Planning a mountain wedding
There’s just something about mountain weddings in Colorado. The air is clean, the people are happy and the views are breathtaking. And, our course, there are endless outdoor activities to keep wedding guests occupied if they’re coming in from out of town (skiing, hiking, fishing, mountain biking, snowmobiling, to name just a few). It’s no wonder that Colorado has become such a popular wedding destination for couples all over the world looking for a secluded location to tie the knot.
From Breckenridge to Durango, Aspen to Vail, Glenwood Springs to Steamboat Springs, there are countless mountain wedding venues in Colorado to choose from. We often joke that the state is so beautiful, you could pull your car over to the side of any road in the Rocky Mountains and it would be the perfect spot for a wedding.
When planning a mountain wedding, be sure to encourage your family and friends to drink water in abundance and alcohol in moderation, especially if they’re coming in from out of town and aren’t accustomed to being in the mountains. Altitude sickness is no joke! Also, make sure they carpool and/or rent all-wheel drive vehicles. Weather in the high Rockies can be unpredictable throughout all four months of the year. In fact, we photographed a wedding in Breckenridge on the summer solstice a few years ago and it snowed nearly two inches.
We’ve been photographing mountain weddings in Colorado since we moved here way back in 2008 and we have had the pleasure of traveling to every corner of the state. We’ve shot hundreds of weddings during that time, the vast majority of which have been in the mountains. Below, you’ll find just a handful of our favorite mountain weddings from over the years. Take some time to browse and let us know if you have any questions or would like to check our availability for your wedding. We’re just an email, text or phone call away!
In the span of a week, Colorado went from snow to 90-degree weather. So Jesse and I were excited to escape the heat of the city for Jamie and Dane’s Lily Lake wedding in Rocky Mountain National Park last weekend. Lily Lake is one of our favorite spots in Estes Park. We first discovered it…
Jesse and I have traveled extensively. One of the things that’s stuck with me throughout our wanderings is that every single state thinks that they have claims on the phrase, “Don’t like the weather? Wait five minutes.” I’m here to say that Colorado has officially cemented its rightful ownership. Just ask anyone who attended Kristin…
I knew I liked Eden and Cade before we ever met them in person. After all, how many people are willing to meet two complete strangers in a remote location, over 1,000 miles from home? (Personally, I’d be worried that I was being lured into an elaborate horror film plot…but I also tend to have…
Aspen is gorgeous, but it’s not exactly the easiest place to get to. And in March, when much of the country is finally reveling in warmer temperatures, Aspen gets snow. So how do you convince more than 100 of your friends and family to make the hike and brave the weather for your Aspen wedding?…
Jen and Robert are the kind of world travelers that Jesse and I aspire to be. They’ve been to every continent except Antarctica and I have no doubt that they’ll be checking that box soon. So Colorado, take it as a HUGE compliment that they decided to have their intimate winter wedding at the Sonnenalp…
When we first met Jerrica and Jason, they brought along part of their wedding stationery set give us an idea of how awesome their Planet Bluegrass wedding was going to be. Now, we’ve seen some wedding stationery in our day and this piece had nothing in common with any of the watercolor, hand-calligraphed, blush champagne items you usually see. Instead, the couple had designed and created VIP-style concert badges for their festival themed wedding.
Lindsey and Chris’s Buena Vista wedding this past weekend felt more like a music festival than a typical wedding. Which is exactly what the couple was going for and exactly the kind of thing we love to photograph! The first hint of that laid-back festival vibe came just before the ceremony started. As I was…
If getting typecast means that every August during the Perseid meteor shower, we get to work with an awesome couple at a remote venue where we can photograph the Milky Way, sign me up. Katie and Kevin’s Dao House wedding completed all our mid-August checkboxes, and then some! (Shout out to Jamie and Eric, who…
Going into Courtney and Derek’s Della Terra wedding on Sunday, Jesse and I already knew that we’d have the opportunity to take some really great photos. After all, this was the couple who let us get them drunk on whiskey (the day before they were moving to Tennessee), followed us into an abandoned business park…
Kelly and Chris’s Camp Hale wedding wasn’t just unplugged, it was off the grid. Without the distraction of seeing who’s posting what on social media, their guests could focus on having a damn good time. Add in some of the most beautiful views and tastiest spirits in Colorado (thanks, 10th Mountain!), and you have the…
Jesse and I sometimes put our couples through a lot of difficult tasks in pursuit of great photos. We’ve had couples do everything from hiking the sand dunes in formal attire to running out in the middle of traffic between green lights. It was no different at Jen and Whitney’s Steamboat Springs wedding. But not…
Who says that a wedding has to take place in the afternoon? Or that you have to have cake? Or that everyone has to sit through a best man or maid of honor toast? No one. that’s who. So if none of those things tickle your fancy, do what Nicole and Dustin did for their…
