How to Plan a Small Elopement in the Colorado Mountains

To plan a small elopement in the Colorado mountains, choose your date around the season and light you want to remember, get a Colorado marriage license from any county clerk, and pick one place that can hold the ceremony, the dinner and the night's sleep so nobody is driving a mountain road in the dark. At Beyul Retreat, 32 acres on the Frying Pan River in the Frying Pan River Valley, 45 minutes from Basalt and an hour from Aspen, that could look like vows on the river bank or in the aspens at 8,200 feet, then a dinner that drifts toward the fire as the evening cools. A Beyul wedding is a destination wedding weekend, usually three nights, with exclusive use of all 32 acres, so the few people you invite stay with you the whole time instead of showing up for one evening.

How do you choose your date?

The valley looks different in every season. The aspens go from green to gold to bare trunks, the river changes through the year, and the peaks change with the weather. Each version photographs beautifully, and each one photographs differently.

Pick the one you actually want to look at in twenty years, then build the day around the light. Our wedding season centers on high season, and couples typically book nine or more months ahead, so start the conversation earlier than feels necessary. Winter weddings are possible here too.

Where do you say your vows?

We hold ceremonies on the river banks, by the pond, in the forest and in the aspens. For a small group, the river bank and the aspens are both worth considering. The river gives you sound, which matters when there are only a few people standing there and everything else is quiet. The aspens change with the seasons, and whether they're green, gold or bare, the white trunks make a striking backdrop.

Walk all four spots when you arrive rather than deciding from photos. The answer is usually obvious once you are standing in it.

How does the reception work when it gets cold?

Receptions happen in the Gathering Tent, which is heated and has a stage, sound and lighting, or at a long-table dinner in the Aspen Grove in high season. The main lodge great room can become an after-party on request. As the light leaves the valley, you can gather around a bonfire with s'mores or at the lodge fireplace. Plan for that instead of fighting it. A short ceremony, a long dinner, then the fire.

Beyul is the venue, the lodging, the meals and the bar in one place. The couple covers the venue fee, the welcome dinner, the reception dinner and any bars they choose. Bars aren't required, and the onsite bodega sells wine and beer. Our chefs cook with organic, local, sustainable and seasonal ingredients, accommodate all food allergies and preferences, and use the best animal proteins available. For groups and events from June 1 to November 1, farm-to-table meals are provided by our team and purchased for every guest staying onsite. From November 2 to May 31, groups of 6 or more can arrange meals through Beyul or cook their own. Every cabin has a kitchenette or full kitchen, the lodge rooms and the Snug cabins share a communal kitchen in the main lodge, and each cabin's setup is shown when booking.

The sauna, the spring-fed cold plunge and the hot tub are all on property. A soak before dinner or a sauna after the fire burns down is a reasonable part of a wedding day here.

What paperwork do you need in Colorado?

You get a marriage license from a Colorado county clerk, and either partner's county works. The license is valid for a limited window, so confirm the current requirements, expiration and fee with the clerk's office before you travel. Colorado also allows self-solemnization, which means a couple can legally marry themselves without an officiant or witnesses. Confirm the details with the county clerk yourself, since rules and fees change. On our side, weddings require a day-of coordinator and event insurance, both arranged by the couple, and our team works closely with you and your planner, with clear check-in points for every decision and payment.

Who comes, and where does everyone sleep?

We have 13 cabins and 6 lodge rooms, and the property comfortably sleeps 60 to 70 people onsite. An elopement uses a fraction of that, and you can book a single room rather than the whole property. Your guests book and pay for their own accommodation and breakfasts directly with us through a booking page we set up, so you never chase anyone for payments, and we collect dietary requirements and requests as they book.

There is no wifi in the cabins. The main lodge has it, including the 6 lodge rooms upstairs and the gathering spaces, so anyone who needs to check in with work or a sitter has somewhere to do it. Guests who want to wander before the ceremony have the trails, the ponds and the Forest Spiral walking meditation path, and there is the mercantile as well. We can also add yoga, guided meditation, a guided herbalism and natural medicine land tour, guided hikes or breathwork with the cold plunge to the weekend.

What should everyone bring?

Layers, and more of them than you'd pack at sea level. Shoes that handle damp ground. A coat that looks intentional in photographs, in case it ends up on in most of them. Gloves for anyone standing outside after dark in the cooler months. If you are wearing a dress, plan the layer over it rather than hoping the afternoon stays warm.

Come in the day before if you can. The drive is 45 minutes from Basalt and an hour from Aspen, the altitude is 8,200 feet, and a night of sleep before the ceremony makes the day feel unhurried. The Aspen airport is closed from June to November 2027, so fly into Eagle (Vail), about 1 hour 45 minutes away, or Grand Junction, about 2.5 hours away.

FAQ

Can we get married without an officiant in Colorado? Yes. Colorado permits self-solemnization, so a couple can sign their own license without an officiant or witnesses. Confirm the current requirements with the county clerk who issues your license.

How many people can come to an elopement at Beyul? As few as the two of you. We host weddings up to 150 guests, and guests who don't stay onsite can stay in Basalt and shuttle up.

If November works for you, Beyul turns 6 and all November 2026 stays are 50% off with code BEYULTURNS6, two-night minimum.

If you are thinking about an elopement here, we would be glad to talk dates. You can check available dates to start.

Photo: @sarahclaireportraiture / Sarah Claire Ware