How to plan a Colorado Hiking Elopement
Table of Contents:
What does a hiking elopement look like? (Elopement Timeline)
What is a hiking elopement?
A hiking elopement is when you elope in the wilderness after walking to your destination. Hiking elopements are awesome because the main activity of the day is hiking and you can add other little activities to it such as picnicking, champagne pop, swimming, or camp fire snuggling.
Most of my hiking elopements are about 2-4 miles total, so the distance isn’t really a type two fun day but it’s enough to really get out in the wilderness to your destination to say your vows!
What does a hiking elopement look like? (Elopement Timeline)
The best way to show you what a hiking elopement looks like is show you a typical timeline for a sunrise hiking elopement! Let’s say that it’s July sunset elopement in Colorado with a 2 mile hike to a trailhead that’s on a 4x4 road with a private chef dinner.
1:30 pm - Getting ready
3:00 pm - Have a snack
3:30 pm - Take the Jeep to the Trailhead
4:00 pm - Hike to Ceremony Spot
6:00 pm - Change into Dress
6:30 pm - First Look
7:00 pm - Ceremony
7:45 pm - Pop the Champagne
8:00 pm - First Dance
8:30 pm - Sunset
8:35 pm - Change back to hiking clothes
8:45 pm - Hike back to Jeep
9:45 pm - Head back to Cabin
10:15 pm - Dinner
10:45 pm - Cake
11:15 pm - Hot tub
Need Help Planning, elope with Ashleigh!
If you decide you really want to have a hiking elopement, hire me, Ashleigh! I really want your elopement experience to be stress free, fun and heartfelt! I help couples find the perfect location for their elopement that fits them and their dreams for the day!
Why should you hike on your wedding day?
Hiking is your favorite activity to do together!
I think you should hike on your elopement if that’s your thing! If you guys go hiking whenever you can, you might want to hike on your wedding day because it’s your favorite outdoor activity to do as a couple! I would never want a couple to think they HAD to do anything. It SHOULD be something you really love to do! If hiking defines your relationship, yes you should go hiking on your wedding day! I thinks that when it just matches with you and your lifestyle and how you like to do life!
You can get to secluded locations.
We all know that the first mile on any trail has… people! So often once you get about a mile in there’s significantly less people. So if you’re willing to hike in about a mile you can usually find the perfect spot with privacy to say your vows. It’s super awesome for people who are very private or might get a little nervous with onlookers. It might be one of the main reasons you were leaning towards an elopement – the intimacy of it all!
Views you can only dream of!
There are plenty of wonderful spots that are just yards away from the parking lot! You can even use a Jeep to get to fabulous views that don’t include hiking. BUT you can get to amazing spots that are only accessible one way… hiking. Those are the ones my hiking elopement couples dream of! That little alpine lake with a single track that is almost overgrown by wildflowers! That mountain top that you first feel into each other’s arms! These are the views hidden in the mountains that you’re dreaming of!
How to choose your Elopement Day Location.
Decide on the hiking distance.
When you're deciding on your hiking distance, think about how you want the day to flow and how much time you want to spend actually hiking. There's some great spots that are a mile or less from the trailhead that still give you the hiking adventure. it's best to stay within your limits of what is comfortable while backpacking because you’ll have a lot of stuff with you. Another thing to consider is that we will be hiking in the dark! Either on the way to the elopement spot if it’s an sunrise or on the way out when it’s a sunset.
Decide on the mountain feature to say your vows.
This is a big one when it comes to picking your location for your hiking elopement. In Colorado, the main two features that couples pick are alpine lake or mountain top. And usually between the two, they find a meadow and river. So you may have to flip a coin but so many couples are way more drawn to one or the other.
Having already picked your hiking distance you can narrow down your options to the ones that are within your distance range in the area of Colorado you’re staying in. Make sure not to go beyond your dream hiking distance because that can make your day more difficult and leaning toward type two fun and we don’t want that!
Choose your Elopement Date
For the best hiking elopement date, think about the season you’re dreaming of when you think about the mountain feature you picked. So if you picked a waterfall, you might have the best luck to get to and enjoy a waterfall in July when the water is flowing but not overpowering and muddy. Alo remember that some locations will not be accessible hiking in the snow or you can’t get to a reasonable hiking distance because the road isn’t open yet because of snow. Mid-summer to early-fall is the best chance for accessing the majority of hiking locations in Colorado. The main thing I’d recommend is getting married during the week! To learn more about getting married during the week check this out!
Your photographer is your location resource.
I’m a local Colorado photographer so scouting the best stops in Colorado is part of my job! I love hunting down the very best spots for my couples to get married! I take so many things into account when finding the perfect location suggestions for my couples. I send over 3-6 elopement day location suggestions to my couples to look out after they fill out a questionnaire for me. Sometimes there’s less because they are after a unique experience that has fewer options such finding a location that is on a 4x4 to the trailhead where you pass a waterfall on the trail to the top of the mountain for the ceremony.
Picking your elopement location.
Once you look through all the options within your parameters - hiking distance, mountain feature and time of year. If you’re working with a photographer you’ve already nailed down the date and general area for them to start looking for your perfect location. Then that’s the best thing, you just get to pick one!
Plan your travel.
Once you pick your exact location, you can find a cabin rental that’s close by so you don’t have to worry about traveling far on your wedding day. I’d recommend getting settled in at least the day before your wedding day to relax and destress from travel. If you have the time, why not make a longer trip out of it?
How to hire other vendors that you love.
Making your wedding day special and smooth going is all up to finding an amazing team of people for your elopement. Some of the vendors that most elopement couples decide to add to their team for the day are: Photographer, Florist, Hair & Makeup, Baker, and Personal Chef.
Location Distance
When hiring vendors make sure to ask their travel fees. I offer no travels fees all over Colorado! A perk for my Colorado peeps that love it as much as I do! You can also opt to pick up some of the items from your vendors like your flowers or Baker If you have room in your fridge to keep the items fresh.
Time Availability
Remember if you decide on a quite sunrise elopement that it’ll be really really early in the morning when you're getting ready. Your hair and makeup person might charge extra to come over to your remote cabin in the middle of the night. And florist aren’t open that early, so you’ll have to go the day before. And if you have a personal chef to your cabin after your sunset elopement, it might be way later than normal dinner time. Make sure to get proper quotes for what you need with the unusual times a sunset and sunrise elopement needs!
How to Pack for a Hiking Elopement
There’s a lot of stuff you need to pack for a hiking elopement! I’ve got the Ultimate Hiking Elopement Checklist you can sign up to receive in your inbox below! It really is everything you could possibly need for your hiking elopement. Once you see the list you’ll see you need a big pack for your elopement day. The best packs for a hiking elopement are your backpacking packs! They’re comfortable and can store a lot of gear you need for hiking and for your wedding day.
How to pack your wedding dress.
The best way to pack your dress in your pack if you’re hiking in to your spot then getting dressed is a burrito roll. You lightly fold into a rectangle then roll that from the bottom to the top if you have boning or top to bottom if you don’t have boning. Make sure to do it loosely so it doesn’t wrinkle and to do it right before you leave so it’s in the bag for less amount of time. The key for making this work is that you’ve steamed your dress (I recommend twice!). So it starts with zero wrinkles so not that many happen in the pack.
How to pack your wedding suit.
Suite jackets can hang on the outside of the pack or you can fold them in half and let them drape over the top of the pack between the pack and the brain. Make sure you don’t have too much stuff in the brain so it swashes the jacket.
How to hike with flowers.
Flower bouquets are really easy to bring up, you just need to make sure they have water on the base of the stems so they don’t wilt. You can just place them in the water bottle holder and secure them with straps to make sure they don’t fall out!
Ultimate Hiking Elopement Checklist Download
I know there’s a lot to remember before your elopement! I don’t want you to forget anything before your hiking elopement on the trail! Use this checklist to make sure you have everything packed the night before! Want the Ultimate Hiking Elopement Checklist, make sure to get the link to your free download before your elopement day!!
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Hello! I’m your photo -grapher & Guide, Ashleigh!
In The Journal :
“There are no rules on your wedding day!”