A Lost Gulch Overlook & Dream Lake Elopement in May

I showed up to this elopement an hour early, which doesn't sound like a big deal until I tell you I wasn't supposed to be there until 3:30 in the morning. So I showed up at 2:30. But better early than late!

I had camped in Rocky Mountain National Park the night before and apparently my phone couldn't figure out which time zone it was in, so it woke me up an hour early. Of course I didn't realize any of this until AFTER I rang the doorbell at their Airbnb.

And then I was like, oh cool, I definitely just woke these poor people up an hour early on their wedding day.

Thankfully, they were already up and getting ready. Sorry guys.

So fun fact: if your phone says one time, Google Maps says you're 15 minutes away, and your arrival time is somehow 15 minutes ago, your phone might be glitching.

They live in Ohio and met at a tattoo convention in Columbus, because he's a tattoo artist (he's actually the one who did her back piece). For their elopement they wanted mountain views and their two dogs, Milal and Moose, right there with them.

So we split their day in two: vows at Lost Gulch Overlook in Boulder in the morning, then a hike to Dream Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park that evening.

Getting Ready in Estes Park

They stayed up in Windcliff in Estes Park (the listing is Mountain Getaway | Windcliff Homes if you want to steal their Airbnb), and when I got there she was having her hair and makeup done and he was finishing breakfast. A very reasonable thing to be doing at 2:30 in the morning when your photographer isn't supposed to be there yet.

Once they were dressed, I followed them down to Boulder.

Vows at Lost Gulch Overlook in Boulder

Lost Gulch Overlook is up Flagstaff Mountain, about an 80 minute drive from Estes Park.

And you might be wondering why two people staying in Estes Park drove all the way to Boulder to get married. Dogs aren't allowed on the trails in Rocky Mountain National Park, and the road to Brainard Lake, which was our first pick, wasn't open yet in May. So Lost Gulch became Plan B. Milal and Moose could be there, we still got the mountain views, and nobody had to leave the dogs behind for the actual getting married part. #neverleavethedogsbehind

They read their vows with the dogs by their sides (in matching green bow ties), just the two of them, and then we wandered around the overlook for portraits before wrapping up the morning.

A Few Permit Things to Know

Lost Gulch Overlook is City of Boulder open space, which means your photographer needs a permit to work there. I already have one and it covers all of Boulder's open space parks.

Rocky Mountain National Park requires a permit just to say your vows in the park, so most of my couples say their vows outside of the park and then we go in for pictures (which is free). The park also does timed entry reservations from late May through the middle of October, so we plan around that too.

A Break + Their Marriage License

This is my favorite part of a split day because everybody gets to go eat, nap, and be a person for a few hours. I drove back up to Estes in the rain.

That afternoon, two of their closest friends came up from Denver and they all signed the marriage license in the backyard of their Airbnb.

Then it was time to head back into the park.

Hiking to Dream Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park

We all headed into the park together and hiked from the Bear Lake trailhead up to Dream Lake, which is about a mile each way. There was still snow up there, even in late May, because May in the mountains is not actually spring no matter what the calendar says. It snowed on us pretty heavily the entire way up, and then as soon as we got up there it stopped.

If you're planning a spring elopement in Rocky Mountain National Park, I would 1000% bring microspikes and warm layers. They wore theirs the whole way up.

We wandered around the lake for portraits and then headed back down to the parking lot.

Want the Dogs AND the Alpine Lake?

This Lost Gulch Overlook elopement is a pretty good example of why your whole day doesn't have to happen in one place. They got to have Milal and Moose there when they actually got married, take a few hours off in the middle of the day, and still hike to Dream Lake that evening.

So if you're looking at Rocky Mountain National Park thinking, "But what about my dog?" there are ways to do both. I wrote a whole post on how to include your dog on your wedding day if you want more ideas.

Planning Your Own Colorado Elopement?

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