A Romantic Desert Wedding at Valley of Fire State Park in Overton, Nevada

Eliza Rose (31 and the chief of staff of the Host Committee for the 2016 Democratic National Convention) met Chet Harhut (39 and the owner of a commercial landscaping company) in a tiny conference room on Friday the 13th after working with him remotely on a project. “I still remember the first time he walked into the room,” Eliza says. Four years later, Eliza married Chet under a ribbon arch in an intimate ceremony (just six guests) amid the Seven Sisters, a beautiful natural-rock formation outside Las Vegas, Nevada, in Valley of Fire State Park. The ceremony’s colors were inspired by a desert sunset, with coral pink and bright yellow balanced with dusty green succulents and cactus. Eliza’s bouquet centered on a free-spirit rose—a reference to her surname. A violinist played “You Are My Sunshine” as Eliza’s father walked her to Chet under the ribbon arch; the tune is a favorite of Eliza’s father and was the first song Eliza sang to Chet. Postceremony, the couple toasted with champagne, cut into a colorful cake topper and served mini cheesecakes. “You can have all the beauty of an elaborate ceremony on a small scale,” Eliza says. “This was one of the best days of my life. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.” —Carolyn Meers