A Snowy Estes Park and RMNP Elopement – Chanda + Joey

An Estes Park Elopement

When Chanda and Joey first reached out to me about being the photographer for their fall elopement in Estes Park they told me they were coming out to Colorado for the first time and wanted to have a super intimate, super personal day. We tossed around a few ideas, including a RMNP elopement but in talking with them more I realized that the crowds at Rocky Mountain National Park were probably NOT going to be what they wanted for their day.

We decided to incorporate a hike as part of their day but to also do their ceremony in a more private, quiet, location. It turned out PERFECTLY!

Getting Ready + First Look

Chanda and Joey came out several days before their elopement and spent a bunch of time exploring Boulder, Estes Park, and the surrounding areas. They did some of our classic hikes (Mt Sanitas, anyone?) and capped off long active days with delicious food (we may have bonded over our mutual love of food ….). With a really cold, snowy day in the forecast for their planned elopement day we ended up pushing things back one day and were blessed with BEAUTIFUL sunshiney weather all day long!

I met up with them at their AirBnB in Estes Park where they got ready in different rooms and had a quick, adorable first look right in the living room of the cabin. After that we all packed up our hiking stuff and they signed their marriage licenses so we could drop them off at the County clerk’s office on the way to their ceremony!

Elopement Ceremony

We hopped in my car and drove through the mountains to one of my favorite spots. The road had closed for the winter a week earlier which probably sounds like a bad thing but trust me when I say it was anything but! Closed roads mean less people and LOTS of privacy! We hiked for around 10 minutes to a sweet little lake that was just off the road and didn’t see another soul the entire time!

They said their vows on a frozen lake surrounded by sparking snow, under a bluebird Colorado sky, with a 13,000 foot mountain looming in the distance. I’m not sure anything could have been more perfect.

Once things were “official” we popped champagne that perfectly matched the sky and celebrated in the warm mountain sun!

Rocky Mountain National Park Hike

After we’d had our fill of sunshine and blue champagne we made our way back to the car and into the Park for a hike up to one of my favorite spots.

We brought snacks and drinks and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening celebrating their marriage and the mountains as the sun sank behind the Rockies! One of my favorite parts of their day was when they got to read letters from their families. It was such a perfect way to incorporate the people they love on a day that was absolutely perfect for them.


Chanda and Joey’s Estes Park elopement was one of my last shoots for 2019 and was an absolutely PERFECT way to end the year! It was a good one, you guys. And I’m SO excited to help more couples have more days like this in 2020!!