Black Mountain Lodge wedding venue at Arapahoe Basin

Colorado Ski Resort Wedding Venues

There’s something so Colorado about getting married at a ski resort.

If taking a gondola or ski lift to your ceremony sounds like your idea of a good time, you’ll love the ski resort wedding venues I’ve rounded up in this guide. And ski weddings might bring to life visions of exclusive mountain lodges, these venues range from grand and traditional to cozy and intimate, so there’s something for everyone in here. (Although this guide is about venues, so if you’re planning to elope without guests, check out my guide on ski and snowboard elopements instead!)

This guide will cover every ski resort in Colorado, along with the wedding venues at each, so that you can easily find your favorite(s).

Oh, and who am I to write this guide? I’m Nina—an elopement photographer who’s been living and working in Colorado for thirteen years. The first photo I have with my husband was taken at A-Basin, and we’ve spent countless hours (days? weeks?) of our marriage stuck in ski traffic on I-70 together. And as a photographer, there are few things I love more than getting to capture couples doing what you love—especially when it involves snow.

So let’s get to it!

Backcountry Ski Elopement in Colorado
Backcountry skiing hut trip elopement in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado

Keystone Ski Resort

Colorado ski resort elopement at Keystone
Wedding on the slopes of Keystone Resort

I’m kicking this guide off with one of my favorite resorts for weddings: Keystone Resort. With two gondolas, you can easily get a large group of guests up the mountain without anyone having to freeze on a ski lift. And with night skiing, it’s the ideal place to get golden hour and sunset photos on the slopes. Keystone is close enough to Denver to be convenient if you have guests flying into DIA, and there’s plenty of lodging both at the resort and in the small mountain towns nearby: Dillon, Silverthorne, and Frisco.

Wedding venues at Keystone

  • Timber Ridge
  • Alpenglow Stube
  • Keystone Ranch
  • Ski Tip Lodge

You can see photos from an elopement I photographed at Keystone Resort here, and read more about the venues on Keystone’s website.

Breckenridge Ski Resort

Bride and groom portraits at Ten Mile Station, Breckenridge ski resort wedding, Colorado mountain wedding photographer
Wedding photos at TenMile Station in Breckenridge

Breckenridge is not only one of the most popular ski resorts in Colorado, it’s also one of my favorite mountain towns for destination weddings. The historic mining town has incredible restaurants, breweries, and distilleries, and plenty of hiking trails and outdoor activities to keep your guests entertained for a whole weekend.

Wedding venues at Breckenridge

  • TenMile Station
  • The Maggie
  • Mountain Thunder Lodge
  • Sevens
  • Elevation Ballroom

You can see photos from a wedding I photographed at Breckenridge Ski Resort here, and read more about the venues from Breck’s website.

Telluride Ski Resort

San Sophia Overlook Telluride Mountain View Jewish Wedding Ceremony
Wedding ceremony at San Sophia Overlook in Telluride

Telluride is a destination for a reason—it’s absolutely one of the most beautiful places in Colorado with its location in a box canyon in the San Juan Mountains. One of my favorite memories as a photographer is riding down off the mountain in a snowcat with a happy group of wedding guests leaving Gorrono Ranch, with snow falling around us in the dark.

Telluride has some of the best wedding venues in the state, from the incredible ceremony views at San Sophia Overlook, to Alpino Vino—the highest elevation fine dining restaurant in the country at 11,966ft, and one of the last remaining venues on my “I really wanna shoot here one day” list. New in 2023 is Palmyra Lookout—a ceremony venue with views that I personally think are even better than at San Sophia!

Wedding venues at Telluride

For more information about these venues, visit Telluride’s website.

Winter Park Resort

Winter Park Ski Resort wedding venue in Colorado
Ski lift wedding photos at Winter Park Resort

Winter Park Resort has been voted “best ski resort in North America” a couple of years in a row. It’s easily my favorite resort when I’m going up to ski myself, with a short drive up from the Denver metro (I’m in Boulder myself), free parking on the Mary Jane side, and plenty of terrain to explore without the lift lines you’ll often find at Epic Pass resorts.

There used to be more wedding venues at Winter Park, including the Lodge at Sunspot, and the lodge at the base of Mary Jane, but the only one currently available for bookings is Lunch Rock: the restaurant at the top of Mary Jane. It’s only accessible by ski lift, not gondola, but it’s well worth it for the incredible views looking east from the top. The only downside is that the light here is best in the mornings, with harsh direct sun in the afternoons when ceremonies are normally held.

For more information about getting married at Winter Park Ski Resort, visit their website.

Arapahoe Basin

Black Mountain Lodge wedding venue at Arapahoe Basin

Black Mountain Lodge is the only venue available at Arapahoe Basin, or A-Basin as locals call it. It’s only accessible through the Black Mountain Express chairlift, and it has one of the best ceremony views out of any ski resort venue in Colorado! For more information about getting married at Arapahoe Basin, visit A-Basin’s website.

Aspen Snowmass

Lynn Britt Cabin wedding in Aspen
Views from Lynn Britt Cabin in Snowmass

Aspen is really one ski resort split across four mountains: Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, and Snowmass. Combined, the four mountains narrowly beat out Vail for most skiable terrain with 5,527 acres! While there are plenty of wedding venues in Aspen, my favorite ones are all part of the resort.

Aspen Snowmass Wedding Venues

You can see photos from a wedding I photographed at the Lynn Britt Cabin here, and learn more about these venues on Aspen Resort’s website.

Vail Resort

Aspen ranch wedding, Colorado mountain wedding photographer, Aspen luxury wedding, bride and groom riding gondola

Wedding venues at Vail

  • Holy Cross Event Deck
  • The Arrabelle Square
  • The 10th
  • Cucina Rustica
  • The Hythe
  • International Ballroom

For more information about these venues, visit Vail Resort’s website.

Beaver Creek

Allie's Cabin wedding venue at Beaver Creek

Beaver Creek is Vail’s bougie neighbor, and a great resort to get married around both summer and winter. With four different venues as part of the mountain, two of which can only be reached by snowcat drawn sleigh rides in winter, it’s ideal for couples who want to be on the mountain.

Wedding venues at Beaver Creek

  • Spruce Saddle Lodge
  • Saddleridge
  • Beano’s Cabin
  • Allie’s Cabin

For more information about these venues, visit Beaver Creek Resort online.

Copper Mountain

Copper Mountain snowboarding elopement
Snowboarding elopement at the top of Copper Mountain

Wedding venues at Copper

  • The Aerie
  • Koko’s Hut
  • Copper Mountain Chapel
  • Grand Hall
  • JJ’s Rocky Mountain Tavern

For more information about these venues, visit Copper Resort’s website.

Steamboat Springs

Steamboat Springs elopement in winter

Steamboat Springs is known for its deep powder snow and natural hot springs, and the western charm of this unique mountain town. I love Steamboat all year round, but it really does shine during ski season!

Wedding venues at Steamboat Resort

For more information about these venues, visit Steamboat Resort’s official website.

Crested Butte

4WD adventure elopement in Crested Butte

I know I’ve had a lot of favorites already in this post, but Crested Butte is easily my favorite town in Colorado. If I could move here without being so darn far away from family and the airport, I would—and I dream about retiring here one day.

Wedding Venues at Crested Butte

  • Uley’s Cabin
  • Ten Peaks Event Site
  • Mountaineer Square Ballroom

For more information about the different wedding venues at Crested Butte Resort, visit Crested Butte Resort’s website.

Echo Mountain

Echo Mountain is the closest ski area to Denver, and has only been open for a few years. While it’s a small ski area, with only 226 acres of skiable area, it’s a great place for night skiing—or just not dealing with I-70 traffic. Echo has two wedding venues: a ceremony-only option on the mountain, and a lodge for receptions. As an independent ski area and a brand new wedding venue, it’s easily one of the most affordable options in this guide.

Bluebird Backcountry

Backcountry ski wedding

If you want a truly unique experience, consider eloping at Bluebird Backcountry: the only ski area in the world that’s designed for backcountry education. Skin up to a beautiful view, exchange your vows without anyone else around, and ski or ride back down again as a married couple—all without ever standing in a lift line or interacting with crowds of people. You can even book a cabin or dome hut to spend the night in the backcountry.

Loveland Ski Area

Loveland Ski Area is well known for their Annual Mountaintop Matrimony on Valentine’s Day. (This year was the 32nd annual event!) Couples can get married or renew their vows in a mass wedding at noon, then ski or ride for free for the rest of the day. So while Loveland doesn’t have a traditional wedding venue, it’s a great place to elope if you wanna have some fun with it—and don’t mind sharing the day with dozens of other couples.

Cooper

Tennessee Pass Cookhouse at Ski Cooper

Cooper (easily confused with nearby Copper) is a small ski area outside of Leadville, in the heart of the Rockies. Cooper is independently owned, and one of the more affordable places to ski in Colorado. While technically operated separately from the ski area, the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse is a small wedding venue that’s connected to Cooper through the nordic center. The cookhouse is a large yurt, located a mile away from the main ski area, and can only be reached by hiking, snowshoeing, or cross-country skiing. With views toward the mountains in the west, it’s a great option for smaller weddings in winter. You can also do larger weddings here in summer, when you can add a party tent in the meadow right next to the cookhouse.

Kendall Mountain

Kendall Mountain is a small ski area in Silverton, in the south-western part of Colorado. The Kendall Mountain Community Center is available for weddings and events, and in winter you can even rent out the entire ski area as a private ski hill for the day!

Purgatory

Purgatory is a large ski resort half an hour north of Durango, in the San Juan National Forest in south-western Colorado. Purgatory has multiple wedding venues, including Paradise—an outdoor ceremony site with incredible mountain views. Purgatory also offers micro-weddings for groups of 40 or fewer guests on Monday through Thursdays.

Powderhorn Mountain

Powderhorn Mountain is an independently owned resort in Mesa, about 45 minutes outside of Grand Junction on the western slope of Colorado. While I haven’t been to Powderhorn yet, it looks like they have a beautiful deck for outdoor ceremonies and receptions, as well as an indoor reception lodge.

Granby Ranch

Granby Ranch is a small ski area about two hours from Denver, and a great option if you want to get married at a ski resort without crowds. The ceremony venue, Vista Ridge, is accessed by chairlift, and can seat up to 250 people. For your reception you can choose from the Slope Side Great Room, a tented reception on the Base Lawn, or 8350 Bar & Bistro if you have a smaller group (fewer than 40 guests). You can also do a “ceremony only” wedding at Vista Ridge on non-holiday weeks during winter!

Sunlight Mountain Resort

Sunlight is a small resort right outside of Glenwood Springs. Sunlight has managed to keep a chill, local vibe, and you’re never going to see Epic or Ikon-style lift lines here. If you want to get married at Sunlight, you can choose from two different ceremony sites, and host your reception in the lodge or a party tent.

Updates to this post are ongoing. Look for more photos and venues to be added during the 2023/2024 ski season!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *