Olivia + Mark's Gold Mountain Ranch Micro-Wedding in Ouray • Larsen Photo Co.

Olivia and Mark’s micro-wedding at Gold Mountain Ranch in Ouray will go down as one of my favorite workdays of all time. From our first consultation back in winter, I knew these two were down for an adventure, and we had so much fun planning their epic wedding weekend together.

After looking at just about every small venue that allows dogs in Colorado, they decided on Gold Mountain Ranch—a hidden gem that won’t stay that way for long. Located on a rocky cliff overlooking Ouray in Southwestern Colorado, the large ˙vacation rental was the perfect place for Olivia and Mark to spend the weekend with their families. Having your lodging, ceremony, and reception all in one spot takes so much stress out of a wedding day, and this venue really could not be better suited for small weddings like this.

We also knew that the there of us wanted to head off into the mountains somewhere on an adventure, before the full wedding celebrations with their guests. There are plenty of options to choose from in the area surrounding Ouray, but most of the epic hikes take all day, so the couple decided to rent a Jeep and go off-roading instead. I first drove this trail last fall, and knew it would be epic at sunrise—even if it meant an early start. We met up at 4:30am, and drove our way from 8,000ft up to well over 12,000ft. By being out early and on a weekday, we had the whole place to ourselves for hours!

Olivia and Mark shared their private vows at sunrise, before driving around and exploring more, and even dipping their toes into a freezing cold alpine lake. There’s something so awe-inspiring about places like these, and even more so when you can see it at the first light of the day without anyone else around. By the time we got back down to the start of the off-roading trail, dozens of other cars and ATVs were starting to head up for the morning. Then the couple took a well-deserved break and nap in the middle of the day, before we met back up for their ceremony and reception at Gold Mountain Ranch.

Splitting the day into two parts allowed us to capture both sunrise and sunset, while avoiding the harshest light (and busiest trails) in the middle of the day. Their afternoon ceremony allowed us a smooth transition into cocktail hour, yard games, and dinner on the beautiful deck with some of the best dinner views I’ve ever photographed. Gold Mountain Ranch is located on a huge private property, so we had plenty of space to sneak away from dinner for a few portraits at golden hour. And as the sun disappeared behind the mountains, Olivia and Mark shared their first dance as husband and wife on the stone patio with the twinkling lights of Ouray far down below.

This whole day was a joy to capture from beginning to end, and I’m so glad Olivia and Mark trusted me to plan and photograph it all for them. And Gold Mountain Ranch, I’ll be back soon!