Which Month Should You Elope in Colorado?

People from all over the country fly to Colorado to elope! Couples come for the mountains, the beer (+weed ;), and outdoor fun. Being a Colorado Elopement Photographer, I am biased, and absolutely think everyone should exchange vows in this awesome state. There are a lot of things to figure out when planning to elope in Colorado. I recommend first deciding on a date first! Now ask yourself this question–Which Month Should You Elope in Colorado? Depending on how you and your honey envision your day, some months are better than others. I personally don’t believe there is a wrong month to elope in Colorado but everyone has their preferences and it’s so important that you two determine yours! Here are a couple of questions to ask yourself when having this conversation:

Are you comfortable with the possibility of snow?

If you chat with anyone who has lived in Colorado for a minimum of 365 days, you’ll hear about how unpredictable the weather can be. It is very common for there to still be snow in the mountains at the beginning of July! AND just this past year we had winter conditions (feet of snow–literally looked like the middle of January) the first week of September! I wish I was kidding lol. I photographed an elopement on the day with the worst conditions and let’s just say, it wasn’t what my couple was expecting.

Due to my most recent experience with a heavy September snow, I now tell my couples to mentally prepare for the possibility of snow from September-July. It’s conservative, but I think it’s better to be prepared. On a warmer year, the snow is gone in the mountains by mid-June and doesn’t stick in the mountains until mid-November.

My Recommendations:

If you don’t want the chance of snow AT ALL my recommendation is: July-August.

Do you want warmer weather but won’t be absolutely gutted with snow? My recommendation is: mid-June – Late-October.

If you don’t mind a cold wedding day with snow my recommendation is: November – May.

What kind of scenery do you want?

• Mountains and wildflowers?! Wildflower season is in late summer to early fall depending on the amount of snowfall we get the year prior.
• Mountains and fall foliage? Fall colors pop up mid-September to mid-late October depending on elevation. It’s very easy to “aspen-chase” and follow the color if aspen are your priority.
• Mountain and high alpine lake? High alpine lakes are usually fully melted mid June.

How hard do you want to to work to get to your elopement location?

Colorado has some of the best views in the country. Couples who want to elope here have the choice of hiking or driving to so many amazing places. Once the snow starts to fall and stick, many of the roads to these locations become inaccessible and the hikes become harder (unless you’re an avid snowshoer, backcountry skier, or want to rent some snowmobiles). This means many gorgeous locations aren’t accessible in during the winter months. So if you already know that you want to do an 8 mile hike to Island Lake, winter might not be the best time to get married. If you want to drive down a dirt road to find an awesome view with tons of privacy, winter is definitely not the time to do it as those roads close at the beginning of the winter season! This is the main thing I encourage couples to consider.

Hopefully this guide helped get you started on you started in your elopement planning and which month you should elope in Colorado! If you have any questions at all, please feel free to reach out! xo Mikayla