How to Elope in Boulder, Colorado
Planning Your Elopement in Boulder, Colorado
As home to Castlehouse Videography, we figure it’s important to write a little guide on what it means to elope in Boulder, Colorado. Eloping in Colorado opens up so many opportunities for amazing mountain views, fantastic overlooks and that classic mountain culture. Beyond just thinking of ceremony locations, this guide will walk you through things to consider when planning your adventure elopement! If any of these tips resonate with you feel free to reach out and we can chat even further. Here at Castlehouse Videography we plan, film and photograph elopements in Colorado and beyond so are always happy to talk with couples and help them discover what their perfect elopement looks like for them!
So, without further ado, let’s dive in!
How to Get Your Marriage License in Colorado
First up on the list on how to elope in Boulder, Colorado begins with the process for applying for your marriage license. It can be a bit of an overwhelming process when you think of having a destination elopement and going through the paperwork required to make it official but it’s actually a pretty simple process. Follow the link below to check out the Boulder County guide to receiving your marriage license in Colorado.
Here are the main points you need to know to get your marriage license in Colorado…
appear in person to apply and sign the marriage application.
Pay $30 Cash for Marriage License Fee.
Bring your ID for Proof of Age
Write down your Social Security Number
Fill in your Place of Birth (City and State) on the application form
Write Parents’ Names and Current Addresses on the application form.
That’s it! After about 20 minutes, they’ll issue you your marriage license!
Self-Solemnizing
Now that you have your marriage license it’s time to get that thang signed! One of the benefits to eloping in Colorado is you don’t need any witnesses or officiant to make your marriage official. You can guide yourselves through your own ceremony, exchange your rings, profess your heartfelt feelings to each other and say “I Do” without having to worry about anybody being present. There are a lot of blogs out there on traditional and non-traditional ways to guide yourself through the ceremony so if you’re looking for advice out there, a Google search will help you or subscribe to the Castlehouse Videography Youtube channel because we make monthly elopement planning videos where we talk all about planning your adventure elopement!
Now that you have your marriage license and know what you need to do to make it official, it’s time to learn about how to approach planning your adventure elopement.
Eloping is Not About the Pictures!
At Castlehouse Videography, we believe elopements should not be about the photos or videos. It’s about you. It’s about your love. It’s about your experience. The best photos and videos come from doing something that you love together and showing your adoration for each other. There’s no set pose that will give you the joy that comes from exploring with your partner and so we design all of our elopement experiences around that.
If you’re passionate about hiking, rock climbing, yoga, farmers markets, cooking together, flying kites or swimming in alpine lakes we’re big advocates of including that to be a part of your day! All of our film collections are 9 hours long giving you the flexibility and encouragement to have as much of the day covered as possible. If you’re celebrating, we want to be there! So, ask yourself what it is that you want to do around Boulder and start there. In Boulder, the locations shouldn’t be the focus but rather the activity :)
The best location is the one that’s most suited to the activity you want to do together! Everywhere in Boulder is gorgeous so there’s really no bad options. So, on that note, here’s our to 5 places to explore for your Boulder elopement!!
Best Places to Elope in Boulder, Colorado
As stated above, we plan our adventure elopements around the activities that we find couples typically do on their elopement day to celebrate. So, this list may be slightly different than others you see online because we really try to encourage you to make your big day a big day! Stay out for a while, go hiking, warm up with some hot coffee at Trident in your wedding clothes, hit up some world class rock climbing. Seek out the adventure! While Boulder, Colorado is most known for its hiking there are still some phenomenal locations all around town for every type of adventurer :)
Chautauqua Park
Top Activities: Hiking, Climbing, Ceremony Location
This will top the list of most Boulder, Colorado elopement location guides you may see on the internet and there’s a big reason for that. With the iconic Flatirons as the backdrop, this is a super accessible drive up location for an awesome view. BUT, the adventure doesn’t have to stop there. While Roo was training for his ultra-marathon, these were the main trails he ran on. Most people hike up the main hill and kind of just stop there but, for us, what makes Chautauqua Park so special is it serves as an incredible launching point for endless amounts of hiking, climbing and adventure. The Mesa Trail is one of my personal favorite trails with about 13 miles of out-and-back views of the almost every major peak in Boulder. If you’re wanting to get some climbing experiences under your belt, doing some scrambling on the Flatirons themselves is an awesome option too! If you want to rope up and climb the 2nd Flatirons in your wedding clothes, let us know because we can totally make it happen :) It’s not too difficult of a climb and definitely something you will not forget!
Any of the 5 Boulder Peaks -
(Bear Peak / South Boulder Peak / Flagstaff Mountain / Green Mountain / Mt. Sanitas)
Top Activities: Hiking, Bouldering, Ceremony Location
It’s hard for us to really put any one of the peaks as personal favorites because they all offer their own special spice. Bear and South Boulder Peak are a little bit longer with a total round trip hike of around 5 hours while Green Mountain and Flagstaff Mountain are a little shorter and will likely take you around 2.5 hours. These peaks are often overlooked as elopement locations in Boulder because they aren’t drive-up locations where you instantly end up at a pretty location but if you’re willing to put in some work, they will absolutely blow your mind! Since these mountains straddle the Indian Peaks wilderness you get some insane views out west while being able to overlook the entire town of Boulder in the east.
Lost Gulch Overlook
Top Activities: Accessible Overlook, Ceremony Location
Lost Gulch Overlook is one of the most iconic elopement locations in Boulder and for good reason. Many couples choose to have their ceremony here because both the sunrises and sunsets here are absolutely nuts! With phenomenal drive-up access and a short few hundred feet walk to a rock outcropping on overlooking both the Indian Peaks Wilderness and the town of Boulder, this is an awesome option for including your family and having something a little more friendly to non-physical activity :) While Lost Gulch Overlook is great, we always recommend using this as a starting point or ending point to your day but continuing to explore other places or activities on this list to expand upon your experience and see all that Boulder has to offer.
Pearl Street
Activities: Farmers Market, Coffeeshops, Boutique Stores, Adorable Pedestrian Walking Mall
We’re a little biased to Pearl Street since we’re located just a few blocks away but, dang, this town is cuuuuute. There’s almost a mile worth of adorable shops lining a pedestrian only walkway that will definitely grant you a memorable experience for your elopement day. While this may not be the location to perform your elopement ceremony and say “I Do” (unless you like having other people walking around you to see the street musicians or browse the shops), we HIGHLY recommend a visit to Pearl Street during your elopement experience. After seeking out adventure all over town, this is a great place to regroup, have a dinner or hit up some coffeeshops on your elopement day! Some of our favorite locations on Pearl Street include, but our not limited to, the following:
Coffeeshops
Restaurants
Centro (Mexican Food)
Oskar Blues (Burgers and Beer)
Hapa Sushi (Japanese Food)
Pasta Jays (Italian Food)
Illegal Pete’s (Mexican Food)
Miscellaneous:
Wonder (Juice Bar)
Gelato Boy (Ice Cream)
Kilwins (Fudge)
Boulder Creek
Activities: Swimming, Tubing, Creekside Hanging
If you’re looking for some mellow water activities for your elopement in Boulder, look no further than Boulder Creek! This creek runs along a beautiful walking and bike path and has a few parks (like Eben G. Fine park) where you can jump in and take a dip to cool off on those warm summer days! A very popular activity for a lot of people in Boulder during in the late spring and early months is tubing down Boulder creek. Grab those inflatable tubes and experience the thrill of cruising along the creek with your partner on your elopement day. Similar to Lost Gulch Overlook, you may not want to spend your entire adventure elopement at the creek but if you’re looking to make your adventure elopement one filled with a diverse list of activities for you and your guests, hitting up Boulder Creek (especially in a tube) is an iconic Boulder activity in the warmer months :)
Eldora Ski Resort:
Activities: Snowboarding, Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing
For the winter mountain lovers, eloping in Boulder doesn’t have to be limited to hiking at all! Eldora Ski Resort is located just over 30 minutes away from downtown Boulder and a great place to experience the light, fluffy Colorado snow that makes the winters here so magical. For the skiers and snowboarders out there, Eldora has runs of all difficulty and is more cost friendly compared to the bigger resorts like Vail, Copper, Keystone or Breckenridge. Another huge benefit to having your elopement day on the mountain is that during the weekdays there are little to no lift lines at all. Seriously, Roo snowboards well over 30 days a year at Eldora and most days just rides right onto the lift. It’s epic. If you’re thinking to yourself, “Woah, can I really have a snowboarding elopement? Do people do that?!”
Yes, they do. Here’s a snowboarding elopement video we made in Vail last winter…
Skateparks… (Yes, we really did put this on a list of top places to elope)
Activities: Skateboarding, Vibey Photoshoots
Alright, while this may not be top of your list to visit if you’re not a skateboarder but for those happy couples who enjoy hitting the skatepark every once in a while we wanted to just take a second and say that Boulder built TWO new phenomenal parks in summer, 2021. If you’re looking to elope in Colorado and want to supplement your hiking, skiing, or climbing with another great activity, Boulder does have some pretty awesome parks close by! Here are our favorites…
Now that you have some activities laid out for your Boulder elopement, it’s time to look into some AirBnB’s! While we can’t guarantee these will be available on the dates your hoping to elope but we threw in a few of our favorite housing accommodations for your time in Boulder :) If these cute little AirBnB’s are already full then there are still some great hotels that put you right in the center of the action ready to host you and your loved ones for some awesome Boulder elopement adventures!
AirBnB list
Charming Creekside Mountain Retreat
Central Boulder Apartment with Flatiron Views
Modern Studio with Mountain Views
Larger Guest House for Elopement Fam + Friends
The final step in planning your adventure elopement in Boulder, Colorado comes with booking your vendors! Obviously, we’re going to be a little bit biased here since we’re located just off of Pearl Street and visit all of these places on almost a daily basis so can guide you through the planning, photo and film process seamlessly but we’ll give you some tips to booking other vendors in the area if you don’t resonate with the Castlehouse Videography style of photography and videography. Roo made a video about what to expect to spend when booking vendors here in Colorado but here’s a little bit more information if you’re not a visual person…
When booking your elopement photographer or elopement videographer, don’t base it off of price! There’s a lot of benefit that comes with sticking with elopement professionals (such as receiving great planning advice, experience in photographing and filming a super niche activity, clear, empathic and straightforward booking process) so we always recommend hiring somebody who you resonate with on a professional level AND a personal level. This elopement photographer or elopement videographer you decide to hire is going to play a big part in your day so making sure it’s somebody you click with socially and emotionally is just as important as liking the photos they post or the advice they write about in their blog. If you’re curious who’s behind all the magic at Castlehouse, Roo is all about big smiles and big adventures. Learn more about him here or watch his planning videos here!
Like we’ve said all over this article, plan your adventure elopement in Boulder, Colorado around your activities. The locations all around this place are phenomenal so picking the ones that resonate with what type of adventure you want to have is what planning an elopement is all about. Once again, it’s about you, your love and your experience. The elopement photography, elopement videography, and most beautiful elopement locations will all come when you decide how you want to celebrate your day!