Dreaming of Eloping in the Backcountry Under the Stars?

A Backcountry Elopement Vision:

When Audrey first reached out to me about capturing images for her and Wes’s backpacking elopement into the Colorado backcountry, I knew it was going to be special. They’re avid outdoors people, and having a small intimate wedding in beautiful wilderness was important to them. How incredible to have some of your closest people hike with you into the backcountry to celebrate your wedding.

We all hiked a few hours up to a high basin in the Collegiate Peaks wilderness just above tree line which would serve as our camp. Even though I’ve photographed many adventure elopements where we hiked deep into the backcountry and hiked back out in the same day, this was the first time where we intended to camp overnight. Our backpacks were heavy but our smiles were huge as we made our way up several thousand feet in elevation gain to our basecamp at almost 11,000 feet.

Stunning Backcountry Bliss:

After a few hours in camp and a well earned nap, later that evening we hiked an additional hour up to a stunning alpine lake nestled below a huge sweeping cirque of 14,000 peaks. Bear Lake sits at over 12,000 feet just below the towering Mt Harvard at the head of the long valley we hiked in. With a spectacular high mountain sunset that erupted into brilliant reds and a low moon hanging just over the ridge line that illuminated the blue hour with a special glow, we were excited to get some images of them under the stars before hiking back for the early wakeup time.

A Dream of Wedding Photography Under The Stars:

One of the reasons we chose the specific dates that we did for this adventure elopement was because they really wanted images under the stars. So we planned the trip around the moon to make sure we had a 33% moon which offers the maximum amount of illumination to light up the landscape while still having a sky filled with stars.

There’s Something Special About A Sunrise Ceremony:

The following morning they had a sunrise ceremony on a beautiful knoll looking out over the entire valley. We were up at 4am to hike 45 minutes up to the ceremony location before dawn to capture them exchanging vows at sunrise. It was a beautiful heartfelt ceremony with their closest people there with us which made it extra special.

Afterwards we hiked again back up to Bear Lake to get some images in the beautiful backlight and for them to be able to get their feet wet in the alpine lake. It was a gorgeous morning and we soaked in the high country views and fresh air before making the multi hour hike back to the truck.

An Unexpected Twist:

Being an Eastern Sierra local I never imagined my first backpacking adventure elopement would take place in Colorado. But it was incredible and made me all the more excited for more backcountry elopements in the local mountains here in Yosemite and The Sierra. It also reminded me of how much I love to travel. So if you’re looking for help planning and photographing an adventure elopement here in The Sierra or anywhere in the world, please be in touch! And to see more of my adventure and landscape photography from all over the American West and around the world, please check out my Art Portfolio site.

As we got ready to photograph under the stars and moon, we were treated to an absolutely epic sunset!

Their sunrise wedding ceremony the next morning was really special with beautiful alpenglow on the peaks in the distance.

The joy was palpable as they finished their vows.

There’s nothing quite like having an intimate wedding in the mountains, and I am do grateful to all of the couples that have me as their wedding photographer. Please enjoy below a thorough collection of images from Audrey and Wes’s backcountry adventure elopement.