Colorado’s natural beauty and charming mountain towns make for the most stunning places to get married. In this guide, I’ll share the best Colorado elopement venues, with something for everyone.
As a Colorado-based elopement photographer, I’ve worked with many couples at the most breathtaking venues – some indoors, others in the mountains or next to lakes or waterfalls. No matter the experience you’re dreaming of or if you’re planning a budget-friendly elopement or want to splurge, I’m excited to help you find your dream location!
The venues below range from $128 to $1,000+, and each offers a unique experience, whether you want to have a simple elopement, invite loved ones, bring your pets, or go on an adventure.
Maroon Bells Amphitheater, Aspen, Colorado
Best for: An intimate outdoor elopement
Venue price: $200
Availability: early June through October
The Maroon Bells Amphitheater in White River National Forest is in midwestern Colorado and offers the perfect setting for an intimate elopement away from crowds. The area is surrounded by hiking trails, tall mountains, and aspen trees – perfect for adventures and a picture-perfect backdrop.
You can reserve the amphitheater for a beautiful ceremony setting and invite up to 50 guests. Or you can explore the scenic area for a just-us experience and gorgeous photo ops. Leashed pets are also welcome to join you!
There isn’t space at Maroon Bells for a reception, but you can rent the East Maroon Portal Picnic Site just a few miles away or celebrate your elopement at a restaurant or bar in Aspen.
Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, Colorado
Best for: Natural beauty and adventures
Venue price: $300
Availability: Year-round
A Rocky Mountain National Park elopement is ideal for couples who want a fun experience surrounded by natural beauty, including lakes, waterfalls, and hiking trails.
Rocky Mountain National Park is easily one of my favorite places for a wedding because the park spans over 400 square miles and offers endless scenery for stunning photos. There are also more than 300 miles of hiking trails if you want to enjoy an adventure on your elopement day.
Although you can’t reserve a site exclusively for your elopement, there are 13 ceremony locations that allow up to 30 guests. Some are accessible via hiking trails, while others are lakeside areas or amphitheaters.
Sites are ideal for an elopement ceremony with guests, or you can opt out of booking a site to explore the park and take photos at your leisure.
Town Ranch, Crested Butte, Colorado
Best for: An outdoor elopement with guests
Venue price: $700
Availability: Summer and fall
Town Ranch is easily one of the best Colorado elopement venues if you want to invite guests. It’s a breathtaking outdoor venue with 360 degrees of mountain scenery in Crested Butte, a charming mountain town in the Colorado Rockies.
The venue has a gorgeous ceremony and reception space for up to 200 people. Although Town Ranch is in a protected area for a secluded wedding, it’s conveniently close to the downtown area for accommodations and to continue your celebration after the wedding.
Cement Creek Ranch, Crested Butte, Colorado
Best for: A secluded elopement with on-site accommodations
Venue price: $8,500
Availability: Year-round
Cement Creek Ranch is one of the best places to elope in Colorado if you want an intimate experience and on-site accommodations. It’s ideal for a just-us elopement or up to 200 loved ones.
The venue’s peaceful, romantic, and picture-perfect atmosphere makes it one of my favorite places to photograph couples! It’s tucked in a valley in the Gunnison National Forest, surrounded by stunning mountain scenery 20 minutes from town, perfect for a quiet elopement experience.
While staying at the venue, you can enjoy relaxing, hiking, biking, and fishing. Crested Butte is also a fun town to explore, with a cute downtown area and other outdoor activities.
Dunton Hot Springs, Dunton, CO
Best for: An all-inclusive elopement experience
Venue price: Varies based on package
Availability: Year-round
Dunton Hot Springs is one of the best Colorado elopement venues for an all-inclusive experience. It’s located in the San Juan Mountains in Southwestern Colorado, a stunning area surrounded by mountains, aspens, rivers, and meadows.
Dunton Springs is perfect for an elopement getaway with loved ones. You can book the entire space for up to fifty-two guests with access to charming cabins, an exclusive chef, an open-air chapel, and endless outdoor activities.
If you’re having a smaller elopement and don’t want to rent the entire property, that’s also an option. You can book a cabin and choose the elopement add-on, which includes three meals per day, your ceremony, a wedding cake, and on-site planning support.
Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, Colorado
Best for: Magical scenery and a camping elopement experience
Venue price: $200
Availability: Year-round
Great Sand Dunes National Park is in southern Colorado, and it’s one of the most breathtaking outdoor areas in the U.S. It’s home to the tallest dune in North America and has several stunning elopement ceremony sites – whether you want to exchange your vows next to a glistening lake, in the forest, or on a dune.
If you want loved ones to join you, keeping your guest count limited to 15 people is best. Larger weddings can be held at the amphitheater, but you don’t get the magical sand dunes scenery. You can also reserve a picnic area to have a reception at the park after your ceremony.
Great Sand Dunes National Park is also perfect for a camping elopement experience, with several campgrounds. You can also go forest hiking, climb to alpine lakes and peaks, and go sand sledding. Or you can have a simple elopement, explore the park, and take beautiful photos.
Bread Bar, Silver Plume, Colorado
Best for: An intimate elopement in a unique setting
Venue price & availability: Contact Bread Bar for more information
Bread Bar is one of my favorite micro wedding or elopement locations because of its unique space. It’s an 1800s-era bakery in an old, small mining town that you can rent out for your ceremony and celebration afterward. It’s the perfect location for a small elopement with up to 70 loved ones.
The outdoor ceremony space is on the patio next to a gorgeous mountainside. The charming indoor space with antique decor is ideal for a reception with guests or a celebratory cocktail with your love.
Bread Bar serves delicious beverages, but you’ll need to work with a food vendor or have dinner nearby after your ceremony.
The Beaumont Hotel, Ouray, Colorado
Best for: A fun, upscale elopement experience
Venue price: Starts at $999
Availability: Year-round
The Beaumont Hotel is in Ouray, a charming mountain town in the San Juan Mountains. It’s one of the best places to elope in Colorado for an elegant and romantic experience.
There are various spaces to choose from for your ceremony and reception, including a courtyard, ballroom, and lounge. The hotel’s unique architecture and timeless decor are stunning – no need to worry about decorating!
The guest room accommodates up to 30 guests, and the hotel is in Downtown Ouray with many fun activities nearby, including dining, drinking, and outdoor adventures.
Ridgway State Park, Ridgeway, Colorado
Best for: Adventurous couples on a budget
Venue price: $200 during the week and $250 on weekends and holidays
Availability: Year-round
Ridgway State Park is just north of Ouray, and it’s an excellent option if you’re looking for Colorado elopement venues on a budget! It’s also great for adventurous couples because there are many outdoor activities, including hiking, swimming, and camping.
The ceremony site at Ridgway State Park overlooks a reservoir backed by beautiful mountains. There’s also an open-air pavilion for an outdoor reception.
After you exchange your vows, you can explore the park for endless photo ops.
Sapphire Point Overlook, Dillon, Colorado
Best for: A budget-friendly elopement or bringing your dog
Venue price: $128
Availability: Year-round
There are many reasons to elope at Sapphire Point Overlook – it’s beautiful, easily accessible, dog-friendly, and affordable! Sapphire Point Overlook is in Dillon, a small town just outside Breckenridge, and it’s ideal for an intimate elopement experience.
The overlook sits at almost 10,000 feet with picture-perfect mountain scenery. It’s the perfect area to elope with just you and your partner or invite up to 30 guests. While you can no longer bring chairs to Sapphire Point Overlook, your photographer can guide guests on where to stand before the ceremony.
Sapphire Point Overlook is an incredibly popular venue – for great reason! So you’ll want to make your reservation as soon as possible, up to six months before your wedding day.
Colorado Elopement Packages
As a Colorado elopement photographer, I offer various packages to fit your needs! Whether you’re planning a multi-day, full-day, or mini elopement, I’d love to help you.
My Colorado elopement packages include:
- Timeline planning – I’ll help you plan your wedding timeline to ensure you have a fun and stress-free experience.
- Vendor recommendations – I can make suggestions for other vendors, including a caterer, florist, and makeup artist – whatever you need!
- Planning guide – My 90-page planning guide offers helpful resources for elopement preparation.
- Sneak peek photos – You’ll get sneak peek photos within 48 hours of your elopement for announcements and reminiscing.
- Custom online gallery – I’ll capture the special moments of your big day and share them with you through a custom online gallery with printing rights.
Colorado Elopement Venues: Conclusion
I hope you found this article helpful and are excited to find your perfect Colorado elopement venue! The opportunities are endless whether you want to get married indoors, outdoors, or on a small or larger budget.
If you’d like support finding a different location or want to go ahead and start planning the perfect elopement experience, I’d love to help. I enjoy working with adventurous couples who wish to have an authentic and fun wedding day!
kinsley + caden
“Brooke was the perfect choice for our wedding day! We had a micro wedding at Sapphire Point in August. I had never been to Sapphire Point and Brooke was so helpful suggesting vendors, picture locations, parking, marriage license info etc. She was so kind and helpful before and during the whole process and was a large part of why the day went so smooth. She does so much more than just show up and take pictures, Brooke will truly go out of her way to make your wedding day perfect! The photos are gorgeous and I keep getting so many compliments! I truly cannot recommend her enough!”
"Brooke was a large part of why our day went so smooth and will truly go out of her way to make your wedding day perfect!"
We chose Brooke to capture our Colorado elopement and she did exactly that and more. She made it easy to plan our day out with locations and timelines so that we could focus on ourselves. We decided last minute to change our afternoon/evening elopement to a 6am sunrise one so beat the heat of the day. Brooke accommodated us without hesitation and even created a new timeline for us so that we knew where to be for the perfect sunrise. She was kind and understood what we wanted in terms of our elopement and we are so grateful to have her capture the day. Our photos turned out beautiful and truly helped us relive the day. I would recommend Brooke to anyone wanting their special day photographed.
"Brooke accommodated us without hesitation and even created a new timeline for us so that we knew where to be for the perfect sunrise."
erica + stacy
kirstie + colin
Brooke not only photographed our mountain elopement beautifully, but she put so much thought into the details and knew all of the answers the questions I didn’t even know to ask. She really puts a lot of thought into each photo and brings her expertise while still remaining very open to what we wanted and ideas we had. She even helped pick the perfect spot for us and advised us on the logistical details like securing a reservation at the mountain lake where we wanted our ceremony. She is SO easy to work with and very friendly and chill. My husband and I are super awkward in front of a camera but she made it so natural and easy - and the shots came out better than we could have imagined.
"She really puts a lot of thought into each photo and brings her expertise while still remaining very open to what we wanted and ideas we had."
amanda + jace
Brooke is many things; talented, calm, flexible, experienced/ knowledgeable, patient, incredibly responsive, organized, resourceful in a pinch, supportive, creative, professional yet a blast to work with, and goes above & beyond w her clients. Our wedding was a spectacular dream and we couldn't be more grateful that she made that single day last forever. Whether she's photographing nature or an intimate event, her pictures tell a story of peace, love, whatever your vision may be. We couldn't recommend her more and we look forward to booking with her for all of our vow renewals, seasonal and family pictures for as long as she'll have us.
"Whether she's photographing nature or an intimate event, her pictures tell a story of peace, love, whatever your vision may be."
linden + brent
Working with Brooke was a dream come true! Before we even met, my husband Brent and I were impressed by her portfolio. After meeting, we were even more convinced that her photography skills and knowledge, and her fun and easygoing personality were exactly what we were looking for in an elopement photographer. Brooke was able to take our vision and facilitate everything so that it worked out beautifully, especially when it came to finding the perfect location (the incredible mountains surrounding Ouray). Throughout the entire planning process, she was honest and flexible, and made it clear that her goal was for us to be 100% happy. In the end, her creativity and our happiness totally shine through in every single photo.
"Throughout the entire planning process, she was honest and flexible."
lauren + branden
I can't begin to express my gratitude for the intimacy and beauty behind Brooke's photographs. In capturing our wedding day, she went above and beyond to document our story, our families, and the depths of our love in ways that I'll forever be grateful for. Brooke has an eye for not only capturing the adventure and magic of your love, but deeply connects with your personal story, understands your relationship, and then gives that back in the most incredible way. She is truly an artist and tells your story in an authentic and creative way for you to look back on for years to come. We are forever grateful to Brooke for spending the time to get to know us, our story, and capturing the memories that we'll relive for years to come.
"Brooke deeply connects with your personal story, understands your relationship, and then gives that back in the most incredible way."
heather + jedd
“If you're contemplating which photographer to go with, THIS IS YOUR SIGN TO CHOOSE BROOKE!!!! She is so so so talented and was able to capture our elopement exactly how I pictured and wanted! We eloped in Ridgway, CO this past September and she was so helpful figuring out picture locations, recommendations of timeline for the day, and just made the whole day feel so smooth. She schedules multiple check ins, phone calls, etc., leading up to the big day to ensure everything is as you want it. Brooke has such a calming, down to earth presence and is one of those awesome people you feel like you've known forever after just the first time of meeting."
"Brooke has such a calming, down to earth presence and is one of those awesome people you feel like you've known forever."
christy + austin
Brooke is the absolute best. She truly went above and beyond for my fiancé and I to be able to get our engagement photos taken with the fall colors. Brooke is so sweet, fun, personable and incredibly talented. We could not be more in love with our engagement photos! Our engagement session with Brooke was such a special experience and a memory we will cherish forever.
"Our engagement session with Brooke was such a special experience and a memory we will cherish forever."
