Vail Colorado Backpacking Elopement | Heather and Jerrod

Who doesn’t want surprise guests at their wedding?!? Heather and Jerrod made the best of the current world situation and decided to elope in the mountains of Colorado. Instead of the big wedding they originally planned for, they decided to backpack to a beautiful alpine lake. Even though it wasn’t what they planned, it was so much more than they could have imagined it to be.

Heather and Jerrod met us at the trailhead around 1pm. After packing up the last of our things, we all started hiking up the 6.5 miles to our camping spot. It was the perfect summer afternoon with wildflowers, freshly grown grass, and quiet mountain trails. Once at camp, we set up our tents under the pine trees while Heather and Jerrod prepared for their first look. Heather crawled into her 2 person tent sliding into her dress while Jerrod waited for her down by the lake. Just as the sun was setting, they shared their first look.

We were up just before sunrise the next morning for a perfect alpenglow ceremony. Heather and Jerrod exchanged vows on a calm and surprisingly warm July morning. As they shared their vows, dozens of mountain goats joined to photo bomb and join the ceremony. We all jokingly talked about wanting to see mountain goats and Heather and Jerrod got more than they wished for! After vows, they enjoyed a pancake and unity ceremony using a cross and strings they created with spruce tree for the cross. As the morning turned into afternoon, we all hiked back down to our cars finishing out the perfect 2 day adventure.

Video: Backcountry Vows

Photos: Vows and Peaks