Back Country Mountain Elopement in Colorado
“With our bare feet on the ground and a gentle breeze in our hair, we were able to easily connect to the earth and our why in all of this”
- Susan & James
While I love every couple and experience I get to photograph for their own unique reasons, I must confess that this elopement is extra special to me. There are so many wonderful components that, aggregated together, tell an amazing story.
Planning a Colorado Elopement
One of the most rewarding parts of any elopement is seeing it come to fruition. While some elopements have a more involved planning process than others (check out elopement planning resources), this has especially been true over the past several months due to covid and considering travels and gatherings which won’t take place for months into an uncertain future.
I first connected with Susan and James in December of 2019 to begin sketching out their July 2020 elopement in their home state of Colorado. We went through the discovery phase to get a feel for their vision for the elopement, quickly adopting some of the wonderful ideas they already were tossing around. When all was said and done, we went through several iterations of the plan from various locations around Colorado, times of year, and more.
They decided to elope in the mountains above their home in Leadville. Their connection to this place and the ideas crafted to incorporate personal meaning were second to none. Additionally, they decided to push the elopement another year forward, into summer 2021.
Read more about how to pick the best elopement location
Day 1
Colorado has long been a place I’ve desired to see. For years I would say it’s the last of the great western states I have yet to visit. Susan and James gave me one hell of a welcome and a first experience of Colorado better than I would have imagined. With a year and a half of planning and excited anticipation, my flight landed in Denver and the following morning I headed out to meet Susan and James at their home in Leadville. The drive through the mountains alone was enough to have me grinning ear to ear. The Colorado mountains were unlike any I’ve seen before.
I arrived in Leadville, welcomed by an epic Colorado thunderstorm, and navigated my way along a few miles of gated dirt roads to Susan and James’ home. We hung out for the evening, making dinner, chatting about plans for the elopement, playing games in their loft hangout as rain hit the tin roof, and enjoying time in person together after countless phone calls.
The Overnight Elopement Adventure in the Mountains
There’s a key piece of this story I need to share before going any further. It’s easy to be excited by traveling to a new place, especially a wild mountainous one such as Colorado, but what most excited me was being around Susan and James. They are the quintessential of what an adventure elopement means. Throughout the planning and execution of their entire experience they were intentional about how they wanted that experience to feel, how they could integrate details of their relationship’s story, and doing it all with such positive attitudes that I couldn’t think of any better way to embody the best mindset for an adventure elopement.
Learn more about how to craft an intentional elopement experience & the best mindset to have when eloping
We woke early on the first day of their two day elopement experience, to begin with one of the most fun ideas that had been with us since the beginning. They wanted to do a cliff jump, so we drove across the valley and into the mountains to the lake’s trailhead. It was a relatively short hike and thankfully, as someone who lives at sea level, the ascent to 11,600’ didn’t affect me much. We all took the small, yet exhilarating jump into the lake and enjoyed the cold rejuvenation of the mountain water.
After our journey back from the hike, James and I drove to Buena Vista to pick up a Polaris 4x4 they had rented to transport us and our supplies more easily to the mountain yurts we would be staying in that night. A few hours later we found ourselves cruising up the mountain trails, the Polaris loaded up, wind and mud flying past us.
I couldn’t believe my eyes as the scene unfolded before us. Entering an enormous mountain valley at just over 12,000’, the yurts we would be staying in were nestled just shy of the highest ridge at the valley’s periphery. It felt like we had been transported into the heart of the Swiss Alps. Nestled in the mountains we looked across the Arkansas Valley directly at Mt. Elbert, Colorado’s highest peak. I had never reached altitudes such as these before and I felt a sense of accomplishment as I scrambled to the top of the ridge and saw my compass register at 12,060’.
Shortly after arriving, Susan and James began getting ready for their elopement ceremony in separate yurts. The weather was perfect as trekked a short way for their first look, then again to the top of the ridge for the sunset ceremony. In the grandness and solitude of these mountains, looking across the valley they call home, they read their vows to each other in the most distilled ceremony I have had the pleasure of witnessing. The word that comes to mind in remembering this moment is pure.
Journeying across the ridge to a field of wildflowers, they danced to many songs as we enjoyed the sunset with a volley of color permeating the sky. After grilling veggies and steaks back at the yurts, the colors in that sky was supplanted by the most abundant and unobscured illustration of stars I have ever seen. With the occasional lightning strike in the distance, yet a pleasantly quiet night, we stayed up past midnight soaking in the spectacular view.
The next morning, we made a wonderful breakfast and then made our way to the lake which sat in the valley floor. After a good float at the water, it was time for us to say our goodbyes to the yurts and mountain valley that hosted us.
One of the coolest things I think about now, and even commented to James months afterwards, is how special it is that they can look up and see the mountain ridgeline that they were married on from their living room window. Susan and James did their elopement their way and are an example for all to pursue.
Despite the rain and lightning, I couldn’t resist jumping out of the car and taking a few photos as I navigated my way to Susan & James’s home for the first time.
Susan FaceTime chatted with her parents on the morning of their elopement day, which is actually where they shared their news for the first time.
Hey, I’m Warren and this is my why behind everything I do!
I believe this is where it all starts and is at the heart of everything, so let me tell you. I have a soft spot for sentimentality and I think love is awesome. I’m so grateful that I discovered photography early in life because I’ve been able to document my own journey in a creative fashion. For that reason, I have a strong passion for giving that same experience to others and take great pride in getting the responsibility of documenting their stories. Each picture has a story or feeling behind it and I love to capture that novelty. Arresting those moments in time allows us to remember and feel more intensely. I know how much I value that and enjoy passing that along to others through photography. I would love to be a part of telling your story.