Any reason why you didn't choose "Log Shipping"?

1. It has easy UI feature in SQL Server as well (right-click, Log shipping)

2. It provides Log backup at set intervals (say 15 mins), good for backup purpose if not already done on Production

3. You can auto-restore logs, and the restored database will be READ-ONLY always

but at least you don't have to create snapshot. It's an issue if you need to update it