Sprague Lake Elopement at Sunrise in Rocky Mountain National Park | Tara + Josh

This sunrise Sprague Lake Elopement in Rocky Mountain National Park is one that I will hold close to my heart forever. When Tara and Josh were seeking out places to elope in Colorado they knew that they wanted a mountain elopement location that still felt intimate. Sunrise at Sprague Lake in Estes Park Colorado ended up being the perfect fit. It takes a whole lot of chutzpah and dedication to be willing to wake up at 3am on your wedding day, but both Tara and Josh valued keeping their elopement intimate, so getting to Sprague Lake before the sun came up and the tourist foot traffic got heavy was the perfect way to reserve that intimacy.

Aside from myself and their officiant, Tara and Josh’s Rocky Mountain National Park elopement was witnessed only by Tara’s father, Josh’s mother and Mother Nature. Each of them signed their marriage license as witnesses, but Tara’s father was also the one to bring up the rings and had them to the bride and groom for their ring exchange. After their elopement ceremony and their elopement pictures throughout Rocky Mountain National Park we announced them as husband and wife and cheered in to the mountains as loud as we could. It was pure, pure magic.

Their Estes Park elopement was better than anything we could’ve ever dreamed of. Due to the bizarre Spring weather we’ve been having this year in Colorado all of the clouds were dancing beneath the peaks of the mountains because of how dense they were in the unusually chilly weather. By the end of their elopement ceremony when the sun had fully risen the clouds were just kissing the top of the mountain peaks in the background and the alpenglow was an absolute dream.

The bride, Tara, honored her late Mother by wearing an altered version of one of her dresses as her wedding dress. It was so sentimental and meaningful. That’s one of the most special things about having an elopement, you know? A lot of times people hear the word “elopement” and they assume it’s just some couple running off for a ‘quickie wedding’ in secret. That’s not what elopement means anymore. The definition has been completely flipped on its head and turned 180º. Elopements are about couple’s making their wedding day about the two of them and their love for each other, their journey to reaching the moment where they can finally say I do, without all of the bells, whistles, traditions and expectations that can come along with a big wedding ‘event’.

Tara and Josh truly encompassed what elopements are about for their sunrise elopement at Sprague Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. I’m so lucky to have been one of the few souls to witness it, but especially to be the one that got to document it and preserve those memories for them for years to come.

Traditionally, the cutting of the cake is supposed to symbolize a couple’s ‘first task as husband and wife’. Tara and Joshua had something a little bit more fun in mind ;). Only in Colorado.

Places to Elope in Colorado: Sprague Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park / Estes Park, Colorado
Officiant: Mary Mesropian