Sapphire Point Overlook Elopement in Breckenridge, CO

An untraditional celebration of love, family, and returning home:

Breckenridge, Colorado in March made for the perfect (freezing) winter wonderland location for Rebekah and Joseph’s intimate wedding celebration. The day was curated so thoughtfully and each part of it felt deeply meaningful to R + J and their families. What I love about elopements and intimate weddings is the freedom that ditching tradition can give to a wedding day. After meeting R + J for their engagement photos, I knew that they were going to do their wedding their way and would be saying no to anything that didn’t feel right to them.

They settled on having the celebration in Breckenridge because Rebekah grew up in the Tenmile mountain range and the whole area carries feelings of nostalgia and deep importance for the both of them. It was also a central location that allowed their closest family members to attend, which was priority #1 for them.

Throughout the whole day, I was often struck by the amount of love, respect, and admiration that the couple and both of their families had for each other. It felt like everyone had come from their different corners of the wold and joined together in this special part of Colorado to celebrate those feelings of home that a marriage can bring.

The beginning of the bride’s vows: “I love adventures and I always have. Part of that is the thrill of new experiences and the other part has been me searching for home. After so many moves and never being able to stay still, I thought that I would never find it and I was worried that if I did, I’d feel stuck. It turns out that what I was searching for was never a place, but a feeling of home- which I never found until you. Thank you for always being a safe place for me to land.”

The day started with everyone getting ready at an Air BnB with a spectacular view of the mountains. Snow was falling on and off all day, which added just one more dream-like element. Everyone was buzzing with excitement and smiling with each other as they greeted soon-to-be family members.

Everyone headed over to the ceremony site at Sapphire Point Lookout and let the bride and groom have a private first look. The views were panoramic, with the snow-covered peaks making an appearance through the clouds and fog. Even so, R + J could not stop looking at each other.

Their ceremony was emotional as they read their vows to each other and had their first dance right after. Their loved ones looked at them with huge smiles and tears in their eyes. This day was one of the coldest of the whole season. It never got above 20 degrees and the snow flurries made it feel much colder, but everyone was so happy to be there that they weren’t phased by the cold. The bride wore her jacket for the ceremony, which I think looked adorable and shows that you can do literally anything you want when it’s your wedding day! (Also to this point, they were both nervous to say their vows, so they did rock paper scissors to decide who would go first).

Rebekah has a tattoo of the mountain range that surrounds this lookout, so we could see her tattoo with the real mountains during their first dance.

They had a moment to join their family, hug each other, and get some photos together before they went back into their cars to warm up.

After thawing out, we went back out to the lookout for some pictures of just the two of them. I loved watching their natural interactions and guiding them with ways to be with each other in front of the camera. I think the couple’s portrait time is a special moment that they get to spend alone with each other, so I like to stay out of the way and document them as they are.

On the drive to the lookout earlier, I had noticed that we were really close to the gondola and thought it would be a perfect way to end the day. After pictures, I asked them if they would be down to ride it and they were immediately on board and excited about closing the day out with something unique. We soaked in the views of the snowy mountains and laughed at everyone staring at them in their wedding attire.

I am honored to have been a part of this day and learned so much from the way that R + J structured their wedding. You don’t have to stick to any tradition that feels wrong to you. You can do exactly what you want and what feels exciting and meaningful to you. Nothing has to go exactly to plan and you can make decisions based on how you’re feeling on the day. Literally all that matters is that you’re celebrating your love and having the time of your life, and that is exactly what they did!