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/

Durango, Colorado, is commonly regarded as the "gateway to the San Juans" with good reason (although Ouray could also be the gateway if you are traveling from the North). As soon as you head North out of town on Highway 550 you drive straight into the San Juan Mountains, and the views continually get better until, all of a sudden, you exit the Juans on the North side of the town of Ouray. About 50 miles North the highway passes the town of Silverton, and this is where the opportunities for Colorado elopement photographers really start to proliferate. Durango photographers have an incredibly diverse canvas of mountains, streams, waterfalls, pines, aspens, wildflower meadows, and vistas to work with when choosing where to take couples for their Colorado elopement packages, and the San Juan Mountains never disappoint!
www.visitouray.com/million-dollar-highway

As with all adventure elopements, Ryan and Liz's was unique and spectacular. After a private, intimate wedding at Vallecito Reservoir (approximately 25 miles Northeast of Durango), Ryan and Liz wanted to go somewhere more majestic, mountainous, and intimate to exchange vows and get some one on one mountain elopement time.

One of the more difficult aspects of being a Colorado elopement photographer is the challenge of finding the right spot for the right couple. After hearing what Ryan and Liz were looking for I decided that we would actually go to two different spots, which turned out better than we could have imagined. We decided that it would be worth it to do some 4-wheeling outside of Silverton, and it certainly was.

As a Durango wedding photographer I am always excited when a couple contacts me in regards to doing some Colorado elopement photography! As soon as I spoke with Ryan+Liz about their wedding plans I knew this would be an amazing day. These two have lived all over the West for the past decade, but they knew deep down that they were meant to elope in Colorado, and I'm so glad that they did!

If you are looking for somewhere to elope in Colorado, Utah, or the Southwest feel free to reach out and discuss your idea with me! Contact
If you are debating where your perfect elopement location would be, you can't really go wrong in Southwest Colorado. For more ideas check out my gallery here: Wedding / Elopement Gallery

From Durango to Purgatory Ski Area to Silverton to Ouray the beautiful backgrounds for your special day are endless! For more information regarding the region check out the following links.
www.colorado.com/
​https://www.colorado.com/colo-road-trips/southwest-colorado-san-juan-skyway