Crested Butte Sunrise Wedding Elopement

Being a native from Colorado and growing up on the western slope; I love the outdoors. I love camping, hiking, 4 wheeling, dirt bikes/atv's, fly fishing, kayaking. Now, I don't get to do it all that often but all that experience really comes in handy with I talk with a couple like Connor and Erin.

They contacted me with three goals in mind. 1) They wanted a simple wedding with just them. 2) They wanted the Crested Butte area but didn't know where and 3) Wildflowers! Erin then threw in a curveball with doing it all at sunrise. Check and check.

We will get to sunrise vs sunset in a moment. First order of business was to find great wildflower spots that had access or some moderate hiking that wouldn't take hours on hours and had some awesome views.

One of my personal goals for my couples is to provide variety and not just the one trick pony location. I don't want to be burning time traveling to locations when we could be having in one general spot that yeilds all sorts of lighting and nature.

After presenting the spots I found, E+C settled on this one. The great thing with this? It was even better than we had thought. The flowers were thick and really tall, the mountain views were incredible and the weather was perfect.

Now with sunrise vs sunset. I don't think one is better than the other and that will greatly depend on the location too. Depending on which direction your "best view" is and where the sun appears or dissapears at the horizon in relation to that spot, is the key. Generally for my sun-drenched shots where everything is glowing the sun is behind the couple. So that changes things too depending on what that background would be at that moment. You also have to take into consideration hiking down or up in the dark. Hahahaha.

The weather is generally calmer in the mornings and the light is blue-er with some pinky hues. Sunsets can be similar but can also go fire red and orange. At Sunrise the light starts pretty good, gets soft and some color, then WHAM - bright light (in a gizmo voice). Vs sunsets generally start bright, get better and better as the sun goes down and you hope for some intense color at the end, and then - too dark, were done.

So, as a photographer, I find sunrises are a bit more of waiting game and working a little as you go and sunsets you keep going and ride the wave of light as it happens. If that makes any sense.

If you are considering eloping in Crested Butte Colorado, definetely call me. I grew up on this side of Colorado so I have spent YEARS of my life playing in these mountains and also have good contacts for great locals-only type spots too. I would love to be your photographer and plan out an amazing day for you and your partner.

Erin's bouquet was created by Misty Mountain Too.

I am available for all of Colorado and destination weddings, elopements, and engagements. I love to wander.

Colorado Wedding Photographer | Crested Butte Wedding Photographer

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