Estes Park Elopement | Alex and Kirsten

Estes Park is one of my favorite locations in Colorado! A couple perks of planning your elopement in Estes Park is that it is close to Denver (the major city you’d most likely be flying into) and it is home to one of the most beautiful national parks in Colorado, Rocky Mountain National Park. It offers such diverse options for backdrops on your elopement day; from snowy mountain tops, evergreen trees, and several small lakes—you might see some elk or even a moose!

Alex and Kirsten live in Indiana, but as avid adventure seekers, they wanted to come out to Colorado for their destination elopement and we decided Estes Park would be the perfect spot. 

We started off the day with a first look at their Airbnb and then we headed to a small open space in Estes Park for the two of them to exchange vows and share a breakfast picnic of donuts and champagne! Afterwards, we headed into Rocky Mountain National Park for a little hiking and fun! 

After visiting a few easily accessible locations in the park, we took a little hike up to Dream Lake. It is one of my absolute favorite locations in the park as the hike is not too hard for such beautiful, rewarding views at the end! We started off capturing some portraits with the gorgeous backdrop. Then, the two of them decided they wanted to get into the lake (thankfully they packed a spare change of clothes). Once they changed out of their wet dresses, they ended the day smoking a little unity joint! 

It made for such a fun and memorable day with Alex and Kirsten!

*Here are a few tips if you are planning an elopement in Estes Park: 

1. If you want to exchange vows inside Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), you do have to get a special permit. You can apply for the permit up to one year in advance. I recommend applying early as they only allow a certain number of permits per month! Otherwise, we can find a location in Estes Park for you to exchange vows and then head into RMNP for additional photos like Alex and Kirsten did! 
2. Estes Park provides beautiful scenery all year round.  If you are dreaming of a beautiful summer elopement, you should plan for mid-June through the beginning of September. Fall colors start to become really vibrant mid-September through the beginning of October! And if you want a dreamy winter wonderland, December through April will be your best time! 
3. If you value privacy on your elopement day, you should definitely choose a weekday! Weekends can be very busy, especially in Rocky Mountain National Park. So if you want less crowds and a little more alone time, go with a Monday-Thursday! 

Interested in planning your elopement in Estes Park? Reach out to learn more!

Ready to plan your elopement? Check out my packages and inquire here.