I’M NOT OK. Same sex couple inspiration for elopement at the Salt Flats in Utah, captured by wedding photographer Jules Wagstaff of Datura Photo.
Read MoreTop 6 Best Wedding Venues in Utah
You fell in love.
You got the ring.
You’re ready to seal the deal.
BUT WHERE?!?!
Here I list the top 6 venues to have your wedding in Utah.
And if we’re being honest, this started as a top 10 list, but honestly, these are my absolute all time faves. If you’d like more information on any of these venues, or recommendations for other venues that might be up your alley, feel free to reach out!
Holy bananas. The Wild Oak is everything you could ask for in a wedding venue. It’s modern, has the moody but also “natural” vibe. The dressing rooms are to die for and photograph so well. The bar service, the food service, I could go on and on. The Wild Oak is just perfection. You can find The Wild Oak wedding venue in Lindon, Utah, within Utah county.
2. The Foundry
Coming in 2nd place is The Foundry. Modern, chic, and just plain gorgeous. This wedding venue is located in Uintah, Utah. The Foundry is on trend with its included decor, is similar to The Wild Oak in it’s feel, with a groom’s room and a bride’s room for getting ready (a must for amazing photos).
3. The White Shanty
Located in Provo, Utah, The White Shanty is another modern and open wedding venue with plenty of natural light. It is a dream to photograph weddings here. You’ve seen the doors. You’ve wondered where this majestic place was. Well friends, it’s a happy place in a happy city, and you can have your wedding there and get your OWN photos in front of their amazing mirrored barn doors.
4. Awaken Event Center (specifically the patio terrace)
Awaken Event Center used to be known as Noah’s event center. I’m obsessed with their outdoor patio terrace, which casts gorgeous even light morning to night and makes stunning photos a breeze. The patio terrace allows you to have your wedding as well as reception in a gorgeous setting with a natural feel. I’m surprised this patio terrace isn’t talked about more. It is EVERYTHING.
5. Arches National Park
An outdoor wedding or elopement in Arches National Park in Moab? Yes please. Arches is a gorgeous place for a wedding. There are important things you need to know about getting married in Arches, such as getting a permit, leaving no trace, and what areas are allowed for a wedding. But it truly is a breathtaking place for a wedding, ranking it 6th on best wedding venues in Utah.
6. Deadhorse Point
Similar to Arches National Park in Moab, Deadhorse Point is on the border of Utah and Arizona, and has stunning scenery for your wedding or elopement. Deadhorse Point is similar to Arches— you’ll need a permit to have a wedding there, will want to make sure to leave no trace, and follow any rules the park has in place. Deadhorse Point is especially popular for elopements and ranks #1 as the best place to elope in Utah or are having a small wedding with under 25 guests.
All 6 of these venues could give you a perfectly boho wedding vibe, or a classic wedding feel, or even artistic and moody. Your decor and dress and colors will tie everything together no matter which venue you choose. The most important things for your wedding are time of day, who you choose to photograph the event, and I guess who you choose to marry is important too.
Now, these are not the only venues I’ve photographed weddings at. In fact, several of my weddings have been at specific locations that were absolutely beautiful, but just didn’t have the oomph to make it to this list. These venues will make your day the most stress free, give you incredible photos any time of year, and give you the most bang for your buck. If you’re curious about other venues I’ve loved that didn’t make it, I’m happy to share them with you. Just know if you want the best wedding photos, these take the cake.
Note that I specifically did NOT include images of these venues because I want you to check out each and every one on your own and see if it’s right for you.
And ps: If you need a photographer, I’ll be an email, text, or call away ;)
Moody Engagement Photos? Yes, Please. | Utah Wedding Photographer
THE BUTT SQUEEZE. I SIMPLY CANNOT. Ugh, This couple was such a dream to photograph. They love moody photos and needed some engagement photos to celebrate their wedding happening in 2023. So we did just that! (congrats to the happy couple on the engagement!!)
Before we get into the photos, is everyone on the same page when I say “moody photos”?
What is moody photography, anyway?
Moody photography is emotion-based, typically toned down colors but richer color palettes, not afraid of using shadow and light to evoke a more dramatic feeling, and should feel more artistic in nature. Moody photography is not bright and light and heavenly. It’s artsy, bold, and dreamy. And it is my absolute favorite style to photograph.
Does moody have to mean dark images with strong shadows in every picture? NOOOOO. (Yes, us moody photographers love playing with light and shadow and aren’t afraid of darkness), but moody doesn’t necessarily translate into “dark images”. I’ll be going over this in another post, so stay tuned for that.
Moody photographers do usually expose their images perfectly, or underexpose a bit, whereas bright and airy photographers overexpose their images a bit. How bright an image is taken will determine the final outcome and “feel”, so if you’re after something more emotional and maybe even dramatic, moody photography is for you. If you want your photos to feel light and bright and airy and exactly how things looked in real life, moody photography probably isn’t for you. If you love the dreamy things in life, find yourself watching Tim Burton movies, and consider yourself a bold or artistic person, MOODY.PHOTOGRAPHY.IS.FOR.YOU.BB.
Now that we have a better understanding as to what moody photography means, let’s enjoy this couple’s beautiful engagement photos.
The first thing this couple said to me was “we love moody, romantic, and candid photos”
What could be better?
We took these photos up the mountains in American Fork, Utah, and I feel honored to have met them and worked with them. They don’t live in Utah, but if they don’t hire me for their wedding next year, I might be a little heartbroken. They were SO fun to photograph. Also, we had TEN MINUTES for me to take their photos and I’m pretty proud of what we got in that ten minutes.
Isn’t this couple stunning? I’m still speechless.
Do you love moody photos? Cause same. I would love to work with you! You can see more of my work through my galleries www.daturaphoto.net
And if you’re looking to book AND save money on a wedding photographer for your 2023 wedding, all couples who pay their deposit by December 31st, 2022 will save BIG on their 2023 wedding photography package. Email me for more info! I can’t wait to hear more about your wedding plans! (book before my last dates are gone, inquire for availability, these deals go away January 2023)
Moody photos are more than just “looking pretty”, they make you feel things. Which is what photos are meant to do.
Are you a speechless as I am?
Til next time,
Jules
What to Wear for Outdoor Christmas Photos
So you have outdoor holiday photos coming up and you’re planning outfits.
There are some VERY important things to keep in mind, especially if you’ll have kiddos with you in the photos. Even kids who are generally well-tempered and even-keeled can get a little crazy on picture day. It’s just the way it is. Add cold weather to your session and things could get really crazy. So it’s important that you prepare as if everything will go badly, (and I only say that because I want these photos to turn out AWESOME for every single person who books them, and I’ve had a little practice photographing kids).
!!! Before browsing outfit ideas, make sure you read ALL of the tips in this post. They will help. I promise !!!
1. FOOT AND HAND WARMERS ARE ESSENTIAL
Before you plan anything else, I want you to make sure you get hand warmers and toe warmers. When you are in the car on your way to the session, break open the hand and toe warmers and make sure they go under your kiddos socks. The easiest way to make someone warmer or colder is through the feet, so instead of layering 10 pairs of socks, choose a pair of thin socks to put under a pair of THICK socks, and insert foot or toe warmer on the bottom of the THICK sock to prevent burning their feet. This will keep your kids feeling warmer longer. You can also get a tank top with a built-in shelf bra or a child’s sports bra and put one warmer in the front and one in the back. You can use these on boys and girls. No one will see it in the photos, but they will be kept happy from the warmth.
The body warmers are better than the hand warmers but do take longer to heat up.
I will have hand and toe warmers for everyone at my Christmas mini shoots, but keep in mind they take time to get warm. If you don’t have any of your own, make sure you arrive 10 minutes early and have ONE adult from your family come check-in and get warmers for the kiddos. That leads me to my next tip.
2. Stay in your car with the heater on until we’re ready for you
When you arrive at the photo location, keep the kids in your car with the heater on until we are ready for you. We will need one adult to get checked in at least 5 minutes before your scheduled appointment time, and you’ll want to keep everyone else in the car to minimize time spent in the cold. With that in mind, I want to spend your entire appointment photographing a variety of images, so please be ready to go. Picture day is stressful, so I tell everyone to PLAN to be ready 1-2 hours before the actual time. This way, you’re bound to be on time AND you should get time to decompress and breathe before the photoshoot instead of rushing out the door with 5 kids screaming and an angry husband and your makeup not finished.
3. Dress in layers!!!
Especially the kids. Make sure everyone has on at least 2 shirts and a pair of either thick tights, leggings, or long underwear on under their pants. And bring all the winter essentials, in case kids are extra cold. Don’t worry, winter coats, hats, and gloves are SO cute in outdoor photos and will not ruin the look. Like I said, plan for the worst, and your session will go great. I don’t say this to make you nervous or think you won’t get good photos, you ABSOLUTELY WILL. Read the next tip for more on this.
4. Photos never go 100% as planned & try not to get stressed out by that
Sometimes things will go exactly as planned for photos, but let’s be real, usually not. It doesn’t mean those photos won’t be amazing! They will. But think about it like this. Do you ever think a kid will react a certain way to a gift you got them and they don’t? Like.. not even close? But the stick their brother found outside is the coolest thing they’ve ever seen? Photos with kids are kind of like that. You have this awesome vision in mind and can see your kids acting a certain way in your head, but when photos start, suddenly your kid is acting differently than what you imagined. That’s ok. That’s Normal.
Think of your photos as an experience. Or a movie. And I’m simply pausing the experience or the movie to savor the emotions. Your photos will look less stiff and you’ll appear more like yourselves.
Remember that every kid is different, and every kid has a different part of their personality come out during photos. They might get shy, excited, scared, hyper, energetic, or sad. I’ve trained a lot of photographers to photograph kids, and this is normal. It’s always a big hurdle for photographers, as most lose their confidence when they start photographing -real- kids, because everything is harder than they expected. Kids don’t listen, or aren’t interested, or want to play with toys instead— even if you practiced smiling with them for weeks. But I promise, it is normal. If your kid poses and smiles perfectly for every photo, they are a rarity and you could make bank getting them into modeling 😂 All this to say, if you go with the flow and let me work some magic (even in the moments you think no magic is happening), I promise we will create something AWESOME.
I know you’re not after the sad faces or scared faces. You want the happy child who makes you smile. But if they’re not giving that right off the bat, try not to stress out, they feel your stress and will only act worse. Stay calm. They feed off of your energy. And remember, child brains work differently than adult brains. They need fun and silly and hate being told what to do. They are easily distracted by funny things and funny memories. So if you have a story they always laugh about, instead of telling them “Johnny, you better smile!” think of a funny memory and see if they laugh when they remember. I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve I’ll use with them too.
And I have no problem letting the kids be in charge (don’t worry, I’m really the one in charge, they just need to feel like they are) and you will end up with the cutest photos. If you’re worried about me making them boss— don’t! It’s a great tactic and kids LOVE being in charge.
5. Bring snacks but DON’T tell the kids you have them. These should be a last resort option only.
Once we bring them out, it’s all your kid will be thinking about, and it could make things worse. I’m all about bribery, but it has to be used right to be effective. And non-messy snacks are best. I like using sour patch kids or something small that won’t get them messy or be too distracting if they’re eating it in a picture. And it’s best to rip off a little piece at a time. Sometimes a little sugar turns kids into happy free-spirited humans in photos, and sometimes it makes them hyperactive monsters who just run faster from the camera. So wait until it’s absolutely necessary!
6. HAVE FUN!!! And put your trust in me!!!
Truly, I don’t want you to feel nervous. I do want you to have realistic expectations of how your kids may act. That does not mean we won’t get great photos! You will love them & I cannot WAIT to create them with you!!
Now for some holiday photo ideas:
Holiday Photo Outfit Inspiration
-Dress in layers. (don’t forget hand, body, and toe warmers!! Make sure socks are thick.)
-Pops of RED look amazing for holiday photos
-Don’t forget to fill out the client form ;)
-You can’t go wrong with Christmas pajamas
-Here are some general ideas that will also keep everyone warm!
If you haven’t done so already,
be sure to fill out a client form so I can better plan your session.
This helps me know how many people I’ll be photographing, who will be Santa, and have a game plan for your session. You can find the form here
Thanks! I can’t wait to create holiday memories with you!
More outfit ideas for Christmas photos with Santa:
For more tips on choosing the right outfit, you can see my post on fall outfits, which has tips to style and flatter your specific body type. You can see that post here
Family Session at Saltair (one I will NEVER forget)
Guys. This session. This family session at Saltair is one I will never forget. It was a gorgeous day, and was the 3rd time we had rescheduled due to extreme rain (thanks utah unpredictable weather and unreliable forecasts!). As you can see in the photos, the sky was stunning, nobody was too cold, and every person in their family looked stunning.
The session was going great! We were getting posed photos, candid more “lifestyle” photos, and capturing the landscape behind them. We both felt so lucky the day had worked in our favor.
We had some normal “mishaps” (if you can call them that), like the toddler being hyper and running around— all to be expected! Baby getting hungry and sad and needing a bottle— it happens! Babies and kids will never act the way you want them to for photos, that’s just the universe saying hey. But then at the end of the session, a huge mishap occurred that was 100% out of our control.
Right at the end of our session, a microburst storm swept in, with strong thunder, lightning, wind, and rain. It was unlike any storm I’ve been in, probably because of all the open space and water from the saltair lake. It literally hit as we were walking back to our cars to head home. Lighting so bright it lit up the whole sky for a few seconds. Thunder so strong we could feel it with our feet. We said goodbye and I drove off after chatting with my friend and client.
As I’m driving away, I hear a huge thunder boom and see epic lightning and suddenly thought something had crashed into me. I stopped and no one was in back of me and I wasn’t near anything I could’ve crashed into. I’m thinking, this doesn’t feel right, something is wrong. A car honks at me as I’m sitting there and I tell them to go around. I continue driving toward the freeway and notice my car is shaking and I’m feeling way too much air. I stop again on the side of the freeway entrance, I look to the back windshield and realize.. it’s not there. My car is still shaking and now I’m shaking too. I felt so vulnerable in the storm, it felt like a hurricane or something utah would never have, i had no idea what to do. I try to get out of my car to look at it and I’m being blown away by the combination of wind and rain. My back windshield had shattered everywhere into tiny pieces from the thunder boom. I had expensive gear and had to move everything to the front, but I was so scared out of my car, I felt like I could be swept up and carried to the next city over, it was incredibly strong.
Gorgeous Saltair with blue skies, before the storm
I tried calling my husband— service was suddenly unavailable. I tried 3 times and nothing. I called my friend/client and luckily it went through to her! I told her my back windshield had shattered and I didn’t know what to do. I felt like crying but I didn’t let my fear show, I’m not sure why, I just remember I wasn’t crying or shaking with my clients, but when I finally reached my husband I started sobbing.
My client drove up behind me and needed to stay with her kids in the car but her husband helped me. He doesn’t speak much English and I don’t speak much Spanish, but we managed to work together to figure out a plan. They drove in back of me through the storm and until they knew I had exited the freeway safely. The poor visibility/bad hurricane-like storm lasted 20 or so minutes, and then the rest of the way was stormy, but manageable. My clients and I made sure each of us made it home safely. I am so grateful for them, I have never felt so vulnerable and scared going home from a session, but they helped me get through it. If I hadn’t reached out to them I would’ve been in panic mode all alone, unable to reach anyone, and thought I would be sleeping in my car in the middle of nowhere until I had service.
I had a lot of fun joking with my husband about my windshield the next day. Excuse my (or rather, my CAR’S) inappropriate texts, LOL, there was too much to joke around about, and when I’m traumatized I need HUMOR.
Unfortunately, I didn’t think to take pictures right when everything was occurring. I just wanted to get out of there. So any pictures I have are after most of the glass had been cleaned up. But here is some aftermath:
And there you have an eventful night that produced some beautiful photos for my client (and dear friend) and her family. I’d like to dedicate this post to Utah’s weather prediction system. You’re always there for us ;)
I’d love to hear other people’s crazy weather stories! Especially at or on their way to/from a photo session or some other event.
Til next time,
Jules
Did you know this is what could happen in a thunder boom? I had never thought of the possibility.