Authentic Collective
Share
06/01/2026
Eloping in the great outdoors means embracing whatever mother nature throws our way.
It was *pouring* rain when we met up with K+I, so we took shelter in an aspen grove and took some moody rain photos while we waited to see if the storm would pass. We always bring a pair of clear umbrellas with us to every elopement - they allow you to stay dry(ish) while still getting great photos!
But if there’s one thing we know about the mountains? The weather can change in 5 minutes (for good or bad). The rain slowed down, and we decided to take the risk and start the short hike we had planned for the evening. When we got to the trailhead there was really limited visibly, with clouds blocking the mountain views. But once we reached the viewpoint? The clouds had dissipated and we got the most beautiful views we could have imagined. The crazy thing is as soon as we finished photos and started the hike back, the cloud cover came back.
One thing we say all the time in our business + life is “everything always works out for us” - and I think this experience with K+I was just another perfect example of that. Forever grateful that Mother Nature gave us a little pocket of epic views!
Photo & video:
Hair & makeup:
If it’s just the two of you we can go to almost any epic view on National Forest land and have the ceremony. However when you’re inviting a large group of people to your ceremony, you need a venue or reservable ceremony site.
This is because you’ll need somewhere accessible that’s easy for your guests to get to, enough parking for everyone, room for everyone to gather for the ceremony while staying on durable surfaces, and if you want a set up with chairs, an arbor, aisle runner, etc. you can’t do that on public land, you’ll need a venue.
The good news is that you aren’t limited to just big, traditional venues. There are tons of untraditional wedding venue options for small ceremonies that still offer those beautiful mountain views you’re probably dreaming of.
And if you’re torn between the intimacy of an elopement and celebrating with guests, you can always do BOTH to get the best of both worlds. Spend one day celebrating with your loved ones — and then have another day that’s just the two of you, exploring somewhere epic and sharing vows privately.
If you want our full list of micro wedding venues in Colorado, comment “SMALL VENUES” and we’ll send it over to you! 💌
Click here to claim your Sponsored Listing.
