Ouray Colorado Elopement

Ouray-Colorado-Elopement

Ouray Colorado Elopement

Kristine + Johnny’s Off Road Elopement in Colorado


self-solemnizing-colorado-wedding

Kristen and Johnny decided to elope in Ouray, Colorado after canceling their wedding plans earlier this year and reflecting on all of their good memories there together over the years. These two have traveled all over the states and out of the states and chose the beautiful rocky mountains for the wedding day! They met when Kristen was actually 17 when she worked for Johnny’s parents. Over the years of becoming friends, leading to dating and then lead to now, marriage! They have been together for 13 years and have known they wanted to be together forever, but deep down knew they didn’t want the big 400 person wedding, so a small elopement on big mountains seemed like the way to go for them!

I met them in the beautiful little town of Ouray, Colorado on a perfect fall day. Johnny wanted one of the quaint small streets to see Kristen for the first time before we started our off road adventure. Kristen wore a wedding dress with Irish lace in touch with her roots and added some final touches of some beautiful heirloom jewelry gifted to her by Johnny’s mother. They shared this first moment together in privacy as fall leaves fell around them with a few happy tears that the day was finally here. We all loaded into the jeep after, Slinky included! Their 19 year old pup who would be signing the marriage license, which is actually a huge reason why these two choose to elope in Colorado! We started our drive through a stunning aspen forest with bright yellow leaves as Kristen read emails from friends and families with notes of congratulations and marriage advice. We made our first stop at the waterfall at the half way point for their self-solemnizing ceremony. We explored the area, picking the perfect spot that offered a beautiful view, great fall leaves and privacy. We set everything up on a ledge near by at a spot that reminded us all of the rock formations on the famous black beach of Iceland. They shared vows back and forth, memories of how they came to this day as Slinky listened along at their feet. Their ceremony was perfect to mark this milestone in their relationship, sealed with a ring exchange and a kiss. We started our way further up the mountain finding the perfect nook with a mountain background, beautiful light and fall vibes galore for their first dance together. They shared their first dance to a romantic song, but then had some fun dancing to the theme song from the movie ‘Dirty Dancing.’

After dances and photos we hopped back into the jeep to get to the end of the road, the highest point and an amazing mountain overlook. It was super chilly up top so Kristen broke out the cover up she had bought on their trip to Scotland together to help keep her warm, another cute touch to all of the places these two have traveled together over the years. We started our trek down the mountain with some light left to make traversing the off road path a little easier. As we got closer to town we stopped to end the day with making it official, signing the marriage license. They filled everything out and signed their names and Slinky finished it off with his paw print as the witness! We got back into town just as it became dark. The end of the road overlooked the town of Ouray and it was so serene to see the lights of the town in the basin of the mountains, a perfect view to end the day. I left these two in town so they could enjoy their dinner reservations. They were set to honeymoon for a couple of days around Colorado before road tripping back to Texas.

I am so happy for these two that they got to share a day with just them and their travel companion and right hand girl, Slinky. It was a beautiful day connecting, taking in the amazing views out in the Colorado Mountains. It was peaceful and so fitting for who these two are. Congrats Johnny and Kristen!!! May you have so many more epic travels together, but now as husband and wife! <3

A dog lays on a blanket with a wedding detail sign.

Check out this little clip I made of Kristen and Johnny’s day! <3

A person smiles with a lake and mountains behind them in this portrait.

Hey there! We are your Colorado Elopement Photographer Team!

We are your adventure driven, nothing is too far out of bounds, elopement team. We are here to allow your pursuit of your dream elopement become reality. From finding the perfect location, curating a custom ceremony and with every detail all around, our purpose is to ensure that you’re able to enjoy the best day ever together! We believe eloping is the most connective, authentic way to get married and if you’re looking for a team who will be just as stoked as you are on this day and brings years of experience and international award winning credentials to support their artistic images, you are in the right place.

Vendors:

Jeep Rental – Switzerland of America

Hair and Makeup – Glow Day Spa // Haley

Flowers – Little Bucket of Flowers

A double exposure of a couple going to share a kiss and the mountains in the background.

This elopement has been recently featured by Couture Colorado!