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  • Writer's pictureTamara Merri
    • Jun 16, 2020

Monahans Sandhills Inspired Elopement | Texas Elopement Photographer

Updated: Jun 18, 2020

Thinking of eloping in Texas but not sure where you should go? Monahans Sandhills State Park such a cool and unique area! West Texas is the land of oil fields and expanse land for as far as the eye can see. And then, out of nowhere miles and miles of sand dunes rise up. It definitely feels like you're in a different state or country!! Monahans Sandhills is the perfect location for your unique elopement adventure.


Kaitlyn & Cayden got married in September 2019 and had the most fun and beautiful wedding surrounded by their family and friends. Although their wedding was amazing, the planning aspect was stressful trying to please everyone and it went by way too fast.


They wanted to celebrate their love again somewhere wild where they could focus just on each other. So we went to Monahans Sandhills State Park in Texas to celebrate their 5 year dating anniversary. They celebrated their love, reaffirmed their vows, and ran around the dunes playing where they could be and do whatever they wanted. They brought along their new puppy which made the day the absolute cutest!!


bride and groom sit in sand with puppy smiling at the camera

Kaitlin had the most perfect dress from Signature Bridal for a day filled with running around sand dunes. It was light and stretchy to allow movement while also having a train to blow beautifully in the wind. Cayden proudly wore his wedding attire and wasn't worried at all about getting his suit sandy. They were 100% up for running around the dunes and snuggling in the sand as the sun went down. Monahans Sandhills was the absolute perfect location for their second elopement style celebration. They're both such beautiful, laid back, fun humans and I'm so honored to be able to capture their love story for a second time.

bride rearranges train of dress while the wind is blowing, which gives her a difficult time.
couple is chest to chest and about to kiss. you can see the view of monahans sandhills in the distance


couple is holding hands walking away from the camera with their dog on leash. The top of the frame crops the photo so that you cannot see above their shoulders. The brides dress is dragging in the sand and the groom is barefoot
couple is holding hands while running down one of the sand hills with their dog away from the camera


elopement in sand dunes with couple sitting in sand smiling at the camera

couple walks away from camera holding hands up one of the sand hills. The sand has an intricate pattern from the wind and they are walking through an undisturbed patch of sand
bride is alone facing away from the camera. she is holding her curly hair to keep it from blowing around from the wind. he dress is blowing in the wind

photo of a girl in a wedding dress standing on sand. her back is turned away from the camera to show the detail on the back of the dress but she is looking back over her shoulder at the camera smiling

groom spins bride around and her dress is mid-air. their puppy stands by watching

groom portrait with puppy. I told him to look "GQ" so he is smoldering at the camera. the puppy also has a blank stare as if she's also giving a model look

couple holds hands and runs down the sand hill towards the camera. they are smiling really big and are dishelved from bounding

photo of the dog's face between the couple. You cannot see the couple as they are cropped out and also the angle is coming from behind them. The dog looks very happy and has his tongue out while the owners pet him



couple has their arms wrapped around each other during their elopement ceremony. the dog is sitting by their feet. the sun light creeps over the sandhills in the background creating a soft, ethereal like glow

couple has their arms wrapped around each other during their elopement ceremony. They are sharing their first kiss. the sun light creeps over the sandhills in the background creating a soft, ethereal like glow

groom leads bride up the side of a sandhill. her dress is stretched out to show motion of them running. the dog is running after them

groom leads bride along the edge of a hill, kicking sand as he walks

wide angle photo showing Monahans Sandhills landscape with the couple relatively small in frame


the couple performs a different kind of sand ceremony during their elopement. instead of pouring sand into beakers, they conjoin their fistsfull of sand and let it drop to the ground. the angle is from below, with the focus on the sand falling out of their hands. their faces are out of focus behind the hands
a new kind of sand ceremony!

a black and white close up photo of sand sliding through fingers

black and white heavily contrasted photo of the couple embracing during their elopement. the sun is setting so heavy shadows are cast on the side of the sandhills

wide angle view from the base of a sand hill. the couple stands on the top of the hill with the sky as the backdrop. the sun sets in the lower left of the frame. the left side of the hill is slightly illuminated by the sun which creates a golden leading line all the way from the side of the frame to the couple

bride sits in sand, fussing with her wedding dress. the sun is setting behind her and the golden light illuminates her hair blowing in the wind,

the couple sits together in the sand. the bride has her hand wrapped around the grooms neck, embracing him. the groom is leaning on his hand in the sand.

groom has his arms wrapped around the bride from behind. the bride is looking up at him, smiling. part of the brides face is obscured by the groom.

bride sits in between groom's legs on the sand hill. they are watching the sun set together. behind them you can see monahans sandhills landscape and a cotton candy sky from the sunset

girl sits in between guy's legs. guy's face is down, facing the side of her head. she is smiling at the camera.

couple sits in sand next to each other making funny faces at the camera

couple embraces in the middle of the sand. there is a cotton candy sky behind them as the sun sets over monahans sandhills

silhouette photo of a girl, guy, and dog. the couple is holding hands. the dog is between them, with one leg in the air, looking up at their hands

Monahans Sandhills is the perfect elopement location in Texas! If you're considering eloping in Texas and need an elopement photographer, please reach out and let's discuss your vision!


xo,

Tam


Tamara Merri Photography




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I'm a Massachusetts wedding & elopement photographer. I'm the voice behind this blog and the girl behind the camera. 

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