn’t have a venue schedule to stick to, people to coordinate, or props to account for, so our photographers and coordinator were able to pick an ideal ceremony spot on the fly and catch the perfect light. Standing on the vast, sweeping dunes at sunset and promising forever to each other was so romantic, intimate and felt uniquely like us. 5) Anything else you would like us to know about your experience during this session. It’s a universal truth that at least one thing will not go exactly right on your wedding day. The same is true for elopements. Despite all the planning that went into our adventure elopement, there were still a few tiny hiccups along the way. We left our marriage license in the car, the canoe we used for getting our things out to our camping spot got a flat tire (yes, a flat tire), we brought an extra change of clothes for some photos we didn’t end up taking, but all of those small things that maybe didn’t go 100% according to plan became part of the amazing story of our big, incredible day, and there’s not a single thing I would have changed. DAY OF EXPERIENCE: • We got married on a Monday and stayed in Las Cruces the weekend before. We explored the city over the weekend but that also allowed us to apply for our marriage certificate first thing on our wedding day. Pro tip: triple check all your documentation if you’re going this route. It would throw a huge wrench into the plan if you found out you were missing something. • After we went to the clerk’s office, we headed to a little Mexican café for a really delicious breakfast. • We went back to our AirB&B hacienda to get ready to head out and packed our bags for our big day. • We left around 11:00 am for White Sands, about 45 minutes away. We met up with everyone around noon and discussed the plan for the day. • From about 12:30-2:00 we started setting up our camp. Raymond added wheels to a canoe so we were able to load our clothes, camping gear, shade shelter and everything else we needed for the overnight stay into the canoe, which we then pushed over the dunes to our camping spots. The canoe got a flat on one of the trips, which meant after that all the remaining gear had to be carried in by hand over a quarter mile hike in the heat. Luckily, that’s about the time I got a break to try my hand at cartwheels on the dunes and then had my hair and makeup done. I chatted with Genica Lee, HMUA extraordinaire, about why we decided to elope and all the things I love about Kevin. • Kevin helped with getting things set up and then came to keep me company for a while I had my hair and make up done. • After that, we both changed into our wedding clothes and finished getting ready. Despite being together all day, we still managed to have an authentic first look when we were both fully ready. • We took some photos on the dunes and played a game of croquet to relax and unwind a bit before the ceremony. • Soon after that, the light was perfect and we started the ceremony on the quiet, pearly dunes, with the sun sinking slowly on the horizon. Our coordinator Raymond was also our officiant. • We took a few more pictures after the ceremony ended. When we walked down one of the dunes we stumbled upon a romantic candlelit table for two that Raymond had prepared for us. We toasted each other and Raymond cooked up a delicious Mediterranean dinner for us as the light faded. • After dinner, we all played a game of light up Bocce on the dunes, which was a great way for us to all have fun together. • We had our first dance after that surrounded by lanterns and tiki torches, and retired to our tent for the evening. • The next day we were greeted with breakfast and both got Thai massages before getting ready to leave White Sands. • We did a little dune sledding on the way out and crossed the T’s on our license before we left the park.