Katie and Austin’s Crested Butte Colorado Elopement at Emerald Lake was a true adventure and such a joy to experience and document. From the moment they reached out to me about planning their destination Colorado mountain elopement and shared their elopement ideas with me I knew it was going to be a good one. Their hedgehog, Corporal Prickly Pear (named after the fact that these two are both first responders) even got to join our initial Facetime meeting and was the only guest at their elopement! After scouting out a handful of epic Colorado elopement locations we landed on Emerald Lake in Crested Butte. It had the perfect balance of mountain views, colorful wildflowers, nearby hiking trails to explore, an alpine lake ceremony spot and even a charming red canoe to paddle around in (funny story about this to follow) to make their adventure elopement that much more exciting!
These two knew from the beginning (in September of 2019, pre-pandemic) that an intimate and unique elopement in the Colorado mountains was the route they wanted to go rather than the traditional wedding experience. Katie, the bride, even wore a gorgeous red gown in lieu of the ‘traditional’ white wedding dress, which I absolutely loved! She also had a starry cape to wear after sunset for some lantern lit photos and star photos! They really turned their nuptials in to a full on adventure and made it an experience of their very own. They started the journey in Maryland (their home base) and road tripped to and through multiple national parks, camping along the way before arriving at their Airbnb in Crested Butte the night before their elopement day!
With the bride and groom both being first responders working extremely long hours and often times opposite shifts anytime they had a shared moment off of work they would head to the Shenandoah Mountains to camp and hike. They knew that they wanted a mountain elopement together because they both felt like the mountains were one of the places they could truly relax with each other and be present in the emotional moments without distraction. This was also a big reason they chose to have a self-solemnizing elopement with just the two of them (and their adorable hedgehog, of course!)
A whole lot of things happened in the year and even the weeks and days leading up to their elopement. The COVID-19 pandemic, family emergencies and sadly loss, but I’m so glad that when the day of their elopement arrived they were still able to lean in to one another during a time that felt extremely heavy and create an intentional experience with each other for their special day.
Rather than documenting getting ready and jumping straight in to a ceremony together they decided to start the day off by spending time doing what they love the most, exploring in the mountains. They put on their hiking gear and checked out a few of the hiking trails in Crested Butte on the way to Emerald Lake, splashed around in the river, snuggled in a gorgeous wildflower meadow with their hedgehog and then when we arrived at Emerald Lake just before sunset they spread out a blanket and had a little picnic while they wrote their vows to one another sitting side by side. After their vows were written we headed to the other side of the beautiful alpine lake to get right next to the water. They changed in to their wedding clothes in Austin’s pick up truck and in the meadow, then we walked down the trail where they exchanged their vows lakeside and became husband and wife just as the sun set behind behind the mountains around them and the stars started to slowly pop out in the sky. Their vows were emotional, but so special. With the recent loss of the bride’s grandmother it was so touching that they both included her tried and true advice in their vows: which was to tell each other they loved one another every single day. It worked for her grandparents for over 50 years and was something they both strived to hold as an important foundation in their own marriage.
This is where the funny story of that red canoe I mentioned earlier comes in! We knew, from keeping tabs on this location via Instagram, that there was a red canoe at Emerald Lake for the public to use that is always docked on the shore of the lake. What we didn’t expect was for the paddles to be missing when we arrived. Since Katie was in a red wedding dress it made photos in that red canoe 100% necessary at all costs, so we decided to wing it “paddle-free” (paddle-less? same difference). They hopped in the canoe and I just barely nudged it out far enough in to the water away from the shore to take photos of them getting cozy and floating on the water. What we didn’t realize was that the shore drops from shallow to NOT SHALLOW almost an instant, so when the canoe started to float away and I reached out to snag it I got to take a little ice cold glacier bath up to my thighs and just barely missed my cameras dipping in to the water too. (Don’t worry – this is why my camera gear is waterproof up to a certain depth and I always double write photos to multiple cards within the camera.) The biggest concern was not letting these two float away with no way of getting back to the shore without going for an unexpected polar plunge. Thankfully that split second was just enough time to pull them back to the shore so they could continue on with their adventure!
We headed away from the lake in search of a camping spot nestled in the mountains for them to end their night with. We pulled in to a spot, hopped out of our cars, set up some little lanterns and they snuggled together on a blanket while they watched the stars. The amazing thing about being so deep in to the mountains of Crested Butte is that there is little to no light pollution, so the stars take over the entire sky and you can even see star trails and the milky way. We got especially lucky on the night of their elopement because we were able to witness the Neowise comet as well as the already breathtaking stars. It was a magical ending to an already more than perfect day!
Okay, okay now that I’ve gushed a whole entire novel about these two and their Crested Butte Colorado elopement at Emerald Lake let’s get to the photos, shall we?
Crested Butte, CO Elopement Location: Emerald Lake
10 out of 10 wedding guest extraordinaire: Corporal Prickly Pear
Katie’s rings: Bario-Neal @barioneal on Instagram
Austin’s ring: Staghead Designs @stagheaddesigns on Instagram
Katie’s shoes: Ariat (booties), Altra (hiking shoes)
Menswear: Banana Republic (shirt), Wrangler (jeans), Lucchese (Western boots), Danner (hiking boots), Resistol (cowboy hat)
Dress Designer: Fame & Partners
If you’re planning a Colorado Elopement of your own see what it’s like to work with me and let’s get the conversation started!