Garden of the Gods is one of Colorado’s most iconic and historic landmarks. Charles Elliott Perkins purchased the land in the 1800s with the original intention of building a home there, but he ended up never doing it on precedent that he preferred to leave the wonderland to it’s natural state, meaning this land is totally undeveloped, never has been developed on and making it one of the best places to have an elopement (for free, I might add) in Colorado. It’s almost unheard of to find a free elopement location in Colorado, but after the Garden of the Gods land was passed down through generations of the Perkins’ family they eventually donated the entire property to the city of Colorado Springs under the condition that it will always remain free to the public for everyone to enjoy.
Some of you may recognize Chelsea and Gerardo from their incredible sunrise engagement photos on Lake Dillon, and their intimate wedding ceremony at Garden of the Gods was just as incredible. I shared quite a bit about their elopement day in this instagram post, but Chelsea and Gerardo went down a long path to get to their wedding day and so they deserved every single drop of perfection that their day was doused in. These two really leaned in to what it means to have an intentional day and made it so special and personal to them.
We were all holding our breath the day before their elopement after a huge blizzard rolled through Colorado and dumped over a foot of snow, but magically enough most of it had melted by the morning of their ceremony aside from a little bit of ice that the groom shoveled off himself while waiting for his almost-wife to arrive! The craziest part is it’s like the snow stopped just for the two of them, because just an hour or so after their reception ended it started snowing again and we got another foot of snow the next day.
Chelsea’s incredible grandmother performed their ceremony nestled on an overlook at Garden of the Gods and surrounded by some of the most beautiful views in the park. Both of their closest families and friends surrounded them as they exchanged vows, rings, and then their first kiss as husband and wife. It made absolute sense that both of them shared that their favorite thing about each other was their eyes, because they didn’t look away from each other once when they were sharing their vows. The ceremony was so beautiful and emotional. Their hand written vows to each other moved most people to tears and when Chelsea read vows to Gerardo’s two daughters I don’t think there was a dry eye in the entire group. It is so evident how much love these two have for each other.
After their intimate Garden of the Gods elopement we headed to their favorite bar, The Back East Bar, in Morrison Colorado for their reception! They were greeted by a mariachi band and spent a night full of fun on the dance floor serenaded by a live band that the bride’s father is the guitarist for! It was such an amazing time and I love that they got to have their first dance and so many other important wedding moments at one of their favorite local places serenaded by some of their favorite people. Also, there were tacos and tequila which is always a 10/10 option in my book!
Also, one of the cutest parts about their relationship and their story? Chelsea is a flight attendant and Gerardo is a first officer. The first time they actually met was on an airplane and neither of them ever knew if their paths would cross again, but thank goodness they did. Here is their meet-cute story as told by Chelsea:
“Eight months after starting my Southwest career I flew to Tampa with a super cute first officer. I was intrigued by his storytelling, his facial expressions were so animated! The hours of the night went by until it was just us talking and laughing in the lobby. Though we were only friends at the time, I felt a deep connection to him. I think he felt it too, because we both went to lunch the next day in hopes of getting a lil bit more time together. When we said goodbye I was disappointed not knowing if I would ever see him again. Every time I got on a new aircraft I would peak in the cockpit to see if he was sitting there.” Well, clearly their paths did cross again and again and again and eventually they started dating, fell in love, became a family together and now get to spend the rest of their lifetime as husband and wife.
I can’t help but share their sweet, sweet proposal story as told by Gerardo: “After asking Chelsí’s family permission to marry her, Chelsí and I left on our trip to Italy. I picked up her ring on the same day Ella was born making it even more special. Our first morning in Italy we began hiking the Path of the Gods in Amalfi, thirty minutes later and only getting lost once, we arrived at the fountain overlooking the coast where I asked Chelsi to marry me. Although the fountain was covered with an exorbitant number of curious bees, Chelsi said yes! I am the luckiest man! Chelsi safely made it down the 1700 steps into Positano considering the several congratulatory limoncello shots, Peronis, jet lag and of course a glimmery thingy on her finger.”
Elopement Ceremony Location – Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Wedding Reception Location – Back East Bar
Florist – Skyway Creations
Menswear – Express
Ring Designers – Shane co