Robin + Erich’s Clear Creek County Hiking Elopement

Robin and Erich took a trip to Colorado years before they got engaged, and knew right away that they wanted to repeat their favorite hike on their elopement day. Because they wanted their immediate families to attend the ceremony, I helped the Arizona couple find a location nearby that would be easier for their parents to access than the 6-mile hike we’d planned for later in the day.

We started the day in Georgetown, where they had rented townhomes next to each other right on the water—the perfect place for a first look before driving further into the mountains for the ceremony. The mid-morning timing worked out beautifully for their ceremony as a light cloud coverage gave us the softest light, and kept the midsummer heat away. Afterwards the couple popped champagne and enjoyed breakfast pastries with their guests, before we headed off on our big hike.

Because this hike comes with almost 2,000ft of elevation gain, the couple decided to change into athletic wear for the hike up, and it definitely ended up being the right move. On harder hikes, it’s nice being able to focus on putting one foot in front of the other without having to hold up your dress or worry about sweating through a suit jacket! After we made it up the hardest stretch, Robin and Erich changed back into their wedding attire, and we got some epic portraits on one of my favorite ridgelines I’ve hiked.

As the couple shared their first dance as husband and wife, thunder started rolling in the distance, and we felt the first few raindrops that so often hit in the afternoon during summer in Colorado. With the last mile of the hike before heading down being exposed and above treeline, we decided to play it safe and head back down the way we came instead of completing the loop—because you really don’t want to be the highest point around in a thunderstorm. Being flexible and able to adapt to the elements is so important when eloping in nature, and Robin and Erich rolled with the changes. I think all three of us were just stoked we’d made it up the ridge before the weather turned on us!