As a Colorado wedding photographer and local, I’m obsessed with how many magical places with natural beauty there are to get married. In this article, I’ll share the best outdoor wedding venues in Colorado, whether you’re planning a small or large wedding.
Let’s explore the most stunning venues throughout Colorado, including the iconic Rocky Mountain National Park, budget-friendly locations, and hidden gems – with something for every couple! Whether you want a relaxing or adventurous wedding, you’re sure to find your dream Colorado outdoor wedding venue.
Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park
Availability: Year-round
Max guest count: 30 for most sites
Cost: $350 for a Special Use Permit
Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) is one of the most gorgeous small outdoor wedding venues in Colorado. The scenery is unmatched, and there are many beautiful places for photos. I recommend getting married at RMNP if you want a simple ceremony because there are several guidelines that don’t allow for a private traditional wedding.
To have an RMNP wedding ceremony, you must:
- Reserve a designated location in the park
- Limit your ceremony to two hours
- Get a ceremony permit
- Be open to other visitors at your site, as you can’t exclusively reserve it
Mountain Wedding Garden, Crested Butte
Availability: Year-round; weekends only during winter and spring
Max guest count: 125
Cost: Starts at $2,000 for the ceremony and reception sites
If you’re dreaming of getting married in the mountains, Mountain Wedding Garden is perfect! It’s nestled in the Elk Mountains but conveniently located near Crested Butte, a cute mountain town.
The venue is surrounded by wildflowers during spring and summer and aspen trees. Mountain Wedding Garden has a stunning outdoor space for your ceremony, and there’s a pavilion for your reception, with two open sides to enjoy the gorgeous scenery.
Town Ranch, Crested Butte
Availability: See website for availability
Max guest count: 200 (if more than 150, you must rent an additional portable toilet)
Cost: $700 for a one-day venue rental
One of my favorite outdoor wedding venues in Colorado I’ve photographed is Town Ranch. It’s in an open, protected space with a magical mountain backdrop for your ceremony. The entire venue is outdoors and offers 360-degree mountain views.
Town Ranch is also conveniently located within walking distance of downtown Crested Butte. After your ceremony, you can your guests can head to The Breadery downtown to continue the party!
Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Crested Butte
Availability: See website for availability
Max guest count: 128
Cost: $7,500 during the week and $9,650 on the weekend
If you’re looking for a unique Colorado outdoor wedding venue, I highly recommend checking out the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. This is definitely a hidden gem in Crested Butte, at almost 1,000 feet elevation.
When you have a wedding at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, you can access the main hall, large outdoor tent, board room, and catering kitchen. While the outdoor space is breathtaking, the indoor space is also beautiful.
Cement Creek Ranch, Crested Butte
Cement Creek Ranch is a cabin in a picturesque valley surrounded by the Gunnison National Forest. This is one of the best secluded outdoor Colorado wedding venues. You can conveniently spend the night at Cement Creek Ranch, and it’s also a short drive to Crested Butte.
This is the perfect place for adventurous couples to get married, with many outdoor activities nearby. However, the serene atmosphere is also ideal for relaxing and enjoying time with your loved ones. You can also stay on-site with your guests or extend your stay with your partner for a simple but romantic honeymoon.
Contact Cement Creek Ranch for details on a wedding ceremony. You can also work with a Colorado wedding photographer like Among the Pines (that’s me!) for help planning a unique wedding experience.
Balistreri Vineyards, Denver
Max guest count: 250
Availability and cost: Contact Balistreri Vineyards to learn more
Balistreri Vineyards is a family-owned winery and event center where you can have a memorable wedding in a unique setting. There are indoor and outdoor spaces with large garage doors connecting the two. Exchange your vows in the beautiful garden area, then have your reception in the ballroom, which has a grand staircase for your entrance and stunning photos.
A wedding at Balistreri Vineyards is great for couples who want a stress-free experience. There are onsite event coordinators, a catering team, and all the items you’ll need for your wedding, including tables, chairs, linens, a bridal dressing room, and more.
San Sophia Overlook, Telluride
Availability: June-October and December-March
Max guest count: 250
Cost: Starts at $5,000 for the venue
If you want to have a large outdoor wedding in Colorado, the San Sophia Overlook is an incredible location. The overlook deck for your ceremony sits at more than a 10,000-foot elevation, with 360-degree scenery of tall mountain peaks.
The San Sophia Overlook is at the Telluride Ski Resort, ideal for an adventurous location where your guests can stay onsite. The resort also has several areas for your reception.
Brainard Lake Recreation Area, Ward
Availability: Year-round
Max guest count: 20
Cost: Small parking fee only
The Brainard Lake Recreation Area is one of the best outdoor wedding venues in Colorado if you want to have an intimate and affordable ceremony surrounded by beautiful scenery. It’s in a glacially carved valley surrounded by alpine forests and high peaks along the Continental Divide.
The area is easily accessible for you and your guests, and you can have your ceremony with Brainard Lake as a picture-perfect backdrop. This is also a great location for a dog-friendly wedding!
The Hillside Vineyard & Event Center, Fort Collins
Availability: Year-round
Max guest count: 150
Cost: Venue rental starts at $5,500; service and entertainment are available for additional costs
Whether you’re planning a simple or elegant wedding, The Hillside Vineyard & Event Center’s blank canvas with incredible scenery offers the perfect space. The outdoor area is surrounded by trees, lush vineyards, and gardens, and the indoor area has tables, chairs, and a dance floor for your reception.
The Hillside Vineyard’s packages are fully customizable. You can use their vendor, catering, and entertainment options or choose your own.
Ridgway State Park, Ridgway
Availability: Year-round
Max guest count: 100
Cost: $200 during the week and $250 on holidays and weekends
Ridgway State Park is one of the most stunning southern Colorado wedding venues. You can have your ceremony on an overlook surrounded by gorgeous mountain peaks and a reservoir. There are so many areas throughout the park for beautiful photos, and the open-air pavilion is ideal for an outdoor reception.
If you and your love are adventurous, you might tent or yurt camp at the park after your wedding. Ridgeway State Park has tons of outdoor activities, including hiking and snow adventures.
Sky Valley Chateau, Springboat Springs
Availability: Year-round
Max guest count: 35 during winter and spring; 50 during summer and fall
Cost: Contact Sky Valley Chateau for pricing information
Get together with your closest loved ones to celebrate your wedding at Sky Valley Chateau, one of the most magical mountain lodges in Colorado. Sky Valley Chateau is nestled in the aspen groves at the base of the Routt National Forest and offers an amazing backdrop for a small wedding.
Sky Valley Chateau is ideal for a multi-day wedding with room for 31 overnight guests. Enjoy the most gorgeous spaces for your welcome dinner, ceremony, reception, post-wedding brunch, and more.
Colorado Wedding Photography Packages
As you explore the best outdoor wedding venues in Colorado, it’s easy to daydream about stunning pictures! I work with adventurous dreamers who want a unique, personalized, and intimate wedding experience, capturing photos for memories that’ll last a lifetime.
I offer help with planning and taking photos for a one or two-day wedding, and my wedding packages include:
- A phone consultation
- Location scouting
- Timeline planning
- Vendor recommendations
- Wedding planning resources
- Sneak peek photos
- Custom online gallery with all edited high-resolution images
- Rights to printing
- My travel expenses to anywhere in Colorado
Best Outdoor Wedding Venues in Colorado: Conclusion
I hope you found this article helpful and are excited to start planning the perfect Colorado outdoor wedding. I love working with couples to plan and capture one of the most special days of their lives!
If you’d like support choosing your dream wedding venue and making your visions come to life, let’s chat!
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."
