Amber and James met online and had their first date at Whole Foods. Their love blossomed slowly as they got to know each other more and more. In the first “season” of their relationship, they spent countless nights staying up late talking to each other. But the lack of sleep was worth it as they eventually fell in love.

A colleague of Amber’s eloped in Colorado and Amber quickly fell in love with the idea herself. Amber and James both consider themselves introverts, and they both had a strong desire to spend the day focusing on each other and their commitment to each other. So it was settled. They would come to Colorado and elope in private on a mountaintop.

We worked with them closely to find the perfect elopement location for them. We considered Evergreen, and Breckenridge, and even Rocky Mountain National Park. But eventually, they chose to have their elopement ceremony on a rocky overlook outside of Estes Park, Colorado. On the afternoon of their elopement, we met them at the trailhead and then hiked uphill to their ceremony site. The skies were dark and moody, and while no thunderstorms were in the forecast, we all knew that some rain showers were a possibility.

At the end of the trail, they both changed into their wedding attire and had their first look before stepping down onto the rocky overlook. They performed their own ceremony, which included letters written by their parents, personal vows to each other, as well as time to pray. As Amber read her vows to James, big raindrops began falling from the sky, smearing the ink in their notebook. They decided to pause and wait for the rain to pass before continuing with their ceremony. The sun and the rain traded off for the rest of their ceremony, but thankfully, Amber and James were able to exchange rings and seal their ceremony with a kiss, while remaining mostly dry.

After their ceremony, we hiked back to the trailhead and drove to a picnic area surrounded by forest. As they sat down for their picnic, James joked about seeing some Colorado wildlife, but the best we could find was a rabbit (which was still adorable). As Amber and James ate their charcuterie and wedding cake, they read more letters from their loved ones. But soon the sun started to tuck itself behind the mountains, so we made our way to a nearby lake. We climbed a rocky trail leading up above the lake and soaked up the last little bit of orange sunset together. It was such a perfect evening and we are so thankful that Amber and James chose us to be a part of it!

This elopement took place on Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Land.

Photographs

Colorado Elopements

Destination Elopements