How They Met and the Proposal:

Rachel said: “Josh and I met two summers ago while I was managing his niece’s neighborhood pool. He noticed that I had a lot of stickers on my water bottle from various places, and claimed that I caught his eye just before he asked me to go on a hike with him. We ended up going to dinner a few nights before our original first date was planned, and we hit it off right away. Since Josh and I went on our first date down on St. Charles Main Street, he felt that this was the best place to propose as well. He had planned a bike ride with a couple of our friends on the Katy Trail and they were in on the surprise that he had for me. He had them hide a faux pink rose with my engagement ring inside, and pointed out the rose when he and I rode past the garden. He took the rose out of the garden and to my surprise, the ring was inside. He got on one knee and proposed. Our friends were watching/recording and taking pictures. Even though I’m not fond of surprises, this was the best one yet!!”

Their Day, Their Way:

“We then chose to get married in a local courthouse because we were moving in together and decided to do it right away. Rather than a big wedding, we chose to put our efforts into going somewhere and seeing something breathtaking while we exchanged vows, rather than just pushing out our ceremony so that it would be more traditional. It was so nice to be one with each other in that special moment rather than experiencing the stress of a big wedding. We chose our specific location based on the views, difficulty of the hike, and on what was open since so many places were still closed due to COVID-19. Neither of us had actually been to Zion National Park, much less that specific location, before our Utah elopement day!”

Josh and Rachel also said: “The best part of our Zion National Park Utah elopement day was being able to just look out over the landscape and see God’s creation at work together. After our vows, it was so nice to let our feet dangle, lean on one another as a married couple, and wait for the stars to come out.”

From the tiny home the got ready in, to the off-road drive to the trailhead, several-mile hike, gorgeous weather, epic canyon, private ceremony and stargazing at the milky way – each moment was truly intentional, filled with so much emotional and physical freedom for Josh and Rachel on the day they wed. They chose to get married THEIR way, and the most truly real, raw and authentic day happened as a result. Yep – it was amazing.

(make sure to scroll to the end, to check out that gorgeous sunset!!)

Cheers!!

Allison