TELLING STORIES OF

LOVE

Colorado Hiking Elopement RMNP | Brooke + Aaron

Colorado Hiking Elopement in Rocky Mountain National Park | Brooke + Aaron

Shea McGrath Photography | Colorado Elopement Photographer

Photos of Brooke and Aaron’s Colorado hiking elopement in Rocky Mountain National Park! These two got married at Sprague Lake, then hiked up to Dream Lake for some breathtaking views and photos. But first, read more about Brooke and Aaron! 🙂

How They Met

Brooke and Aaron were both going to dinner with their bible study class (he was new to class and they hadn’t met yet). As he was walking in, Brooke whipped into a parking spot and almost took him out with her car! Aaron slowed down and Brooke walked in not far behind him. As Brooke made her way to the line, she said hi to some friends and Aaron realized that Brooke was there for the same dinner he was.

When Brooke made it to the line, Aaron pretended like he didn’t know what he wanted to eat and he let the guy in between them go in front of him. He then turned around, flashed his dimple at her, put his hand out for a handshake, and said, “Hi, I’m Aaron!” They ended up sitting next to one another and talked about Brooke’s man hands (she was rock climbing all the time so they were super torn up). Aaron is a water skier and offered his solution for repairing her hands. That night, Aaron added Brooke on Facebook and sent her a message with the links to all of the products he told her about.

Their First Date

Aaron thought their first date was great. He said, “It was the best first date I have ever been on!” Brooke on the other hand, felt so terribly awkward that she thought she had ruined it forever! She said she was so awkward that she dodged him for 3 months after their first date. Their second date however, was when Brooke was totally convinced that Aaron was completely different from any guy she had ever gone on a date with.

The Proposal

Brooke and Aaron knew that they wanted to get married in February or March. But Aaron wasn’t able to get the engagement ring until after Christmas. To help ease the stress and pressure, Brooke planned a last minute trip to RMNP for the next weekend, so they could start planning without the ring. That weekend, Aaron was acting so weird. They pulled up to the parking lot of Sprague lake and he had to go to the bathroom AGAIN. She asked him what was wrong and he displaced his nervousness on the wedding and not having a plan. She looked at him and said, “I am going to need you to calm down so we can enjoy this.”

It was at this point Aaron had decided he was no longer waiting for the perfect spot to propose, he was just waiting for a spot that wasn’t the parking lot. Less than 10 minutes later, they made their way to a clearing on the other side of the lake from the dock. They set up a tripod and camera (Aaron said he wanted to get an idea of how pictures could look). They stood on a bench to take the picture and Brooke tried to get down. She wanted to see how the pictures looked and Aaron said, “lets enjoy the moment”.

He grabbed her hands and said, “Hey! Would you want to get engaged in front of a ton of people or like just us two on the side of the mountain?” He got on one knee, PULLED OUT THE RING, and Brooke completely blacked out from excitement. She couldn’t believe it! She excitedly said “YES!” more than once at the wrong times. It turns out Aaron was taking a video of the proposal. It was the most special moment! Only their immediate families have seen the video; Brooke and Aaron decided to save that special moment for the two of them.

Their Sprague Lake Elopement

After a taking a few getting ready photos at Glow Salon in Estes Park, we headed to Rocky Mountain National Park! Brooke and Aaron decided to have their ceremony at Sprague Lake. (Where Aaron proposed a couple months earlier!) They were surrounded by about 30 of their closest family members and friends and had the sweetest ceremony. We took a few family photos afterwards, then it was time to hike!

Dream Lake Hike

Colorado Hiking Elopement — We all carpooled to the Bear Lake parking lot (where the Dream Lake trailhead is). Brooke wore a “Bridal Buddy”, which if you don’t know what that is, click here for the link! It went under her dress and she was able to pull her dress up around her shoulders and tie it so her it wouldn’t drag on the ground during the hike! It was actually on Shark Tank! I had never heard of it before Brooke mentioned it and it worked so well! I highly recommend it to other couples wanting to hike on their wedding day.

For those of you that don’t know, Dream Lake it a 1 mile hike uphill. Once you reach the top, the views are incredible! We had so much fun taking pictures with Brooke and Aaron (these two are a blast to be around!) We spent most of our time taking pictures at the lake, but also stopped at a couple of the overlooks. Then, we started making it down the mountain at sunset, and the two of them headed to Boulder for dinner, where their friends and family were waiting for them!

Getting ready pictures at Glow Salon Estes ParkGlow Salon in Estes Park ColoradoGetting ready pictures at Glow Salon Estes ParkGlow Salon in Estes Park ColoradoGetting ready pictures at Glow Salon Estes ParkBridal Buddy for wedding dressBridal Buddy for wedding dressWine in a box at wedding ceremonySprague Lake Elopement RMNPSprague Lake Elopement RMNPSprague Lake Wedding RMNPSprague Lake Wedding RMNPSprague Lake Wedding RMNPSprague Lake Wedding RMNPSprague Lake Elopement in RMNPSprague Lake Wedding in RMNPElopement at Sprague Lake in ColoradoSprague Lake Wedding in RMNPElopement at Sprague Lake in ColoradoElopement at Sprague Lake in ColoradoWedding at Sprague Lake in ColoradoWedding at Sprague Lake in ColoradoWedding ceremony at Sprague Lake in ColoradoWedding ceremony at Sprague Lake in ColoradoWedding ceremony at Sprague Lake in ColoradoWedding ceremony at Sprague Lake in ColoradoColorado elopement photographersElopement photos at Sprague Lake RMNPElopement photos at Sprague Lake RMNPElopement photos at Sprague Lake RMNPWedding ceremony at Sprague Lake ColoradoColorado Elopement PhotoExchanging rings at Sprague Lake ColoradoExchanging rings at Sprague Lake ColoradoFirst kiss at Sprague Lake Wedding ColoradoFirst kiss at Sprague Lake Elopement ColoradoColorado Elopement PhotographyColorado Wedding PhotographySprague Lake Colorado WeddingSprague Lake Colorado WeddingSprague Lake Colorado Wedding RMNPSprague Lake Colorado Wedding RMNPSprague Lake Colorado Elopement RMNPSprague Lake Colorado Elopement RMNPSprague Lake Colorado Elopement Pictures RMNPSprague Lake Colorado Elopement Pictures RMNPSprague Lake Colorado Wedding Pictures RMNPColorado hiking elopement picture with Bridal BuddyColorado hiking elopementColorado hiking elopement photosColorado hiking elopement photosColorado hiking elopement photosDream Lake Colorado RMNPDream Lake Wedding PicturesDream Lake Wedding PicturesDream Lake Elopement PicturesColorado Hiking Elopement PhotographerColorado Hiking Elopement PhotosRMNP Colorado Elopement photosRMNP Colorado Elopement photosDream Lake Wedding Pictures in ColoradoRMNP Dream Lake Wedding Pictures ColoradoRMNP Dream Lake Wedding Pictures ColoradoDream Lake Wedding PhotosRMNP Dream Lake Wedding Pictures ColoradoDream Lake Wedding PhotosDream Lake Wedding PhotosBest Dream Lake Wedding Picture in Rocky Mountain National Park ColoradoDream Lake Wedding PhotosColorado Hiking Elopement PhotosRocky Mountain National Park Wedding PhotosRocky Mountain National Park Wedding PhotographerRocky Mountain National Park Wedding PhotographerWinter Elopement in RMNPEnchanted Florist flower bouquet Estes Park ColoradoDream Lake Wedding Pictures of brideDream Lake Wedding Pictures of brideColorado hiking elopement picturesRMNP Wedding PhotosRMNP Wedding PhotosColorado Winter Wedding PhotosColorado hiking elopementDream Lake RMNP Mountain viewDream Lake Hike Wedding PicturesDream Lake Hike Wedding PhotosSunset at Dream Lake Hike Colorado RMNPSunset wedding photo at Dream Lake RMNP Colorado Dream Lake hike RMNP Colorado at nightRocky Mountain National Park Wedding PicturesDream Lake Wedding Pictures at Night in RMNP Colorado

Congratulations, Brooke and Aaron!!!

 

Vendors

A big thank you to the following vendors for making Brooke and Aaron’s elopement day so special!

Ceremony Venue: Sprague Lake

Hair and Makeup: Glow Salon and Spa

Florist: Enchanted Florist

Officiant: Paul Kowalis

Photographer: Shea McGrath Photography

Videographer: Peak Narrative Productions

 

Would you want to hike on your wedding day? Let’s make it happen! Email shea@sheamcgrath.com or fill out the contact form by clicking here!

 

Shea + Jacob

10 comments
Add a comment...

Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked *

  • donna Young

    Such beautiful, vibrant photos! ❤️❤️❤️ReplyCancel

  • These are beautiful! I’m a sucker for elopements especially if they are on the snow!  ReplyCancel

  • So beautiful. This post brings me so much joy since we are all quarantined. I really miss the mountains lol. Congratulations Brooke and Aaron on gettig married. Your photos are stunning!ReplyCancel

    • Shea McGrath

      Thank you, Anna! I appreciate your kind words 🙂ReplyCancel

  • Sunshine Lump

    Wow!!! Beautiful wedding photos! The location is gorgeous tooReplyCancel

  • Kate

    This is seriously so stunning!!!ReplyCancel

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @SHEAMCGRATHPHOTOGRAPHY

Denver Colorado Wedding Photographers, Shea McGrath Photography, has been photographing weddings since 2010 and has photographed over 200 weddings. Voted one of the 23 best wedding photographers in Denver, CO by Expertise, Shea and her husband/second photographer, Jacob, specialize in outdoor mountain weddings and elopements across the state of Colorado and beyond, including destination weddings. Shea McGrath Photography enjoys photographing weddings all over Colorado including but not limited to Denver, Evergreen, Estes Park, Vail, Aspen, Beaver Creek, Boulder, Granby, Telluride, Ouray, and Crested Butte. Click here or fill out the form below to get in touch!

Form submitted successfully, thank you! Expect an email response within 2-3 business days.Error submitting form, please try again or email shea@sheamcgrath.com