Colorado Intimate Wedding

Congratulations on your engagement and your Colorado wedding! I'm helping a friend plan a wedding in another state, so I totally understand how nerve-wracking it can be to make a venue choice from so far away! As a side note, I moved to Denver from Asheville a couple years ago and I'd totally take the Blue Ridge/Smokies over the Rockies any day. Too funny, right?! Different strokes!

One thing to consider with a small Colorado wedding is doing your ceremony in a national or state park (Rocky Mountain National Park is obviously a great place to start!), since the rate is super affordable.

My personal favorite of such spaces for wedding ceremonies is Maroon Bells Ampitheatre near Aspen (https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/233123) since the daily rental rate is only $200 and the background is stupid gorgeous. Then you'd still have $1800 to book your reception cabin nearby! I did a quick search on AirBnb for 16+ guests in Maroon Bells and you've got half a dozen options there. My personal pick would be this one because of the dreamy finishes, gorgeous mountain views, and hot tub! https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/17477031?location=Maroon%20Bells%2C%20Pitkin%20County%2C%20CO%2C%20United%20States&adults=16&guests=1&s=PZsvGYSN

Good luck!

Hi Sara! Welcome to WeddingWire and congrats on your engagement!

Are you open to an outdoor ceremony?

Agreeing with Tylar, for your small Colorado wedding, you could consider doing an outdoor ceremony at a national/state park! This is a super scenic, cost effective option that would really embrace the Colorado atmosphere! Each national/state park has different licensing and rules/regulations for their grounds, (with chair rentals, timing, and other details in-mind) but if there is a specific area you would love to be married in, you could try contacting the regulations in that area to learn more about potentially having your wedding there!

Great! Keep us posted if any spark your eye in particular

Yay! We are in Northern Colorado, so these venues are there & southern Wyoming. We toured venues 19 months out so we looked at quite a few either online or in person. We are getting married in Larkspur in July. These were the cheaper ones: Ten Bears Winery in Laporte, CO (didn't charge a venue fee, you just had to use their alcohol), Marriott on Horsetooth in Fort Collins (I don't remember the rate, but they had a pretty back room with bistro lights and it was affordable), The Wort Hotel (Jackson Hole, WY) $500-$1,000, Trail End Historic Site (Sheridan, WY) $200, Aspen Grove at Sundance Trail (Red Feather Lakes, CO) $250-$450, Bentwood Inn (Jacksonville, WY) $500-$2,000, and the Green Briar Inn(Boulder, CO) $1,200-1,800. I hope that helps! Not all are in the mountains, but most had mountain views & you can see from their pictures.

Estes Park is beautiful place to get married and its right on the doorstep of Rocky Mountain National park. go to visitestespark.com and on the top you'll see "Weddings", click on that and you'll see a bunch of options/ facilities that are available in the town. From ceremony to flowers, to everything. Good Luck!