When couples first start looking at elopement photography packages, one question comes up a LOT:
“What are we going to do for eight hours?!”
And I get it – If you’re imagining eight straight hours of standing on mountains and posing for photos, that sounds like…a lot.
But that’s not what an 8 hour elopement is.
One of the best parts about planning a full-day Colorado elopement is that your wedding day doesn’t have to follow a traditional timeline. You can slow down, explore somewhere new, include things you actually enjoy doing together, and leave plenty of room for the random little things that happen along the way.
Your photos are there to document the experience. They aren’t supposed to BE the entire experience.
So if you’re wondering how the heck you could fill eight hours on your elopement day, let me show you.
First, There Is No One “Right” Colorado Elopement Timeline
Before we get into the timeline, I want to make one thing clear:
This is one example.
Your 8 hour Colorado elopement could start before sunrise. It could end after dark. You could spend the entire day in one area or explore multiple locations. You could hike, off-road, paddle board, bop around a mountain town, bring your dog, invite a few people, or do absolutely none of those things.
The timeline should be built around what you two actually want to experience.
Sample 8 Hour Colorado Elopement Timeline
For this example, let’s imagine a relaxed afternoon into sunset elopement in the Colorado mountains.
1:00 PM | Getting Ready at Your Airbnb
Your photographer (hopefully me) arrives while you’re still getting ready.
This gives us time for all the little details without rushing through them. Your rings, vows, outfits, flowers, hiking boots, jewelry, and anything else you’ve intentionally chosen for the day.
But we’re also documenting what’s actually happening.
Maybe you’re making lunch together, drinking coffee, helping each other get ready, or hanging out with your dog. You can get ready separately if you want a traditional first look, or throw that rule out completely and get ready together.
2:00 PM | First Look + Head Into the Mountains
Once you’re ready, it’s time to head out.
If you’re doing a first look, we can find somewhere beautiful nearby and give you time to actually see each other before immediately moving onto the next thing.
Then we start exploring. And yes, the drive counts as part of the story.
Your favorite music blasting. Windows down. Dirt roads. Snacks in the car. Random stops because we just passed something freaking beautiful.
We don’t have to teleport from one photo location to another. The stuff that happens between those places is part of your elopement too.
3:00 PM | Do Something You Actually Enjoy
This is where an elopement starts feeling less like a photoshoot and more like your wedding day.
You could:
- Go for a hike
- Take your Jeep off roading
- Paddle board or canoe
- Explore a mountain town
- Stop at a brewery
- Have a picnic
- Frolic with your dog
- Grab coffee or ice cream
- Take a scenic drive
- Try something completely new together
You don’t need to cram five activities into one day, either. Choose one or two things you’re genuinely excited about and give yourselves enough time to actually enjoy them.
4:30 PM | Slow Down + Eat Something
YES, I am giving eating its own spot in your timeline. 😂
One thing I don’t want is for you to spend your wedding day running around Colorado without ever stopping to eat. As a person who gets hangry easily, food is incredibly important!
You could have a picnic, grab food in town, head back to your Airbnb for a little while, or even crack open a beer with those snacks.
Not every second needs to be a big event. Leaving space in your timeline to stop and hang out helps keep the day relaxed instead of turning it into a checklist of locations and photos.
5:30 PM | Head to Your Ceremony Location
Now it’s time to go get married!
Maybe you’re hiking to a quiet spot in the forest, driving to a mountain overlook, heading toward an alpine lake, or meeting a handful of your favorite people somewhere beautiful.
And because we haven’t packed your timeline down to the minute, you have time.
No rushing through your vows because we’re already supposed to be somewhere else and no five minute ceremony because we have to hurry to cocktail hour.
You can take your time with your vows, exchange rings, laugh, cry, and just enjoy being there together without feeling like you need to rush off to the next thing.
And if you’re self-solemnizing in Colorado, you can legally marry yourselves without an officiant standing beside you. Which is pretty freaking cool in my opinion. Check out my guide on How to Elope in Colorado to learn more about self-solemnization!
6:00 PM | You’re Married! Now Let’s Explore
YOU DID IT! Let’s celebrate & explore! The day isn’t over just because the ceremony is.
This is your time to celebrate however you want. Pop some champagne, cut your cake, have a first dance, bring your dog along, or just start exploring together. Maybe we hang around your ceremony spot for a while, take a short hike, or head somewhere new and see where the rest of the day takes us.
This is also when we’ll create some of those big, beautiful Colorado elopement photos you’ve been dreaming about…
But there doesn’t need to be a hard line between:
“Now we’re taking photos”
and
“Now we’re experiencing our wedding day.”
We’re doing both.
7:00 PM | Golden Hour + Sunset
Now we chase that good golden Colorado light.
Depending on your location and time of year, we might head to an overlook, lake, mountain pass, open field, or somewhere completely different from your ceremony location.
And because we’ve already spent hours together by this point, you’re probably not thinking nearly as much about the camera anymore.
You’re just hanging out with the person you married a couple hours ago!
Maybe you wander around for a bit, dance together, crack open a drink, or find a spot to sit and watch the sun go down. There is nowhere else you’re supposed to be.
8:00 PM | Blue Hour + One Last Adventure
Sunset doesn’t have to mean we’re done. Blue hour can be BEAUTIFUL in the mountains, and if you’re up for it, we can hang around for some stars or pull out the headlamps and lanterns after dark. After that, the night can be as chill as you want. Grab a drink in town, hang around a campfire, or head back to your Airbnb and eat pizza on the floor in your wedding clothes.
I am equally supportive of all of these options!
9:00 PM | Coverage Ends
And somehow, eight hours have already gone by. We weren’t taking photos nonstop or rushing from one location to the next. You actually got to experience your day, take your time, explore, celebrate, and have some pretty freaking amazing photos to remember it all.
Why 8 Hours Works So Well for a Colorado Elopement
One of the biggest benefits of eight hours is simply having breathing room. You have enough time to document getting ready, explore more than one location, and actually stop to eat or take a break without feeling like you’re wasting precious photography time.
It also gives you more freedom to include the people and things that matter to you. Maybe your family joins you for the ceremony before you head off on your own, or your dog comes along for the first part of the day before you venture somewhere else for sunset.
And sometimes things just take longer than expected. The drive might take a little longer, we might find an amazing spot along the way that you want to explore, or you might simply be having a great time and not want to rush off to whatever is next.
Having that extra time means we can roll with it. Your day can stay relaxed and flexible without constantly checking the clock or worrying that one little change is going to throw everything off.
That’s really the whole reason I love eight hours. It’s not about trying to fill every minute. It’s about having enough time that you don’t have to.
Does an 8 Hour Elopement Have to Be 1 PM to 9 PM?
Nope!
This is just one example.
You could do:
A Sunrise Elopement
5:00 AM: Meet + hike in
6:00 AM: Sunrise vows
7:00 AM: Explore + photos
8:30 AM: Picnic breakfast
10:00 AM: Paddle boarding
11:30 AM: Explore town + brewery/lunch
1:00 PM: Coverage ends
Or:
A Sunset Adventure
12:00 PM: Getting ready
1:00 PM: First look
2:00 PM: Explore town + lunch
3:30 PM: Off roading
5:00 PM: Picnic
6:00 PM: Ceremony
7:00 PM: Golden hour + sunset
8:00 PM: Coverage ends
Or:
A Split Day Elopement
With a split day, you can use 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the evening, with a break in the middle to relax, nap, eat, or just hang out before heading back out.
5:00 AM: Meet + head to your first location
6:00 AM: Sunrise adventure + photos
7:00 AM: Vows
8:00 AM: Picnic breakfast
9:00 AM: Morning coverage ends
MIDDAY BREAK: Nap, eat, relax at your Airbnb, spend time together
4:00 PM: Meet back up + explore
5:00 PM: Off roading or another activity
6:30 PM: Picnic, champagne, or cake
7:00 PM: Golden hour adventure
8:00 PM: Sunset + blue hour
9:00 PM: Coverage ends
Your 8 hours can happen all at once or be split between different parts of the day. What matters most is building your coverage around what you actually want to experience, whether that’s an early morning adventure, a sunset celebration, or a little bit of both.
The time on the clock doesn’t matter nearly as much as what you want to fit into the day.
Can You Include Family in an 8 Hour Elopement?
Absolutely.
An elopement doesn’t have to mean spending every second alone.
You could have your family join you while you’re getting ready, invite a handful of people to your ceremony, have dinner together afterward, or spend the first half of the day with everyone before heading off for an adventure by yourselves.
Eight hours gives you enough time to have both.
You don’t necessarily have to choose between celebrating with people you love and having private time together.
Can You Bring Your Dog?
PLEASE DO. 🐾
If your dog is part of your everyday life, there are plenty of ways to include them in part of your elopement day.
They can hang out while you’re getting ready, join you for a dog friendly hike, be there for your vows, or explore with you before someone takes them back to your Airbnb.
The important thing is choosing a location where dogs are actually allowed and making sure the terrain and activities work for them too.
What If We Don’t Want to Hike?
Then don’t hike. Seriously.
You do not need to wake up at 3 AM and climb ten miles into the mountains to have an epic elopement.
There are mountain overlooks, lakes, forests, scenic drives, cute towns, breweries, off road locations, and beautiful places that require little or no hiking. Adventure looks different for everybody.
If your ideal wedding day involves a scenic drive, good food, mountain views, and approximately zero miles of uphill cardio, we can absolutely do what makes you happy.
Do We Really Need 8 Hours?
If you want a simple ceremony at one location followed by some exploring and photos, shorter coverage may be all you need.
But if you’re picturing multiple locations, getting ready photos, an activity, time with family, a hike, a mountain town, sunrise or sunset, or simply not wanting to rush, eight hours gives you a lot more freedom.
That’s why I think of an 8 hour elopement less as:
“Eight hours of photography.”
And more as:
“Eight hours to actually experience a wedding day.”
The photography just happens alongside it.
Your 8 Hour Elopement Doesn’t Have to Look Like This One
This timeline isn’t a template you have to follow. That’s kinda the whole point.
Your day could involve sunrise instead of sunset. One location instead of three. Hiking instead of a brewery. Your family. Your dogs. Paddle boards. A Jeep trail. A mountain town. A giant picnic. Stargazing. Or something I haven’t even mentioned yet.
Start with what sounds fun to the two of you. Then we’ll build the timeline around that.
Ready to Plan Your Colorado Elopement?
You don’t need to come to me with an eight hour timeline already figured out.
Helping you figure out where to go, what you want to do, how long everything realistically takes, and how to build a day that isn’t rushed is part of what I’m here for.
Your job is to tell me what you’re excited about. We’ll figure out the rest together.
