Tennessee Pass Cookhouse Elopement

Colorado Elopement at Tennessee Pass Cookhouse

Alex + Nick

Alex and Nick traveled to Colorado from Illinois with their closest friends and family members for their elopement. After spending the first few days of their wedding trip relaxing by the pool in Vail, they headed up to one of the country’s highest cities Leadville, Colorado which sits at 10,152 ft.

On the morning of their elopement, they got ready separately, then we met at a large lake surrounded by mountains. There, they had their first look before exploring the lake’s rocky coastline. For early June, it was an uncharacteristically warm afternoon, but the winds helped cool us off.

Next, we headed to Tennessee Pass Cookhouse, which is a small venue located just outside of Leadville. We met up with all of their guests, and then the staff piled all of us into 4WD vehicles to head further up the mountain. The road was bumpy and took us through beautiful pine forests. But as we arrived at the ceremony site, the forest cleared and views of the distant mountains opened up before us.

Adjacent to the open space for their ceremony was a small yurt, with an outdoor deck on which all of the guests gathered. None of them had seen Alex in her wedding dress yet, so as she neared we all made the short downhill walk toward the vine-covered ceremony arch. What we love most about Tennessee Pass Cookhouse is that it feels intimate and deep in the wilderness, but it still has many comforts and spaces of a more traditional venue.

Alex and Nick’s ceremony was officiated by one of Nick’s friends. It was short and sweet, but had everyone laughing (there was a great reference to The Office) or crying at one point or another. Neither Alex nor Nick seemed nervous at all during the day, and they attributed that to having been together for 8 years already. As the sun started to set, they had their first dances on the deck of the yurt and then retreated inside for a nice meal together. It was a perfect day, filled with beautiful views, some off-road adventure, wilderness, and their closest friends and family.

This elopement took place on Ute 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).