Tiffany and Nate Elopement Dream Lake - Rocky Mountain NP, Colorado
Dream lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. I couldn’t think of a better location for an elopement. I met up with Tiffany and Nate in the Rockies this winter to photograph their elopement on top of this icy glacial lake. This is the first wedding I’ve shot that required snowshoes. Colorado has received a ton of snow this winter. Branches sagged under the weight and the entire landscape was covered in white. The snow was so deep that the trail signs were 5 feet under the surface! This also made getting to the ceremony site a tad more difficult for the 15 guests (who had 2 little ones in tow and 1 in a baby bjorn!) But luckily I had hiked up to Dream Lake a few times before to scout out an epic ceremony location for Tiffany and Nate’s elopement.
In planning Tiffany and Nate’s wedding in Rocky Mountain National Park, I hiked all around Dream Lake and surrounding lakes near Estes Park, Colorado. Dream Lake is an alpine lake above 9,900 ft elevation with a path leading to other nearby lakes like Nymph Lake and Bear Lake. But Dream Lake was my favorite. The fact that it was a little inaccessible with the heaps of snow made it the perfect private setting for Tiffany and Nate’s winter elopement. (In the summer, you can expect much more traffic however.) Also, the views of 12,713-foot Hallett Peak and 12,324-foot Flattop Mountain from the east shore reminded me of the wall from Game of Thrones. Pretty epic in my opinion. I made sure to double check with the family that they were all still onboard. You are? Seriously? Sweet.
Tiffany and Nate had rented an Airbnb big enough for all their guests not too far from Estes Park, Colorado. The house was right next to a cliff with an incredible view of the Colorado mountains. This was also the location I chose for Tiffany and Nate’s first look. I’m a big fan of small weddings. Simpler is often better. Tiffany and Nate’s whole family helped out with the dinner, floral arrangements, makeup, etc. It just goes to show you that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to have an epic wedding. Tiffany and Nate are definitely going to have some amazing stories to share. Thanks so much for including me on your epic wedding day.
Josh Hartman – Traveling Elopement Photographer
