Mary Anne + Marius’s Crested Butte Elopement

When Mary Anne and Marius contacted me a few weeks ago asking if I was available to shoot their Crested Butte elopement I couldn’t quite believe it – and obviously I said yes!

These two were the VERY first couple I EVER photographed, back when I was thinking about starting this business. I had been doing photography for a long time as a hobby but only ever took photos of dogs and mountains and people playing in the mountains with dogs. Photographing people was TERRIFYING to me … but I felt like I wouldn’t know if I liked it until I tried it. And I definitely needed some practice!

I didn’t want to practice on any of my “real life” friends (that seemed incredibly awkward!) so I reached out to Mary Anne. They had just moved to Colorado and we bonded over Instagram over a love of dogs and the outdoors. They seemed fun and had two cute puppies and I thought they’d be perfect guinea pigs. I was right. 😉

I remember sitting in the car before that first shoot hoping they wouldn’t show up. I was SO NERVOUS. I may or may not have taken a shot of whiskey to calm my nerves. When they did show up and we got down to shooting I remember feeling incredibly awkward – and I’m sure it was awkward and painful for them too. At that time I never thought I’d be someday shooting their elopement – or anyone’s elopement for that matter!

Needless to say, a lot has changed in a few years. 😉

They knew they wanted to elope in Crested Butte so we picked a beautiful spot and made a day of it. We started out at their B&B in town where they got ready and then headed out into the mountains with pups Rocky and Zac. We braved some rain, made a few stops to explore, and then they said their vows next to a beautiful blue-green lake. Afterwards we popped champagne and spent the rest of the evening hanging around the lake, enjoying the views and the fact that these two were now MARRIED!

It was a super relaxed, super joyful evening and I’m so SO happy that these guys came back (after braving my first awkward photo shoot EVER!) and asked me to shoot it!

Here are a few photos from their Crested Butte elopement. Enjoy!