Cottonwood Pass Elopement in Colorado
Adventure Hiking Elopement in Colorado
LOVE, LORRAINE ADVENTURE WEDDING and ELOPEMENT PHOTOGRAPHERS
Eloping in Colorado in October may be a risk, but it comes with epic rewards. October is the beginning of the snow season in Colorado’s peaks, especially when you get to 12,000 and higher. Some of our favorite spots in Colorado will be at peak foliage, the Aspen trees showing off their golden leaves. Oftentimes there can be an overall of autumn and winter, and while you may arrive in CO to sun and warm temperatures, don’t count out the reality that you could wake up to a fresh coating of snow!
Julia & Ian
October in Colorado is a special time of year that everyone should experience. Generally speaking, the leaves are changing, and there is a reasonable chance of snow at a higher elevation. The snow at elevation gifts viewers with snow-kissed mountain tops. This combined with the changing yellow leaves of aspen trees is an incredible sight worth seeing. Weather is something to always be aware of when you are traveling into the mountains, especially the Rockies. Temperatures can vary by 40 or even 50 degrees day to day, and the unpredictable winds and snow can surprise those not better prepared.
When Julia and Ian first reached out about their elopement, they had a particular date in mind. Their anniversary was slated for October 15, 2021, what better way to celebrate than to get married?! We absolutely love fall weddings, especially in Colorado. After having the opportunity to explore quite a lot of Colorado this past year, we had our eyes on shooting an elopement in Cottonwood Pass. Cottonwood Pass is the highest paved mountain pass over the Continental Divide. While it does close for the winters, it is often plowed for the first few snowfalls of the season. We highly recommend calling the local ranger when planning to drive Cottonwood Pass in the month of October to get an idea of the recent weather and the status of the road.
On October 14th, the day before their wedding, Cottonwood pass was gifted with a fresh blanket of snow. The following day was slated to be very cold, but Julia and Ian were determined to get married on that particular date, which was their anniversary. We grabbed lunch in town, packed up our gear at the trailhead, and set off. A short hike to a beautiful alpine lake wasn’t as easy as initially predicted with a fresh blanket of snow. There were very few signs of the trail the entire way up. We used a combination of AllTrails, offline maps, and the GPS on our watch to make it to the top. Without these resources, it would have been very difficult to navigate our way to this remote location, as there was only one other couple on the hike at the time we were, and no one in front of us the whole way! There were also multiple river crossings hidden under the fresh snow. Pro Tip: Whenever planning for a hiking elopement or adventure session, pack extra socks! You never know when you might have to get a little bit wet, and fresh socks can be a game changer for whatever hiking and adventuring remain.
Having finally landed at our destination, we decided to do their ceremony quickly and head back down. It was simply too cold, and the sun was setting very fast. Once the sun was gone, we would lose any sense of warmth left that day. Shivering through their vows, Julia and Ian toughed it out and got exactly what they wanted. They were married on October 15th, at an incredibly remote location in the Rocky Mountains.
The decision to go back down due to the cold and the sun setting happened fast. We quickly navigated the trail we made on our way up back to the car. It wasn’t until halfway back to the car that we caught back up with the sun, and we were grateful we got out when we did. It was close to 9 degrees by the time we got out! Ian recommended a quick warming session in the car and a drive up to the top of Cottonwood Pass at the Continental Divide to catch the sunset. The timing worked out perfectly, and the decision to leave the lake early was less grim knowing we caught the last of the light for some super chilly portraits.
After a much-needed warming session overlooking the mountain range before us, we all watched the sun fall out of the sky and below the mountains. We made a last-minute plan with Julia and Ian to repeat the hike we had just completed the next day, to capture more portraits of them in their formal wear. When you book with us at Love, Lorraine, and you choose to work with us for a full day (12 hours or more), we build this flexibility into your wedding planning. Typically what we do is we plan for the day before or the day after as a flex day in case the weather doesn’t cooperate. We know that nature can’t always be perfect and that the weather doesn’t quite do exactly what we hope all the time. For this particular wedding, Julia and Ian were grateful for the opportunity to go back up to the alpine lake and shoot more photos. We had already built some flexibility into our travel schedule, understanding that the weather could give us some trouble being mid-October in the mountains.
Note: Don’t let just any weather ruin your elopement day plans. We LOVE snow and rain as a part of your elopement. They add incredible diversity to your photos, oftentimes creating an incredibly unique set of images. In this particular scenario, it was simply too cold for us to stay up top and capture enough portraits. We decided that our safety and health were more important, and flexed our plans as needed!
The next day, we got an early start. Julia and Ian were well-rested and warm, and the sun was shining bright first thing. The forecast gave us the green light at 45 degrees that day, and we stopped in Salida for the farmers market before heading back to the trailhead. We decided to hike even earlier the second day, that way we could spend some extra time up top getting their portraits.
One huge benefit of doing the hike a second time meant that we had already scouted a good amount of the area at the alpine lake, and knew where we wanted to capture photos. The other sneaky benefit was that the trail had already been marked for us, by us! Up we went, this time much quicker as the Colorado sun melted a lot of the fresh snow away, including surrounding the river crossings we cautiously approached the day before. The weather was perfect, warm and sunny. We spent a few hours up top getting some incredible views and enjoying a relaxing portrait session with our new adventure buddies, Julia and Ian.
After our hike, Julia and Ian invited us back to their Airbnb outside of town. They booked a beautiful cabin in Howard, CO for an extended weekend. We love when our couples opt to do this, it gives you much more time to celebrate your wedding. To learn more about multiple day wedding celebrations and their benefits, read this blog!
Take out food, a nice fire with s’mores, cake, and even some classic sodas made for the perfect ending to a two-day adventure. Julia loves s’mores. She had an entire spread of options when it came to graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows. As a result of our planning, we were able to photograph their Airbnb and these two enjoying an evening by the fire. This resulted in a nice round of bonus photos, adding to their wedding weekend story.
It is important to note here that Julia and Ian’s willingness to trust us and their openness to being flexible made this weekend extra special. Having an extra day to work with allowed us to capture much more of their wedding weekend away. Building in extra time in all of your planning, whether it's extra hours or even extra days, can be very beneficial to a successful wedding adventure experience. Especially when you are planning during the winter or fall in the mountains! You can never truly know when the weather is going to take a turn.
How to Plan and Prepare for Your Hiking Elopement
Preparation is an important part of any outdoor adventure. Even the shortest of hikes, even those close to home, can be much more successful with the right preparation. The 7 Principles of Leave No Trace teach us how to plan and prepare for our time outdoors in ways that can go as far as to save our lives if something should happen. You spent a ton of time preparing your plans to get married, and you should do the same for the hiking part of your Elopement!
Safety First: Location, Accessibility, and Gear
Ensuring your safety (along with those that may be joining you) is the most important part of this step of planning. Have you been to this location before? Are you certain it is accessible in this particular time of year? Are there any current restrictions or wildlife alerts? Understanding all of this in advance can help you to make plans to ensure your own safety along with others. For Julia and Ian’s elopement, we took the time to get to know these two in advance, understanding what they wanted for the day of. They didn’t want to hike all day, but they wanted a beautiful location. We had already scoped the trailhead access in advance and knew that the road would be managed, even in the event of a snow storm. It’s the little things like this that will keep you from arriving at a closed gate or inaccessible trailhead on your elopement day!
Weather, Backup Plan
Having a backup plan is a crucial planning step that can save you the headache of needing to change plans on the day of due to weather and other unforeseen circumstances. We had a few backup plans in mind for Julia and Ian. None of which we used in the end, but it’s important to have things planned just in case! With their love of the date and the location, it was an easy decision to revisit the same location the next day, instead of opting for one of the other options on our list. We also had confidence in the weather playing nice, making the second day an easy decision on the fly.
As professional elopement photographers, we always spend time with our couples crafting realistic backup plans in the event of weather. This backup plan does NOT have to be super simple or limited, either. Think of it as another opportunity to get creative and plan your greatest day. Also, we are real human beings. When weather finds a way to say “it’s time to go” due to inclimate weather or freezing temperatures, we are happy to help make those decisions swiftly and keep you and anyone else along for the adventure as safe as possible.
Food and Drink
Everyone needs fuel, especially during a hike in the alpine wilderness. Having the necessary amount of water and food packed strategically is important to have a successful adventure. When we first started planning with Julia and Ian, we mentioned a sandwich shop in Salida we love to visit. Sandwiches are a great food option for hiking, as they can be split into portions easily and don’t require a lot of tools to consume! We packed our sandwiches for the hike up and ate them up top as a reward to the hike. As for water, we like to carry at least 2 liters of water with us everywhere we go, and on hikes we like to double that amount. And having extra snacks on hand never hurts!
Pets and/or Guests
Planning to have your furry friend, or human friends, join you? That’s great. Just remember to keep their personal limitations in mind. Julia and Ian brought their pup along for the ride, and they hike quite often with her. A dog with experience hiking never worries us much, and Lacey was a champ on both days. If you have an older pup with lower stamina, don’t pick an aggressive hike that will challenge them too much. The same goes for parents and grandparents! Oh, and you friends, too. Remember, everyone has their own independent hiking level and keeping everyone safe and comfortable along the way is the key to a successful day.
Wedding Attire
Consider the clothes you are going to wear on your wedding day. If you are planning to summit a mountain, imagine yourself rock climbing, hopping over river beds, and closely avoiding mud puddles along the way. We love a wrecked dress but be sure to have the proper footwear prepared! You can also find particular fabrics that are best suited for adventures. In the summer, lighter fabrics will be best, and in the winter, don’t be afraid to bring fur or wool products to stay warm! Julia was able to pull her dress up and cinch it into her backpack hip straps, allowing her to hike with it on! They both chose to wear their hiking boots as the terrain was mixed and remember, safety first, always! There is nothing wrong with wearing your hiking boots in your wedding portraits, it's all about the adventure!
Florals and Accessories
Last but not least, don’t forget your personal essentials and the details. Just because you are choosing to elope doesn’t mean you don’t need a beautiful bouquet or all those smaller details. Bring the things that are most important to you, the things you want to be a part of your wedding day. With the right planning in place, anything is possible. Julia chose to wear some pieces from family members and a flower crown!
If you are planning your hiking elopement, or considering a hiking elopement, check out this blog post for a deep dive on all of our planning expertise!
Meet Your Colorado Elopement Photographers
We spent three years living on the road full-time, exploring and adventuring throughout the United States. Colorado quickly became one of our favorite states, and we knew it was a place that we always wanted to come back to. Over the course of three years, we found ourselves back in Colorado time and time again. After selling our van in 2020 in response to the pandemic, we packed up all of our things back east and moved to Colorado. We quickly realized that house life wasn’t our thing, so we bought an Airstream and are now converting it into our second tiny home on wheels.
You can find us all over Colorado exploring and finding the next best elopement location for our couples. We have spent so much time in the beautiful states that we know it like the back of our hand. If you are ready to plan your epic Colorado Elopement, you’ve come to the right place! Inquire with us to start planning your dream Colorado Elopement!