Sunrise Hiking Elopement in Colorado

Adventurous Hiking Elopement in Colorado

Anna + Lu

Anna and Lu met while working at a summer camp together in England. Their friendship continued when they both went to the same university. Eventually, they became close, living together and traveling together. But their friendship had spanned over a decade before they decided to turn their friendship into a proper relationship. After Lu proposed to Anna at the beginning of 2020, they both agreed that an elopement was right for them. But because of the pandemic, their elopement plans were stalled.

Fast forward to the fall of 2021, when the borders between the US and England re-opened. Even though Anna and Lu are both from England, they’ve traveled through quite a bit of the US. Maybe even more of it than we have! After doing some research, they fell in love with Colorado, and with the borders finally open, their dream elopement was in sight! We excitedly started planning and hoping that international travel would be an option.

When we asked what they were looking for in their elopement location, Anna and Lu mentioned snowcapped mountains, forests, and alpine lakes. They knew that they wanted to elope at sunrise to give them solitude in the wilderness, and they also knew that they wanted to hike. The hike they ended up choosing is not one we would normally recommend to couples eloping in June, as the main trailhead is still closed, but it was so perfect for them that we all decided to put in the extra effort.

On the morning of their elopement, we met them in a pitch-black parking lot and headed up the trail with our headlamps. It was a gorgeous, clear morning and we could see the stars above us in the sky. Because it was so early in the season, the forest service hadn’t cleared the trail yet, so in addition to hiking over snow, we also had to navigate over (and under) fallen trees.

But when we made it to the alpine lake, everything was worth it. Anna and Lu changed into
their attire together and then walked down to the edge of the lake for their ceremony. It was probably a good thing that the wind made it difficult for us to hear their vows, otherwise, we probably would’ve been crying along with them!

After their ceremony, we admired the views before heading back down to the trailhead. Hiking elopements are always so much fun because the couple gets countless congratulations from other hikers, and this was no different for Anna and Lu! When we made it back to the trailhead, we were all a bit sore and sleepy, but also so so happy. Mornings like this never get old, and the company couldn’t have been better!

This elopement took place on Ute and Cheyenne Land.

Photographs

Colorado Elopements

Destination Elopements

Hi There!

We're Lisa + Alex, the goofballs behind Vow of the Wild. We live in Colorado, but we’re passionate about exploring new places. Being elopement photographers + videographers is a dream for us and we can’t imagine doing anything else (other than being professional dog petters).