DIY in Death Valley

We could not help but share this stunning DIY Death Valley engagement shoot that our bride and groom created from their Pinterest finds.

“Our first trip to Death Valley was in 2015 and it took our breath away with its vast beauty. Arin and I both love nature and Death Valley is just one of those places that really humbles you. Ginormous sand dunes in the middle of nowhere, terrains transforming from flash floods, painted mountains from the oxidation of metals that produce hues of red, pink, green, purple and yellow.

When Arin proposed in January 2017 we decided to take a year off planning but were still looking up wedding inspirations and doing lighthearted research. After looking on Pinterest and seeing what everyone else was doing, I wanted to do something different for our engagement pictures. Something extra.

I had this idea of going back to Death Valley and using its many landscapes as our engagement photo backdrops. We went back in November 2017 and modern surrealism was the theme. We didn’t want to hire anyone to take the photos because we were going for 5 days and going to multiple locations. We were on a budget and wanted to do it ourselves. Arin’s dad and my brother offered to come to take pictures for us. It took a few months to prepare. Looking for outfits, accommodations, food, figuring out site locations, timing logistics and coordinating our outfits for each shoot. I also wore my mother’s Laotian sinhs (dresses) and Arin wore my father’s pa bieng (sash) to pay homage to my Laotian culture. In some of the pictures you can see Arin with a khene which is a Laotian mouth organ made of bamboo. I did my own make up/hair and Arin and I styled the shoots together. It was an extraordinary amount of work for everyone involved and I’m so proud!”

 

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