couple looks lovingly at each other in a moody yosemite grove of trees

There’s nothing better than A fall wedding in the Yosemite valley

Aliana and Joel decided to tie the knot in one of the most iconic landscapes on earth. Now we just needed to find them the perfect spot to say I do. They made the fantastic choice of hiring one of my favorite officiants to work with Donny from Yosemite Adventure Elopements and he had an excellent recommendation of doing their vows high atop the Pohono trail. With killer views of El Capitan, Bridalveil Falls, and even Half Dome peaking out of the background who could ask for a better spot. Aliana bundled up her wedding dress and we set off up the trail. If you’ve ever hiked the Pohono trail it starts from the parking lot of Tunnel View and quickly ascends up the mountain side. The trail is steep but with every step you’re rewarded an even better view than what you had a moment before. And while the view at Tunnel View is incredible, getting a ways up the mountain and away from all the road noise and concrete really improves the experience. These two lovebirds chose Fall, my favorite time of the year to visit Yosemite National Park. With the crisp Autumn weather comes less crowds, and gorgeous displays of colors as the leaves change. You do lose most of the waterfalls in the park but it is well worth it. After a short hike we found a decent spot along the trail large enough for our purposes. So with towering granite peaks in the background displays of fall colors, and soft light of dawn Donny led them through their ceremony and they shared their vows with one another, exchanged their rings, and sealed it all with a tender kiss.

Once we had finished the ceremony and descended the mountain we discovered that the park had done a controlled burn in the valley creating a dark and smokey atmosphere that we just had to take advantage of. From there we toured the valley for shots in Cooks meadow and along the Merced River before heading up the north rim to Tioga Pass. Here is where my favorite part of the park lies. Tenaya Lake, Tuolumne Meadows, and Olmsted Point are three of my favorite locations and we hit them all. As the sun set on us we used that golden light to create some gorgeous photos they will treasure for a lifetime. All in all it was an incredible adventure and they really lucked out with having some incredible light shine on their love story.