Joyous Mountain Elopement in Crested Butte, CO | Holly & Matt

crested butte colorado mountain elopement wedding

“It was [as] if time stopped for a few moments and nothing else in the world mattered except the two of us.”

After diving into a sea of planning, Matt and Holly quickly realized a traditional wedding was not for them. They considered alternatives, turning to their photographer, Nina Larsen Reed, for guidance. The mountains were calling and plans for an adventurous elopement were soon underway. The couple ventured outside of their home state of Indiana, drawn to the beauty and serenity of Crested Butte, Colorado where they exchanged vows on a perfect summer day, accompanied by only their nearest and dearest. “I feel like so many couples think that they need to ditch all their people to elope,” Nina shares. “I love elopements where the couple includes a few guests for the ceremony then also spends time exploring solo before or after… I think watching Holly and Matt exchange vows in a mountain meadow was really special for everyone there… Then the family headed back into town, while the couple and I went exploring!”

The newlyweds made the most of their first hours as husband and wife, hiking through wildflower fields, wading through freezing rivers, and savoring gorgeous mountain views. “I always let my couples and our environment inspire the creative process,” Nina says. “I hate going into elopements with a set vision for what I want to get out of the day, because it’s really not about me. With Crested Butte’s incredible mountains and wildflowers just starting to come out for the season, we really just had fun hiking… and taking in the views…”

Photography by Larsen Photo Co.

CHOOSING AN ELOPEMENT:

“We began planning a ‘normal’ wedding shortly after becoming engaged, however we quickly realized it wasn’t for us. We did not want to get bogged down in the details of planning a big wedding but rather focus on preparing ourselves for this lifetime commitment… My absolute favorite moment was walking towards my husband surrounded by breathtaking mountains and wilderness. It was [as] if time stopped for a few moments and nothing else in the world mattered except the two of us.”

[Holly]

CHOOSING A LOCATION:

“We live in Indiana, so choosing a place in Colorado unseen was a difficult task. We considered numerous areas – [both] west and east coast – but ultimately the deciding factors were weather, accessibility, and the scenery. Nina was a huge help in this department! She gave us multiple locations to ponder and to research for ourselves. Ultimately we chose Crested Butte, Colorado, because it was a lovely and quaint mountain town, far away from the hustle and bustle of places near bigger cities… we fell in love with this location and could not get the idea of getting married there off our minds.”

[Holly]

PLANNING AN ELOPEMENT:

“The planning was incredibly simple! We had approximately six big things to plan, excluding our wedding attire and rings. These included booking travel, booking a photographer, working with a florist to make my bouquet, booking a place for a rehearsal dinner and wedding dinner, booking lodging, and creating our ceremony transcript/writing our vows. It sounds like a lot, but over the course of our engagement – approximately nine months – we were able to spread things out a little bit at a time. We booked the more important things first… then decided on the remaining items later as the date came closer… Nina had a wealth of knowledge about different locations in Colorado and legalities, like permitting, we would have never known otherwise. This helped to ease our stress and anxiety immensely as we planned everything while being out of state.”

[Holly]

PARTING THOUGHTS:

“Follow your heart and do what is the best interest for you and your future spouse! At the end of the day, you will be committing your life to your best friend and nothing else should matter more than that!”

[Holly]