7/31/2020 (officially)
I’ve attended my fair share of weddings. I’ve seen shotgun weddings, traditional weddings, saw my Dad get married, saw him marry his best friend as the officiant, and I’ve even married as an officiant as well. Given the background, I am well aware of what the format looks like, and what goes into such a big, big day.
We had plans to do a big shebang but as most things went in 2020, we had to adjust, then adjust again, then eventually cancel the whole event. It was a big mental loss for something we’d worked hard to make a reality.
However the end result, eloping in the mountains, was so much better than any big party we could have ever planned. As other couples are facing these decisions right now, I wanted to give you all the story of our big day from end to end. Partially to brag—this was the single coolest thing I’ve ever done—but also to encourage others to look at it as not just an alternative, but a viable front runner for their wedding.
2 a.m. Bears
“Watch out for bears” was the repeated advice Lauren’s Mother gave us as we told her about our plan. We had to start the trail at 3am in order to catch sunrise, avoid winds and potential summer thunder storms that usually roll through Blue Lakes, our favorite hike in Colorado that tops out at 12,000 feet. In the mountains above Telluride, CO that’s a pretty decent time to run into some black bears.
As we rolled out of our Airbnb’s parking lot in Telluride at 2am, a full grown black bear trundled across our headlights. He was feasting off the wealthy local garbage in an alleyway and was equally as surprised to see us as we were him. So that was our bear sighting, no spray was needed and a nice thick layer of Subaru separated us from any danger, but it certainly woke us up.
3 a.m. Stars
At the trailhead we met our photographer and her fiancé for the first time, she planned out everything to a T in order for us to get the best bang for out buck, and best lighting for our ceremony. That meant we would arrive at the top of the third lake by sunrise around 6.
Finding solitude on a Colorado trail is rare if not impossible. However starting your hike at 3 gives you that luxury. It also makes the uphill approach much more enjoyable, you can stargaze on breaks and you don’t have to manage summit expectations when you can’t see it. One last luxury: take a pee break whenever you like. Extra bonus when you see a shooting star during a break (which we did).
My body and mind played a few tricks as we climbed. They wanted to know why I was A) awake, B) gaining elevation, and C) about to make a lifelong commitment. So I asked for roughly 6 pee stops in a 3 hour time frame. I was well-hydrated and had no pre-wedding heebie jeebies, but my bladder did protest.
6 a.m. Aloft
We arrived at the hill above the third lake at exactly 5:58 a.m. a solid two minutes ahead of schedule. Our headlamps had been turned off at this point and we went to our respective nooks to get dressed. Changing on a craggy rock is just as thrilling as it sounds and Lauren was swift as she swapped outfits, a few nearby campers were barely in the line of sight but were understandably still asleep. After producing heat on such a consistent climb, standing still to change made us realize it was around 50 degrees. I was glad to be wearing a suit, and when Lauren crested the hill for our first look, I was doubly glad she was wearing a dress. She was stunning.
And cold. We had the expert foresight from our photographer to bring a blanket (neutral toned per instruction). This was crucial for the ceremony.
6:30 a.m. Elevated Ceremony
Given the description of our journey to this point, you may be able to see why we scrapped the guest list. Travelling for weddings to major cities is enough, asking your loved ones to schlep before dawn up a mountain is a whole new beast. And for that reason, it was remarkably intimate.
We asked our immediate family members to write us letters to read out loud during our ceremony, so we opened each one and enjoyed a surprise from each envelope. Some with humor, others with extremely poignant emotion, we even got a red sunflower seeds from Travis’ envelope. Reading from each one brought us close in a way that tuned the rest of the world out. I had to run to Lauren’s backpack here and there to grab one thing or another and found myself struck by the backdrop and the lighting that frankly, we were missing because for that 30 minutes the only thing that existed was each other and the warmth we felt from our family.
After a few tears and just as many laughs we were able to share our vows to each other. Lauren was nervous about this part leading up to the big day. I don’t see why, I may have a blog but that doesn’t qualify me as a writer, it just means I owe Square Space money each year. What she wrote blew me away. It did circles around my vows and that’s all I have to share with you. Our vows were written for each other, and that’s how they’ll stay.
7-ish a.m. Sunshine and Snacks
Per usual hiking tradition, we brought meat, cheese, and bread to snack on and refuel for the hike down. When a photographer is involved it looks much more glamorous. At this point the sun had emerged from behind Mt Sneffels, the adjacent 14er. We soaked up some warmth and enjoyed a variety of Kodak moments: popping champagne, drinking it’s remainder, and refilling the flutes with our favorite IPA.
We even attempted face-timing Mrs. Fun, AKA Lauren’s Mom.
9 a.m. Smell Each Other
“Smell each other” was one of many prompts our photographer gave us to create some fun and romantic moments. While smelling each other produced a somewhat — OK, a very — awkward picture, other prompts were more fun: walk like you’re drunk, play tug-a-war, and a variety of dances. Most of the rest of our time in the mountains was a leisurely photo shoot in our favorite place, peppered with hikers wishing us congratulations.
We had privacy for our ceremony, and positive encouragement once the rest of Colorado got on the trail. Several female hikers were jealous. Jealous of our beautiful wedding setting, and I suspect a little jealous that we’d found each other. We heard a lot of “when I find a man, I’m doing what you guys did.”
And Back Again
We took our sweet time enjoying a day of perfect weather and skipped down the mountain with rings on our fingers. At the parking lot our photographer signed the marriage certificate as a solemnized minister in the state of Colorado (total package!).
We drowsily drove back to Telluride through the San Juan mountains and quickly fell asleep around 3 p.m. Then we had our true 2020 moment when we shifted our dinner reservations to decadent take-out.
It was the perfect day, we felt the warmth of every place and person that has helped us find each other along the way, and it was simple. I cannot recommend this type of wedding enough because instead of paying the full bill for a big party, we turned that funding towards buying a house, in which I am comfortably writing this piece to you.
Now when I call the electrician, I get to check with my WIFE to see if Thursday afternoon will work. Life is good.
All photo credit goes to our photographer, Tatum Olson - http://tatumolson.com/