Here is how to elope in Colorado Springs: get your license, pick a spot close to town, check that land's rules, choose sunrise or sunset, and plan your coverage around the walk in and the vows.
I'm Andrew, a Colorado Springs videographer with Peak Wedding Films, and this is the plan I walk couples through.
Everything below is built so the day feels easy and the film holds all of it.
Step 1: Handle the License First
Colorado makes eloping simple. You get a marriage license from a county clerk and recorder's office, and Colorado allows couples to solemnize their own marriage, so an officiant is optional.
Rules and office hours change, so check the current requirements with the El Paso County clerk, or the clerk in whatever county you visit, before your date. Once the paperwork is sorted, the rest of the day is about the two of you.
Step 2: Pick a Spot Close to Colorado Springs
You do not need to drive four hours to get a mountain backdrop. Pikes Peak and the Manitou Springs side of it, Woodland Park, Divide, Cripple Creek and the Black Forest are all close to town.
Anywhere within about 90 minutes of Colorado Springs carries no travel fee. That means more of the day goes to the vows and the light, and less of it goes to the road.
When you pick a spot, think about three things:
- How far you are willing to walk in wedding clothes
- Whether you want trees, open views or rock around you
- How private you want it to be at your time of day
Step 3: Check the Rules for That Land
Parks and public land around Colorado Springs are run by different agencies, and each one sets its own rules. Some want a permit for a ceremony. Some limit group size. Some do not allow drones at all.
Check the current requirements with whoever manages your spot before you lock in a time. Aerial coverage is part of every package, and I plan the drone shots only where the location and the rules allow them.
Step 4: Choose Sunrise or Sunset
Low sun is kinder to faces and to landscapes than midday sun. Many couples pick one end of the day.
- Sunrise: fewer people on the trail, still air and a quiet start. It means an early alarm.
- Sunset: warmer light and an easier morning. It also means more company on popular trails.
Either works on film. Pick the one that fits how you want the day to feel, and we build the timeline around it.
Step 5: Plan the Coverage Around the Walk and the Vows
An elopement film is built around the hike, the ceremony and the hours on either side of it, not around a reception timeline.
That usually means an early call time, the drive or walk in, the vows, portraits while the light holds, and the walk back out.
If you want a dinner afterward, it fits inside the same hours of coverage. Ten guests still counts as an elopement here, and the film covers their faces too.
You can see what each package includes, so you know how many hours you are working with.
Step 6: Plan for Weather, Not Against It
Mountain weather turns, especially in the afternoon. That does not have to decide whether your film gets made.
My gear is weather sealed and the timeline flexes in real time. Some of the most cinematic footage I have shot happened under storm skies. We agree on a backup spot or a backup hour on our pre-wedding call, then we keep rolling.
Why One Videographer Matters for an Elopement
I film one wedding per day, and elopements count. Your elopement is not a smaller job squeezed in beside a full wedding. It gets the whole day, and I edit every frame of it myself.
Tell me your date and the spot you have in mind. I read every inquiry myself, and a date is either open or it is not.