A Colorado Winter Elopement in the San Juan Mountains

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:

• It's going to be beautiful no matter the weather
• Be prepared for anything
• It's never a bad idea to encourage your photographer to have a Plan B in mind
• Hand warmers can be game changers
• Some locations will not be accessible mid-winter

Let's chat about your wedding plans!
For more winter location inspiration check out this article from Outside Magazine.