Do it. Go the distance; the extra mile. Feel amazing celebrating the best moment in your life. #adventurebeforedimentia
This. Shoot. The words I wish I had to describe how beautiful every single moment was capturing Matthew + Bess. The love they have for one another and the passion they share for travel met in one gorgeous spot to celebrate a pure love that radiated every second I spent with them.
Let's all be jealous of them together, shall we?
I can honestly say that shooting and editing this entire session took my breath away. Obviously these two have a love that I can appreciate for years to come, and that made creating this beautiful gallery such an honor. The landscape of this part of Texas also blew me away. It was my first time visiting Big Bend, and it didn't disappoint. If you're looking to elope or get engaged in an area that is scarce in attendance, but has the landscape of another planet, look no further than Big Bend.
Matt + Bess chose to go with a double session, one sunrise session and one sunset session. That gave me two locations to pick from that we would get to shoot at. Big Bend is a HUGE national park, and so both sessions were spread out so we could take our time at each session, and then plan for the long trek across the park to the next location.
Our first stop was at 7AM in the Santa Elena Canyon. This was a PERFECT location for a sunrise session, as it is one of the best spots to visit in the park, but no one is there as the sun is rising. We had almost 2 hours to ourselves before the first person arrived to walk this trail, so getting there early for pictures is a MUST. After 10am, it was flooded with other visitors.
Not to mention, those mountains looked breath-taking with the golden sunrise hitting them!
Next Stop: Balanced Rock!
After shooting for nearly three hours (yes, we just really loved that area), we took a break for lunch and grouped back together on the other side of the park. This trail was a little bit more challenging towards the end as there is literally a huge rock balanced between two others that frames subjects PERFECTLY but requires a bit of a climb. It was a gorgeous area for a sunset session, and we made it back to our cars to go to dinner just after the sun had set and the sky turned pink.
After climbing over multiple large rocks to get up to where Balanced Rock ends (spoiler alert: it's a balanced rock), we finished up shooting here and made the trek back down to the flatter area on this trail. It opens up to this valley-looking spot with lots of dirt and desert grass... stuff. I did get pricked by a real cactus - which hurt a lot - so I know those were there.
If you're looking for an adventure inside of Texas with beautiful landscape and a touch of untamed wild, Big Bend is perfect. I loved getting to experience this incredible place and hope one day I will get to come back with another adventurous couple ready to conquer the rough terrain. If there is anything that you can get from this post, it's that the drive and the trip is worth it. Do it while you're young and especially do it as a celebration of your love. Go on that trip, make memories together, and immortalize them with beautiful pictures capturing the tenderness of the two of you.
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