After dealing with all of the isolation brought on by COVID, Sterling and Colleen decided that an Estes Park Colorado elopement at Sprague Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park was the perfect way to gather with all of their closest family members and become husband and wife.
The elopements I have photographed in 2020 have come about in so many different ways: elopements as a result of a downsized weddings, eloping privately and saving the big wedding reception for a later date, having a self solemnizing elopement with no guests at all, having a small elopement with just a handful of closest friends and family, having a destination elopement in Colorado and saving the big wedding plans for when other states in the country loosen up their gathering size limitations – and more. A resounding theme though have been people choosing to elope as a backup plan. It was so refreshing that when Sterling and Colleen reached out to me in June that their Sprague Lake elopement was their Plan A. They were ready, passionate and excited to plan their intimate elopement experience, pandemic or not and that definitely shone through during the entire experience.
You never know what the weather will be like in Rocky Mountain National Park no matter what time of year you’re getting married! I always keep close eyes on Accuweather before my elopements and come fully prepared with clear umbrellas, hand warmers, so many layers and always a change of shoes. This day was the exact reason why I’m an over-planner (blame the Type A in me, it comes in handy). Even though there was a 0% chance of precipitation and the forecast showed hot temperatures a big storm cloud rolled in just minutes before their ceremony began. We had bluebird sunny skies in one direction and the sky in the other direction was as close to a shade of black as you can get during the day time. Thankfully, the sun stayed out for their entire beautiful ceremony and it didn’t begin to rain until just afterward. It was an absolutely gorgeous sun shower, one of my favorite settings to photograph in. The weather magic didn’t stop there, though! I must have whipped my head around approximately 903845083 times saying “this is perfect weather for a rainbow” and “I bet you anything we’re going to get a rainbow out of this”. Sure enough, when we headed to their first location for bride and groom portraits the rain started dumping and you could see the light fractions starting to form a faint rainbow…. but on the other end of Rocky Mountain National Park.
We all sprinted through the Moraine Valley meadow, hopped in our cars and sped (okay, drove the speed limit…ish) over to Upper Beaver Meadows to try and catch the potential rainbow with a view of Pike’s Peak in the background. The timing was absolutely perfect, because just as we pulled in to the parking lot the one faint rainbow turned in to a beautiful and bright double rainbow! We were all so elated that they just frolicked out in to the field, danced together, ditched the umbrellas and joyfully cheered about how perfect of a day it ended up being.
With Rocky Mountain National Park restricting their number of allowed elopement ceremonies to 250 in 2021 I’m so grateful that I was able to photograph yet another Estes Park Colorado elopement in the park before those opportunities become fewer and farther in between. Luckily, Estes Park Colorado is full of beautiful elopement locations even outside of Rocky Mountain National Park and I’m so glad I get to continue celebrating couple’s special days nestled in such a pretty part of the state.
Colorado Elopement Location – Sprague Lake
Ring Designer – Sarah O. Designs
If you’re considering a 2021 elopement in Rocky Mountain National Park make sure you check out this list of places to elope and get your elopement permit secured sooner rather than later!