We are Abbi and Andy, an adventure elopement photography duo based in both Utah and Southwest Colorado with over 20 years of combined wedding photography experience. We fell in love together in the deserts of Southern Utah; there’s something about the giant monoliths of rock, the sinuous lines and textures on the sandstone walls, and the mystical way the last rays of light shine upon the landscape that we just kept getting drawn back to. We created this Moab elopement guide to walk you through everything you need to know to plan your wedding in this gorgeous area, and to make eloping in Moab as easy as possible for you.

You’re here because you love the views and the feelings of the desert, and you are looking for a badass place to elope. Moab, Utah, is one of the most beautiful environments that you could choose to get married in, and we commend you for even considering eloping in Utah. The desert palette is beautiful everywhere you look and the backdrops are truly jaw-dropping. Moab, the backcountry, the surrounding National Parks (Arches and Canyonlands), and Dead Horse State Park offer seemingly endless options for beautiful elopements and intimate weddings; as well as many different options for Utah adventure elopements (we love taking couples to more secluded areas off of the beaten path).

Details to Consider When Planning Your Moab Elopement:

Let’s start with the big picture and then we can get into the finer details. Here are a few questions which may have very important implications for your desert elopement:

What time of the year are you hoping to get married? (If it’s in the summer the weather will be too hot midday and you will need to plan your elopement specifically for sunrise or sunset, when the temps are lower and often still around 90 degrees Fahrenheit.) Once you nail down the season you can consider your location.

Where in Moab are you hoping to elope? If it’s within a National or State Park you will need to procure a permit, or get your photographers to help you get one. Also, if within a National Park, consider trying to avoid the crowds by eloping during the off-season or avoiding peak hours of the day. If eloping “off the beaten path” you may need to rent a 4×4 vehicle to access more remote locations.

Do you need help finding a location? Don’t worry! We would be honored to recommend elopement locations to you and we love taking couples to places they have never been before. Let’s start a conversation!

Are you driving to Moab, or flying? Your choice of rental car, or road trip car, can be very important when considering which location is right for you.

Utah Elopement Permits and Regulations

Eloping within a National Park requires a Special Use Permit, or SUP (you can click the link to download and submit the required special event form), and a UTAH Marriage License. When eloping in Utah you will always need your marriage license, officiant, and two witnesses (you can always use your vendors as witnesses, including your photographers) as stated on the Utah State Court website. Receiving your marriage license requires both partners to be present at the county clerk’s office with valid IDs (you will receive your license immediately and expect to pay up to $50). Yes, you will need to get your marriage license once you have entered the state. The SUP can be applied for up to one year ahead of time, and should be applied for at least two months before the chosen elopement date. Arches and Canyonlands permits cost $185 currently. Dead Horse permits are currently $60. If you plan on a friend or loved one officiating your elopement they will need to be ordained, which can be done for free through the American Marriage Ministries.

Eloping within the parks also has some other constraints worth considering:

No decor, no props, no throwing anything at the end of the ceremony (even flowers and rice!). Here is a list of exactly what is allowed, or not, when eloping in the Utah National Parks.

Talk to a local florist like The Potted Pansy, Tangled Sage, or Olive & Sage before your ceremony as the parks regulate what kinds of flowers are allowed or not. Current regulations do not allow any types of dried flowers or plants.

Your vendors will all need commercial permits to work within the park. Speaking of vendors, here are a few of our area favorites:

·For planning assistance, style, and aesthetics we recommend: Mountainesque Weddings with Emily Smith.

·For makeup we recommend Blushing Beauties Co.

·For an exceptional private dining experience we recommend Chef Jeff Crosland.

Site Fees: The National Parks bundle their site fees into the permit cost, but only give your group one hour at the ceremony site; while State Parks have a separate site fee depending on your group size and how long you will be using the site. Here is Dead Horse State Park’s official PDF regarding all things wedding related. Fees typically cover the first 2 hours and cost between $200-$300.

Even if you are getting married on BLM land you typically will need a Utah Special Recreation Permit. As of 12/31/2025 the BLM’s Moab Field Office has created a proposal that would require any weddings or elopements on BLM lands in Grand County (the county Moab is in) to obtain a Special Recreation Permit; however,“Weddings on BLM-managed lands within the MFO are currently handled through Letters of Agreement. Under the Proposed Action, the BLM would require weddings that meet group size limits, require restrictions on noise and other items to obtain Special Recreation Permits (SRPs).” TALK TO YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER or another vendor and they will help you navigate this while the situation is in flux.

When to Elope in Moab:

Winters in Southern Utah: This might be the best time to elope in Moab. It could be chilly, but there are WAY less people around and you could end up having some of the most famous spots completely to yourself. Nights will definitely be cold so consider renting a hotel (check out the Hoodoo, we love it there) if you were thinking about camping.

Spring: Springtime in Moab is quite lovely with daytime highs typically between 60 and 80 degrees. The flowers are in bloom and the plant life is green. This is probably our favorite season in Moab. When summer hits don’t expect to see flowers on the cacti. Town does tend to get busy after the Easter holiday, so that is worth keeping in mind.

Summer: It’s going to be hot everywhere in Southern Utah. Daytime highs frequently exceed 100 degrees and it might still be hot at night. It’s also going to be busy. Frankly, if you want our advice, don’t choose the summer to elope in Moab; but if you still insist, we highly recommend eloping at sunrise (beautiful lighting combined with the coolest time of the day, and the least amount of people out)!

Fall: Autumn in Moab is an incredible time to be in the desert. It might get a little chilly at night (think 40s or 50s), but the daytime temps are typically fantastic, and you might even end up with some yellow leaves on the Cottonwood trees. The Moab adventure elopement featured in this blog’s photos was in October; the weather was delightful, and yes, we camped (in tents)!

The Best Places to Elope in Moab

Your first step in planning your elopement should probably be choosing your elopement’s location. If you want assistance with making this awesome decision (besides your partner’s infinite wisdom) than your first step could be choosing your photographer(s) as they typically double as your planners and guides when it comes to Utah adventure elopements. We’d love to help you plan your elopement!

This guide has already mentioned some of the more well-known names of popular elopement destinations in the area, but let’s get more specific. Between the two of us we have spent multiple decades exploring the area. Over the years we have discovered many epic spots that are perfect for tying the knot. Below you will find a list of our favorite popular spots, but if you’re looking for something off the beaten path we’ve got you ;)

Dead Horse State Park Elopements: Dead Horse is the hidden gem of the parks in the Moab area. It’s easy to get to in any car (about 36 minutes outside of town on highway 313), it doesn’t tend to be crowded, the views are breathtaking, and the access to good spots is very near the car! Anyone eloping here should still plan on applying for their permit at least a month or two in advance.

Arches National Park Elopements: When planning your elopement in Moab you could do a lot worse than choosing Arches as your destination. The entrance is only 11 minutes Northwest of downtown via state highway 191, and great locations for elopements can be found within five minutes of the entry gate, or much deeper within the park. Beware! Arches is an extremely popular National Park. Plan accordingly with these parking and travel tips, and apply for your permit as early as possible. Elopements in the early morning (get in the park by 6AM!) or late in the day will avoid serious headaches due to the waiting line that can form at the gate during peak hours. Eloping here during the park’s peak season might be more of a headache than it’s worth (wait until the slower seasons if you love it here). There are currently only five elopement ceremony locations within the park where your ceremony must take place: La Sal Viewpoint Panorama Point allow groups of up to 50 people, Double Arch (our favorite) and The Windows allow 25 person parties, and Park Avenue (the easiest access) allows only 15 total people. Of course, you can still go anywhere that is open within the park to take photos.

This handy chart from the National Park Service illustrates when the busiest and least busy times of the year within Arches National Park are.

Canyonlands National Park Elopements: There are actually three sections of Canyonlands, but only one of them is an easy drive from Moab, Island in the Sky. Although both the Needles District (to the Southwest about an hour and a half from Moab on Hwy 191 to Hwy 211) and the Maze District (5-6 hours of rough 4-wheeling on the West side of the Colorado and Green Rivers) are both exquisite places to plan an adventure elopement in Southern Utah, we will be discussing only Island in the Sky due to its proximity to Moab (10 minutes past Dead Horse State Park on highway 313).

Island in the Sky is an incredible place for an elopement. This National Park is bordered by two epic canyons, both the Colorado River gorge and the Green River gorge, giving couples ample opportunity to get married with absurdly pretty backdrops. We prefer this park to Arches because it tends to be less busy, and it is easier for couples to have a more intimate experience here while still getting an unforgettably beautiful desert experience. Island in the Sky similarly requires that couples are wed at one of three pre-designated ceremony locations which all allow for up to 25 total participants: Shafer Canyon Overlook (our favorite), Green River Overlook, and Grand View Point. Any other Canyonlands wedding ceremony locations you might find while researching are not within Island in the Sky and are likely to be in the Needles section of Canyonlands instead.

Arches and Canyonlands share the same rules and regulations for weddings within the National Parks. Plan ahead, talk to your photographer and/or your florist to find out what you can and can’t bring, and make your reservation as far ahead of time as possible. Remember your permit will cost $185 and you will only have an hour at the ceremony site, although you will have ample time to take photos elsewhere after the ceremony has concluded.

BLM and The Outskirts of the Area: There are many arches and towers in the surrounding area that make for epic Utah adventure elopement locations (we have marked a few of them on the map below). These places are not within the National Parks, they tend to be on BLM land, and while they may still require permits, or letters of approval, they are much more relaxed and less strict areas to be wed in (you don’t have to worry about potentially having a NPS Ranger observing your marriage ceremony). Looking Glass Rock is one of these locations. It features a massive hollowed out bowl with an arch on one side that can be easily accessed via a 5 minute walk, and an easy drive. Adventurous couples can easily climb this several-hundred-foot-tall rock with basic climbing equipment and rappel into the giant bowl via a thin arch on the roof of the bowl! Among these seemingly endless BLM options we also love the Fisher Towers area, Castleton Tower, and Professor Creek.

Side Note - Moab Elopement Locations and Driving to Them:

All of the locations we have recommended in this blog regarding great places to elope in the Moab area are accessible via any normal car - please don’t bring a low-clearance street racing car to your Moab elopement ;) - however, there are A LOT of amazing locations in the area (including in the backcountry of Arches) that are only accessible via a 4-wheel drive, high clearance vehicle. If you truly want an epic view all to yourselves, it might be worth considering bringing your 4×4 with you to Moab, or reserving one to rent. Just food for thought.

Finding the perfect Utah elopement location:

We would be honored to help you find your perfect location! Feel free to start a conversation with us.

Moab, Utah’s Best Wedding Venues:

If you were originally planning an elopement, but during the planning process you realized that you’ll actually have more than several guests in attendance, it might not be a bad idea to check out a few of Moab’s wedding venues. We recommend Sorrel River Ranch, especially if you like getting married directly on the riverside! For beautiful sandstone walls and great views of them both inside and outside we recommend The Red Earth Venue. Our overall favorite venue is ULUM, near Looking Glass Rock about 30 minutes South of town. Your guests can all stay on site, it has beautiful views, a bar and dining area, you can walk over to Looking Glass Rock, and it is designed beautifully.

Moab Elopement Packages:

We custom tailor each of our elopement packages based on our client’s wants and needs. Our base package includes 4 hours of photography, starts at $4800, and includes the following:

TWO RAD PHOTOGRAPHERS | Andy + Abbi