Papago Park Elopement | Phoenix, AZ
A Spring Sunset Wedding at Papago Park—
If you know Phoenix, you know Papago Park. The iconic open space area right outside downtown Phoenix, near Tempe, with its colorful red buttes and miles of trails, could not be more conveniently located. This is one of my favorite spots in the valley to go for a trail run or just escape the mass of concrete that is the Phoenix metro, in the middle of it all! Getting married here is so simple as well, as couples just need an inexpensive event permit (more information here!) that covers their time and services while in the park. For couples looking for an easily accessible, yet beautiful outdoor, slightly adventurous location for their Phoenix wedding, I could not recommend Papago Park enough!
Rachel and Alex are one of those couples who have become friends to us. They first hired us last summer, when they got engaged, to take sunrise engagement photos for them at the Sedona Airport! The two are pilots and met here in Phoenix— Alex was Rachel’s flight instructor. Years later, they’ve moved to the Pacific Northwest, but love coming back to Arizona every chance they can to get some sun and visit their old home. It made perfect sense for them to have their spring wedding here in Phoenix too, as the weather here is so perfect this time of year.
A significant part of Rachel and Alex’s elopement vision was for it to be simple, but also surrounded by their closest family and friends. Everyone they love stayed in a big AirBnb in Tempe, conveniently located adjacent to Papago Park. For their wedding photos, we chose one of the easy trails that meanders back toward the buttes for family photos, and couple photos. The spring is a very popular time of year at Papago Park, while the weather is still mild, and is flocked by so many ASU seniors taking their graduation photos. If you choose this location for your photos too, I highly recommend hiking further back into the park to avoid the large crowds! Rachel and Alex and their people were up for an adventure, and so we did just this. Wandering these trails never gets old, and so we walked and explored and took photos every time we liked the setting.
Papago Park’s red rocks really glow at sunset (as well as sunrise!), and I was so excited to finally get to capture this iconic area of Phoenix with one of our couples! The desert plants really held onto spring and made it look lush too, a perfect compliment to Rachel’s floral embroidered veil 🤩. I hope you enjoy these Papago Park elopement photos! I am anxiously awaiting what Rachel and Alex think up for their anniversary photos 🥲.
Hi there! We’re Katie & Joseph, a husband and wife team, and Arizona elopement photographers.
We are big fans of documenting marriage in an unposed, raw, genuine, and honest way that allows our couples to maximize their experience on their day while also receiving a gallery full of stunning images that communicate how it felt to be there.
Though we’re based in Phoenix, we’ll travel anywhere for a good love story. We invite you to follow the links below to learn more about us and our services, and to get in contact with us!
