If you’re beginning to plan a micro wedding or elopement in Colorado, the first thing on your to-do list is likely finding out where to host a micro wedding in Colorado. There are so many incredible places in this state, it can be hard to narrow down! Focusing on the less popular areas, like the Western Slope where I live, will likely make your celebration much easier and more fun, as options for dates or permits won’t be booked up and there won’t be crowds of people you don’t know around on your wedding day. Hosting a micro wedding can be as easy as booking a venue or AirBnB, or a little more wild like saying “I do” in a national park or forest land. Let’s dive in to where to host a micro wedding in Colorado:

 

Colorado Micro Wedding Venues

 

Nate & CeCe | Winter Elopement Near Ouray

Top Venues for Micro Weddings in Palisade/Grand Junction:

TWP Winery & Farmhouse

This cozy oasis sits at the base of Mt. Garfield in Palisade and offers lodging for a few guests, as well as incredible backdrops for a ceremony and portraits. With an operating winery on site, you get delicious drinks right out your door too!

Colorado National Monument

Located between Grand Junction and Fruita, this national monument offers red rock canyons and pillars similar to Moab, and makes a fun adventurous venue for your micro wedding. 

Gateway Canyons Resort

A little ways outside Grand Junction is a luxurious red rock resort located in Gateway, Colorado. It’s a stunning location for your micro wedding, especially if your smaller group size means more money to spend on an incredible experience! Click here to see other Gateway Canyons weddings.

Sarah & Andy photo on the swings at Mountain Wedding Garden

Top Venues for Micro Weddings in Crested Butte:

Woods Walk

The Woods Walk is a wedding venue in Crested Butte run by the area Land Trust. It consists mainly of an aspen grove and large field with views of Mt. Crested Butte. In the summer months it’s the perfect wildflower area, and in fall it’s got the best golden aspen glow!

Mountain Wedding Garden

If your micro wedding in Crested Butte will include a small reception or cocktails, the Mountain Wedding Garden is a great option for both views and a small pavilion for hosting some guests. It is located up the mountain from the town of Crested Butte, and has great views overlooking the surrounding valley.

Center for the Arts

This beautiful venue is an intimate and architecturally alluring venue for your micro wedding in Crested Butte. The stairs, the backdrops, the windows and location all make it a worthy candidate!

Get my Crested Butte Elopement Guide here

Telluride:

Telluride Mountain Lodge

Located in Mountain Village above the town of Telluride, the Mountain Lodge is only a short (and FREE) gondola ride away from any other attractions the area offers! With a variety of lodging and incredible views, it’s a great space to hold your event along with all your guests.

The Peaks Resort

A hotel in Mountain Village, the Peaks Resort is a luxurious experience with many ceremony and reception spaces to choose from. It’s a less wild and rugged way to have a beautiful mountain micro wedding in Colorado!

221 South Oak

This boutique restaurant is perfect to book out for a small gathering, especially if your ceremony is out in the mountains and you just need a nice spot for an incredible meal afterward.

Kristina & Hagan | Micro Wedding at Maroon Bells Aspen

Glenwood Springs/Aspen:

Hotel Colorado

Hotel Colorado is a historic hotel in the heart of Glenwood Springs, across the street from the most famous hot springs in Colorado. Its courtyard is a beautiful backdrop for a ceremony and a wonderful lodging option for all your guests. There is so much to do in Glenwood Springs – it’s a perfect destination for your wedding weekend!

Maroon Bells

Maroon Bells is one of the more popular destinations for weddings in Colorado. You’ll need to reserve the amphitheater a year in advance, or plan on fewer than 10 people to elope in the wilderness nearby. Click here for my guide to getting married at Maroon Bells!

Rifle Falls

If you’re looking for a beautiful waterfall venue for your micro wedding, Rifle Falls is the perfect intimate option. The falls run all year long

Blake & Emily | Ghost Town Elopement Adventure in Ouray

Ouray:

The Beaumont Hotel

The Beaumont is a historic hotel located right on the main road in Ouray. It’s easy to find, full of charm, and the courtyard is perfect for hosting a ceremony and/or small reception too! If you wanted a mix of adventure out in the mountains and a small reception back at the hotel, this is a great space.

Gold Mountain Ranch

The Gold Mountain Ranch sits above Ouray, for a birds eye view of the canyon below. With incredible sights and a cozy atmosphere, you can see why couples choose this spot to host a micro wedding!

The Wright Opera House

This is another great historic venue downtown Ouray, with all the historic charm but complete with a new renovation that met its history with modern conveniences.

Stagecoach Lodge

This vacation rental/venue in Ridgway offers stunning views of the nearby San Juan mountains and a gorgeous log cabin to feel right at home for your micro wedding. If you’re only having a small handful of people, everyone could even stay at the lodge!

Kale's Cottage | Paonia Elopement

Airbnb and Vacation Rentals

Canyon Hideout, Cortez

This Airbnb has major Moab and desert vibes, perfect for a couple looking for that red rock experience but with the self-solemnizing benefits of Colorado’s state laws! There’s a variety of backdrops and a couple of cozy spaces for you and a couple friends to stay the weekend. Click here to see an elopement at this rental!

Thimble Rock Pointe, Grand Junction

This rental is a gorgeous A-Frame cabin setting for your micro wedding in Colorado. It can host two of you in the cabin, and has a fire pit to gather around ten of your guests for a ceremony. Guests can stay in the nearby yurt, down at the Gateway Canyons Resort up the road, or back in Grand Junction about a 45 minute drive away.

Basecamp 550, Ouray

This modern campground offers glamping tents, tiny houses and more for the outdoorsy couple who wants to escape into nature for the weekend. 

Always be sure to be upfront with the rental host and verify if weddings or gatherings are allowed!

Click here for my complete guide to vacation rentals for your elopement!

Trista & Daren | Crested Butte Wedding at the Woods Walk

National Parks & State Parks

As with almost all national and state parks, a permit is required for weddings and elopements at these locations. Check with the park website or local ranger station for more info.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Probably the most overlooked national park in Colorado is the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. It’s located outside Montrose, CO which has an airport and plenty of lodging for your guests! The Black Canyon is an incredible river canyon, boasting “the steepest cliffs, oldest rock, and craggiest spires in North America.” It’s truly hard to understand how beautiful it is until you’ve seen it in person.

Colorado National Monument

The Colorado National Monument is located in Grand Junction, CO and features those red rocks and tremendous towers many associate with Moab. It feels like a miniature Grand Canyon, and has backdrops including from the base of the canyon to the cliffs above.

Rifle Falls State Park

The greenest area year-round in Colorado, complete with dazzling waterfalls you can practically walk up to is Rifle Fall State Park. A short ways outside of Glenwood Springs, you can find lodging nearby in the form of vacation rentals and hotels in Rifle, CO or Glenwood Springs, CO.

 

Clint & Laura | Red Mountain Elopement

 

Public Lands, National Forests, Etc.

 

Many public lands, National Forest Lands and more require special use fees and permits for these areas. Check with the local ranger station for more info. 

Yankee Boy Basin – Ouray

Located outside Ouray toward Telluride, Yankee Boy Basin is a stunning area. You will need a 4×4 vehicle with plenty of clearance, or else prepare to rent a jeep ride from in town! On the way into the mountains you’ll pass mines, waterfalls, and wildflowers in summer. It’s the perfect wild escape for your micro wedding in Colorado.

Grand Mesa National Forest – Grand Junction

Only an hour outside of Grand Junction, the western slope’s largest city, is the Grand Mesa. From Powderhorn, the local ski resort, to the multitude of lakes on its flat top, the Mesa makes for a mountain getaway without all the attention. You will have no trouble finding a secluded grove of aspens, or shore of a piney lake here!

Gunnison National Forest – Gunnison, Crested Butte

This national forest is home to some of the state’s best wildflowers in the summer, as well as waterfalls, alpine lakes, mountain bike trails, hiking and more! It’s an outdoorsy couple’s dream location for a micro wedding in Colorado. You can camp in dispersed camping or an established campground, or stay in nearby Crested Butte or Gunnison at more formal lodging too.

 

Micro Wedding Photographer

 

There are so many more amazing options for where to host a micro wedding in Colorado, but these are the top places in western Colorado where the crowds are much fewer and you’re bound to get a private moment alone on your wedding day. If you need a local photographer to help guide you through the options, I’d love to help you plan your perfect wedding weekend!

Click here to send me a note!

 

More Elopement and Micro Wedding Info:

How to Start Planning a Micro Wedding or Elopement

What is a Micro Wedding?

Micro Wedding Photography Info

 

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