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Winter elopements in Colorado certainly are not for everyone; however, for those who are willing to brave the elements the experience can be surreal. Lauren and Adam were lucky to have one of those incredible days. The weather was perfect, we didn't see another soul, and love was in the air.  These two planned their wedding for April 4th near Durango, Colorado and more specifically Purgatory Ski Resort. April can be a fickle month for weather in this Southwest region. Sometimes we experience weather akin to an early summer, and other times it is full on winter. Well, for this San Juan Mountains hiking elopement we experienced very warm temperatures and copious snow melt resulting in muddy rather than snowy conditions for 2 or 3 weeks leading up this union. Luckily the weather decided to switch back to March conditions, instead of the more May-like temperature that we had been experiencing. The ground froze, the snow fell, and the results were stunning.  Durango winter elopements: They're probably going to be cold. Most couples who want snowy photos don't want photos with their snow clothes on, this means more exposure to the temperature than a normal winter outing. As anyone from a colder climate knows, winter isn't always cute; conditions can turn rough on a dime. I once photographed a surprise winter proposal and we experienced blizzard conditions with about 15 feet of visibility (the photos were really cool, but not what the couple had intended).  Many winter-time Durango elopement photographers will recommend bringing winter clothes and boots to wear en route to the chosen location followed by a wardrobe change for the photography portion of the schedule. Colorado and Durango elopement packages cannot guarantee that it will snow on the scheduled day. This doesn't mean that it won't be beautiful regardless, but it does need to be stated.  Bring boots, bring sunglasses, bring gloves, bring a hiking stick, bring a beer; it's hard to say what you may or may not need during an outdoor winter ceremony! Winter elopement advice from brides that have experienced it.  On this particular day the trail went from wet and muddy the day before to pure ice day of. I showed up early to check the conditions and prepare the bride and groom the best I could; it was immediately apparent to me that we would need gloves and hiking poles or sticks, so I found us some. For more photos from me click HERE  The takeaways:
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For more winter location inspiration check out this article from Outside Magazine.
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 This event was half wedding, half wild rumpus. I LOVE shooting candid photographs at weddings and Matt and Julia's day was a dream come true. To be completely honest, Durango photographers get used to photographing a lot of "standard" weddings, and this union did not fall in that category whatsoever.  When planning a Durango wedding or eloping in Colorado, certain criteria need to be taken into consideration. One good question is: How late will my crew want to party? The answer to this query could cause you to change your wedding venue! Most venues typically kick everyone out around 10:00PM, this would have been completely unacceptable at this particular party. Always ask your venue what your curfews will be. Furthermore, if your crew is going to be staying up late it is worth looking into venues where everyone is able to stay on site, whether that means camping or guest rooms/houses (most of these attendees camped). Now let's get back to how the day started.    Another unique moment from this Southwest wedding photographer's standpoint was when the best man delivered a speech to the groom and groomsmen while they got ready. As a Durango wedding photographer I had never seen an official speech given during this part of the day and I must say it was a breath of fresh air; not to mention, it went over very well.  As the time for the ceremony approached the stoke was high and all of the attendants somehow managed to show up on time even though the ceremony site was fairly distant from the parking area (a big thank you to the anonymous driver of this white shuttle truck).   Whether you choose to elope in Colorado or have a big wedding you really can't go wrong in the fall. The temperature during Matt and Julia's wedding was perfect and we even got lucky with some cloud cover (which provides dream-lighting for Durango wedding photographers).  So many elements of this wedding were beautiful and unique. These two thrifted all of their glassware throughout the previous year (for 140 people), thrifted gift mugs for all of the attendants, and created this awesome love-board complete with dice and a backgammon board.  If you are planning an intimate wedding or perusing Colorado elopement packages, consider looking through the following article, it contains a lot of great information, including some excellent venues and locations: www.wanderlustelopements.co/journal/how-to-elope-in-colorado-from-laws-to-locations For more of my photography please check out my other galleries which include a Candid Gallery as well as this Wedding/Elopement Gallery Feel free to contact me here: Contact
For more information regarding wedding venues around the Durango area check out this link: https://durangoweddingsmagazine.com/venues/ |
Andrew F HighDurango / Southwest Photography's photographical journal. Archives
May 2025
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