Marie-France + Clay’s Hot Air Balloon Elopement

The very first elopement I ever photographed, back in 2017, was a hot air balloon elopement. I’ve been dying to get back up in the air since then, so when Marie-France and Clay reached out asking if I was available to photograph their elopement the next weekend I dropped just about everything to make it happen.

We met up at the launch site in Lafayette at sunrise, took some photos while the balloon was inflating, then headed up for a beautiful ride over Lafayette and Erie, with stunning views of Boulder, the Flatirons, and Indian Peaks Wilderness to the west. While the air was still hazy from the ongoing wildfires in Lyons and Loveland to the north, we were lucky that it cleared up enough to see the mountains.

The couple exchanged vows and rings in the air with a close friend officiating, and their parents watching on. Eight people is the most that can fit in this basket, and we were packed in pretty tight. It’s a fun challenge for photography when I can’t move so much as a single step in any direction, but I think we made the best of it!