Childhood sweethearts, a brand-new hotel, the Utah State Capitol, and a speakeasy record room for the cake cutting. Sarah and Julian did Salt Lake City right.

Sarah and Julian have known each other since childhood, which means by the time they got married at the Asher Adams Hotel on a warm August evening, they weren't nervous. They were ready. There's a specific ease that comes with marrying someone you've known that long — a settledness in the body, a particular way of looking at each other that doesn't perform for a camera. It just exists.

I was second shooting alongside Shannon Ferrell Photography for their wedding day, having photographed their engagement session at East Canyon Reservoir the previous month. By the time August arrived, we knew each other well enough that the day moved without friction.

The Asher Adams Hotel

The Asher Adams opened in 2025 inside the restored Union Pacific Railroad Depot in downtown Salt Lake City, and it is immediately one of the most interesting wedding venues in Utah. The bones of the building are extraordinary — soaring ceilings, original architectural detailing, the specific weight of a century-old structure that was designed to make people feel the significance of arrival. The renovation has been thoughtful: modern luxury layered over historic character without either canceling the other out.

For a wedding day, the practical advantages are real. The getting-ready suites are genuinely private and comfortable — Sarah chose to do her first look in the suite rather than the hotel's VIP bar, which meant the moment stayed close and unhurried, family nearby without it feeling staged. The natural light in the upper floors is exceptional. The staff treated the entire day with the kind of attentive professionalism that makes a photographer's job significantly easier.

The Utah State Capitol

Sarah (Bride) walking down Utah Capitol staircase before the elopement ceremony started

The ceremony was at the Utah State Capitol — which, architecturally, is one of the most compelling ceremony settings in the state. The neoclassical dome, the grand steps, the sweep of the building against the Wasatch foothills behind it: it produces images that carry a sense of occasion without requiring anything from the couple except to show up and mean what they say.

Sarah and Julian meant what they said. The ceremony was direct and warm, and when it was over, they looked the way couples look when they've just done something they've been certain about for a long time — relieved and happy and entirely themselves.

Back at the hotel

Cocktail hour in the main hotel spaces gave guests time to move through the building and understand what it was — the architecture rewards that kind of slow attention. Then dinner at Rouser Restaurant, the hotel's own dining room, which handled a wedding party with the same precision it brings to regular service. The food was genuinely excellent, which matters more than most couples realize when they're choosing reception venues.

The cake cutting happened in the hotel's private speakeasy-style record room — a detail that sounds like a small thing and wasn't. A room lined with records and low light and the couple alone for a few minutes in the middle of their own wedding day, cutting cake, completely at ease. Those are the frames I go back to.

About Asher Adams for weddings

For couples who want a Salt Lake City wedding that feels genuinely elevated — not a ballroom dressed up to look special, but a space that simply is — Asher Adams is worth serious consideration. The combination of historic architecture, downtown access, exceptional in-house dining, and thoughtful hospitality is rare in one venue.

The Utah State Capitol is a 10-minute drive from the hotel, making the ceremony-to-reception transition seamless. And the building photographs beautifully at every hour — morning light in the suites, late afternoon on the exterior, warm and layered in the interior spaces at night.

Sarah and Julian flew in from Tallahassee for a multi-day celebration in a city that clearly meant something to them — and the Asher Adams held all of it without a single moment feeling mismatched. If you're considering a Salt Lake City wedding and want to talk through venues, timelines, or photography, reach out here. I know this city and I love working in it.

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Sarah & Julian's Asher Adams Hotel Wedding — Salt Lake City