Things I would tell as a recent bride in Colorado if I wasn’t afraid to hurt your feelings.
When my husband and I got engaged, we got about 2 hours of peace before the “When’s the date? What’s the plan?” questions began from friends and relatives. This is the honest advice that I would give you as a recent Colorado bride.
Cut to us grappling with whether we wanted to elope like we had always talked about or have a large wedding with lots of family and friends.
We had always talked about eloping. We absolutely love to travel and adventure. Our friendship began on a study abroad trip to Italy.
However, ultimately we settled on doing something based here in Colorado and inviting all of our extended family. I wish that we would have stopped and planned a bit better in order to have the freedom of an elopement, with the feeling of support and celebration with our closest family and friends. Looking back, we could have had both if we had done it right so here is my advice from a recent Colorado bride:-
SO, what if you want both? The epic views and intimate moments, and the wild party with your ride or die crew?
SO DO BOTH – have a day or weekend that is just the two of you first, do the true moments together, the vows with a view. And then plan a rager the week after to celebrate with your people and keep the energy going.
Its absolutely possible to have the best of both worlds. You should be able to take full advantage of the gorgeous Colorado landscape around you, get married out in nature with just your person. You can squeeze every last drop out of the private, epic moments as well as getting to bask in the celebration with your closest crew. Doing both an elopement and a party/dinner/reception is not only a really unique way of doing your wedding, its also absolutely awesome!
BUT HOW!?
Here is my advice as a recent Colorado bride on how to build the perfect itinerary for a couple who wants to have the best of both worlds:
DAY 1 – Just the two of you.
10:00am – 10:30am
-Wake up at your adorable Air Bnb Cabin in the mountains.
-Have coffee and/or make breakfast together. Maybe sit down and finalize your vows at the table together before you read them tonight.
10:30am – 12:00pm
-Go on your mountain adventure, think mountain lake Paddle boarding, river kayaking, even bird watching.
12:00pm – 4:00pm
-Break time. Take some time away from me and my camera, just the two of you truly being in the moment and relaxing before you do your private vows.
4:00pm – 5:30pm
-Start getting ready for your private vows.
-Do a first look!Find a pretty space and have a moment where the groom and the bride see each other for the first time in their wedding clothes.
-Make your favorite drink or smoke a jay to bring down the nerves.
5:30pm – 6:00pm
-Drive to the Vows location and hike to the spot.
-Take some gorgeous portraits of you and your soon-to-be spouse in the Colorado mountain landscape.
6:00pm – 7:00pm
-Read your private vows to one another. You don’t have to worry about aunt Sally hearing what you truly want to say to your person on this day. They are just for the two of you, and nature.
-Sign the Marriage License, out in the wild where you belong.
-Take some epic sunset photos at your ceremony spot, no rush, just relishing in this moment of officially being married.
7:00pm – 7:30pm
-Enjoy your pre-packed, chef-prepared picnic up at your chosen ceremony spot.
-I’ll take a couple of posed photos and then step back and allow you to enjoy in peace.
DAY 2 – The whole crew.
SLEEP IN!
12:00pm – 2:00pm
-Get ready for the big shindig.
-Hair and Makeup show up and begin getting everyone all glammed up, along with the bridal party if you choose to have one.
-Get the party started with some fun getting ready portraits with your whole crew.
2:00pm – 3:30pm
-Head to the party venue. Think cute local bistro, funky bar, not your typical ‘wedding venue’
-This is when we can knock out some family portraits at the party venue.
-We will make a shot list to make sure you get every precious family memory we possibly can.
4:00pm – 4:30pm
-Grab some photos of just the 2 of you at this venue to have some variety of vibes and energies in your photos as well.
4:30pm – 6:00pm
-Cocktail hour! Mix and mingle, have some fun custom cocktails made, start passing around hors d’observes.
6:00pm – 7:30pm
-Dinner and Toasts. Have a small catered dinner brought in for you and your guests. I won’t take photos while you’re all eating, no one needs that.
7:30 – end of the night
-Dance the night away! Make a playlist of your fave songs or hire a local DJ to help out. Celebrate in style with all of your loved ones, boogie down and bootie shake till the sun comes up. Have that unforgettable night with the tight group of loved ones you choose to have at this more intimate gathering. Dance is powerful for humans, it means unity and co-regulation. The dance party is not to be skipped.
PRO TIP – if you’re not having a full- on wedding with a ceremony at this secondary venue, you can rent out something like a vibey restaurant or even a public park pavilion and bring costs down significantly.
Can be done with either my 8 hour or 12 hour packages!
As a recent Colorado bride, my advice is to elope. Some of the advantages to choosing to elope:
- You get to allow yourselves to choose which aspects of a ‘traditional’ wedding. You can still do the getting ready portion with a hair and makeup artist or even better, get ready along with your fiance while having a relaxed coffee and pastry breakfast. You can order some florals to bing with you and pop in the fridge at the cabin. A bouquet for you and a corsage or pocket square for him. You can even hire a private chef to have a 5 star meal just waiting for you after the long day of adventures and nuptials.
- You can still include your truly close friends and family. Most people have a shorter list of people they would consider their true inner circle. Immediate family, the friends who show up the most. Bring them! We can find gorgeous spots all over Colorado with accessible spots where grandma can join in too.
- We can plan multiple activities outside of your vows that take advantage of the beautiful state of Colorado and all it has to offer. Think more than hiking; fly fishing, bird watching, kayaking or paddle boarding, Anything that gets you out and into the landscape and enjoying one another.
- A badass adventurous photographer of course! I help you plan it down to the last detail, and get the most out of every moment.
Whether you’re getting married here in a traditional wedding, or if you’re choosing to take the road less traveled and get eloped instead, Colorado is one of the best places to get married in the country. Ultimately, this is your day. And if you live in Colorado, or are planning to come here to get married, you have endless options to make it your own and to create the coolest day you can imagine in one of the most beautiful states. Utilize both the great outdoors and the eclectic local style of Colorado with a 2 day extravaganza of love and celebration for you and your new spouse. Take my advice as a recent Colorado bride, its worht it to choose yourselves.
If you want help planning a truly unique Colorado elopement or micro wedding, reach out to me, I would love to help you celebrate your love and would be honored to be a part of your journey.
