San Juan Mountains Elopement

Hannah + Anthony’s San Juan mountains elopement was a core memory for me. I remember when they reached out, one of the questions that stuck with me was, “how fast can you hike?”. That had me so intimidated, but I knew this elopement was bound to be good by the way they were describing this spot they loved so much. I actually trained for this hike, I was so nervous. Countless hours of incline walking, running and plenty of stairmaster movies were consumed. 

Hannah and Anthony are avid hikers – they finished all 58 of Colorado’s 14ers in just over a year. If you’re not from the state, a 14er is a mountain over 14,000 feet in elevation, and Colorado has the most 14ers in the US. These hikes are not for the faint of heart. 

Hannah and Anthony found a beautiful alpine lake on one of their hikes in Mt. Sneffels Wilderness area. They knew they wanted to say their vows above the lake as the sun rose over the bright blue water. Fun fact – countless alpine lakes in the San Juan mountain range offer bright blue water because of the surrounding minerals. Even some of the rivers are white-blue due to the plutonium content. 

The Ascent

Our day started at 12:30am near Ouray, Colorado. Hannah got her hair and makeup done in the hotel and we were out the door by 3:45ish. I hopped in the back of Anthony’s car with their pup Lucy. We drove to the trailhead in pitch back and started our ascent. Even though it was a chilly late September morning, Hannah hiked in biker shorts and a light jacket to minimize sweating before she had to slip on her wedding dress. We stopped just a few times to shed some layers and drink water. We arrived to our spot above the alpine lake with plenty of time to spare before the sun rose, thankfully. I’d rather be early than late! We waited until dawn, and then Hannah and Anthony slipped on their wedding attire.

First Look

Hannah really wanted to see Anthony’s initial reaction to the wedding dress she had picked for this sunrise elopement. They had the sweetest first look ever. :’) We waited a bit longer for the sun to really start rising, but we were surrounded by tall mountains, so it took forever to crest the ridge.

Ceremony

Eventually, the pair and Lucy strolled down to a tiny cliff edge – the place they knew they wanted to say their vows – overlooking the blue lake. The ceremony lasted a total of maybe 7 minutes – long enough for me to get plenty of angles of them! The mountain reflections in the blue lake gave me life, especially when that sun finally hit.

Pop the Bubbly

Time to celebrate! Hannah and Anthony popped a bottle of champagne. They also got a toy bottle for their dog Lucy to feel included. Then, of course, I had to document Lucy’s dog hiking booties. I’ll never get over dogs wearing shoes. The pair were wearing colorado-themed socks, so we did the classic elopement hiking boot pic, one of my favorites to capture for every elopement! 

We took plenty of photos above the lake and then decided to embark on another adventure. They donned their hiking packs and we started the steep trek to the lake’s edge. Bless hiking poles, am I right? This descent and the river crossing were the only parts I was nervous about hiking with my cameras out of my pack. I’m known to slip sometimes.

Wedding Traditions

Once we made it to the water’s edge, Hannah and Anthony had their first dance – a nice little EDM love ballad by Illineum. The dance moves were unmatched. I caught myself smiling, because they were really just being their true selves dancing to EDM music by a lake we just spent 2 hours hiking to in the pitch black. It was such an authentic moment true to their relationship. I would encourage every couple to incorporate something like this into their elopement. Hannah ordered tiny cakes from etsy, because she really wanted to incorporate the cake-cutting tradition into her elopement day. 

I have no words for how the cutting went because we all just laughed. The tiny cake was so cold, they weren’t able to cut it directly down the middle – it split sideways, making for the most adorable “what just happened” moment.

The Descent

As our time together was wrapping up, we all put our hiking packs back on again and made the descent down the mountain. There was so much to see on the way down that we couldn’t see on the way up. The San Juan mountains were already snow-capped. We passed countless changing aspen trees. The yellow leaves contrasted Hannah and Anthony’s hiking packs so starkly, I had to capture a few photos. Hannah hiked down in her wedding dress. By this time in the day, we met multiple other hikers on the trail, all offering their congratulations to the newly-wed couple.

What an adventure elopement of a lifetime these two had! Shortly after the wedding, they moved back to Minnesota, but I hope they look at these photos often and think about how magical of an experience they created for their elopement day.

As a Colorado elopement photographer, I specialize in intimate and intentional wedding days. From suggestions during the planning process to documenting your elopement day, I’m here to help you create a unique wedding experience. If you love the idea of sharing an intimate and intentional wedding day with your partner, reach out and we’ll start the planning process. I would LOVE to help you dream up your beautiful day!

Late 2024 edit: I travel to the San Juans on a travel schedule and have dates set for August and September of 2025. These are the two BEST months to get married in the San Juan Mountains, so let’s get to planning!

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