Crested Butte winter elopement in snow-covered mountains

When Alaina and Andrew first reached out to me about their Crested Butte winter elopement, I was so stoked for the excuse to head back out to my favorite Colorado mountain town! I photograph 4-5 weddings and elopements in Crested Butte every year, and can’t get enough of the 360 mountain views and laid-back vibes. (Okay, and the Secret Stash pizza!) If it wasn’t so far from Boulder/Denver and the airport, I would love to live out there one day!

Alaina’s sister lives in Gunnison, the closest town to Crested Butte. They wanted to bring their very closest friends and family out for a weekend in the mountains, and get married outside in an intimate ceremony. I hadn’t been in CB in April before, so I was excited to see this place in different conditions.

The end of April is an interesting time in CB. You’d think it would be spring, but Colorado does whatever Colorado wants when it comes to weather 😉 The mountains got hit by a lot of snow this winter. Even if the Crested Butte ski resort closed the first weekend in April, there was still a ton of snow in the mountains when we got there.

I know Crested Butte well enough to have a big list of potential locations, but most of them were completely inaccessible by anything other than snowmobiles! And as fun as a snow mobile winter elopement would be, that wasn’t an option this time. So I spent the afternoon before Alaina and Andrew’s wedding scouting potential options, then sent them photos and videos so they could choose their spot.

We ended up with a beautiful snow-covered meadow with views of Mount Crested Butte in the background. When I was scouting, it was snowing and raining heavily, but the morning of their wedding was sunny and beautiful. Of course Colorado doesn’t stay one way for long, so we got some snow throughout the day, but that’s to be expected from a Crested Butte winter elopement!

I really love that Alaina and Andrew wanted photos of hanging out with their family at their airbnb before the ceremony. It’s such an important part of the story of an elopement, and adds so much more than just beautiful portraits of the couple on their own. After their first look, we all drank champagne and their family gave toasts to the couple. Then we headed out together for the snowy ceremony!

I’ll be back out to photograph more Crested Butte weddings this summer, and can’t wait to see the same meadows covered in wildflowers! I actually have a blog post on the best months to elope in Colorado, so check that out if you’re trying to decide on what kind of weather you want for your own elopement.

(P.S. The airbnb they stayed in was really beautiful, and perfect for a small group. The photos of their first look were taken right outside the home! It’s not approved for events, so don’t plan on holding a wedding there, but if you want a beautiful place to stay in Crested Butte, you can rent it here.)