Jade and Alex eloped at the amazing and scenic El Malpais National Monument outside of Grants, New Mexico. It was a beautiful November day and the weather was crisp, fresh, and just a tad chilly, but it didn’t get in the way of their fabulous wedding. Jade and Alex chose to tie the knot at El Malpais National Monument because they went on a date there when they were first falling in love. So El Malpais National Monument has a lot of special meaning to them. <3

Jade shared their love story with me and it is absolutely beautiful:

“Alex is a GIS student working on his masters at UNM, originally from Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany. I am a nurse practitioner in Gallup, NM-- originally from Eagle River, Alaska. We met in 2017 while I was in Albuquerque for the summer for a clinical rotation (from Dallas, TX) and he had just gotten back from Germany to start his Masters here. He was staying in the same complex I was renting, and AirBnb run by a German woman he had met the year before when he was in NM. We overlapped by about 3 weeks, and then I went back to Dallas. A month or so later, he emailed me out of the blue and we started talking. Talking led to driving and flying back and forth, and soon I was looking for jobs in NM :) The rest is history.”

Alex and Jade described their wedding as fairly “grassroots” since they had planned the entire elopement within about a month! It was just Jade, Alex and their fur babies along with her parents, grandmother, sister, and brother in law in attendance.

Jade and Alex used her family’s camper as their pre-ceremony getting ready location as well as their post-ceremony wedding gathering spot. They picked up a Costco sheet cake for their wedding cake and champagne to celebrate! Jade ordered her wedding dress from Lulu’s (it was a steal at $80!) which has an incredible selection of affordable wedding dresses that are perfect for elopements! They DIY-ed her bouquet and we were set to get these two married amongst the scenic views of El Malpais National Monument.

Some of my favorite moments of the day were when Jade’s sister was helping fix her dress using sutures because both Jade and her sister work in the medical field. I also loved that Jade did a first look/first shot with her dad which was SO awesome!! I loved how unique and unconventional this first look was between Jade and her proud dad.

Every single wedding photo from their fabulous elopement is absolutely extraordinary. Jade said it best: “It goes to show that it isn’t the fancy details of a wedding that make it beautiful, because that’s what it was, absolutely beautiful!” And I couldn’t agree more. Their intimate ceremony officiated by Jade’s grandmother cliffside was STUNNING and so heartfelt. Their beautiful vows to one another were truly unforgettable. Their portraits were out of this world extraordinary. And the love that surrounded us all was seriously amazing.

We ended the evening with toasting champagne, sparklers, and some yummy brie with crackers inside their family’s camper.

Jade and Alex’s incredible elopement at El Malpais National Monument in Grants, New Mexico will forever be a favorite. The love these two have for one another will make you believe in fairytales. Scroll through and check out all of the magic from their gorgeous wedding day. <3

Wedding Details ::

Shot by Jasmine Kingery (lead photographer) and Jenna Peralta (associate photographer) of Jasper K Photography

Wedding Dress: Lulus

Wedding Cake: Costco