Corina and Zach met on the internet as teenagers, about a thousand miles apart, back when admitting you met someone online was still a little weird. They were best friends first. Life pulled them in different directions for a good long stretch, and then it handed them back to each other.
Every couple who books with Danielle Tolson Photography fills out a planning questionnaire, and one of the questions asks them to describe their perfect day together. Corina and Zach didn’t describe a wedding. They said: waking up without an alarm. Grabbing breakfast and driving somewhere beautiful. A campfire out back and some cold drinks.
Their Officers Gulch elopement looked a lot like that.
They started the day at their VRBO, and it set the tone for everything
The house had a stone base, aspens sprinkled throughout the yard, and a covered back patio pointed straight at a snow-covered peak.
That one choice shaped the whole morning. Coffee with their family members. Room to spread out. People wandering between rooms. Nobody watching a clock, because no one was waiting on one.
One of Corina’s closest friends did her hair and makeup there in the house, the two of them talking and laughing the whole way through it. There’s something really lovely about getting ready for your wedding with someone who’s known you forever.
I’ve shot a lot of mornings in hotel rooms with bad light and nowhere to stand. The difference is not subtle.
A first look with her dad, then with Zach
Corina did two first looks, both on the back patio, mountains doing all the work behind them.
Her dad first. That one deserved to be its own thing instead of getting squeezed between other things while people waited around. Doing it early, at the house, meant nobody was rushing it.
Then Zach. By the time they saw each other, they’d both already had a soft landing.
The ceremony at Officers Gulch
Officers Gulch sits just off I-70 between Frisco and Copper, tucked under the Ten Mile Range. In late June the grass is green, there’s still snow up high, and the light hangs around past eight. It’s a short walk from the parking area, which makes it one of the easier Summit County spots when you’ve got guests who aren’t up for a hike.
Her brother officiated. More couples should know this is an option. It costs nothing, and it means the person standing between you actually knows you, instead of a stranger explaining your relationship back to you in front of your family.
Their son was the ring bearer.
They signed the marriage license right there afterward, mountains behind them, and then toasted with everyone who came. No receiving line. No shuffling into a reception. Just their people standing around in a meadow, drinking to them.
Then the three of us drove up above Dillon Reservoir
After the toast, Corina and Zach and I headed up to a meadow overlooking Dillon Reservoir for portraits and private vows.
This is my favorite stretch of any elopement day, and it’s the part most couples don’t think to plan for. An hour or two, no guests, nothing to be on time for. The adrenaline has worn off, they’re actually married now, and the day stops being something they’re performing.
They fed each other a cupcake, which was not on the timeline and was extremely them.
Then they read the private vows they’d written for each other. They’d chosen not to say those in front of everyone, and I think that was exactly right. Some things are for the people who showed up. Some things are just for the two of you.
Why the VRBO worked
If you’re weighing a venue against renting a house, this day makes a decent case for the house.
It cost less. A Summit County venue for the same guest count gets expensive before you’ve fed a single person.
Nobody was rushed. No load-in window, no hard out, no coordinator moving you along. The day ran at their pace.
Their guests were actually together. Not seated at assigned tables. In a kitchen. On a porch. In the way.
And it didn’t cost them the mountains. This is the part people get wrong about house weddings. You’re not trading a beautiful location for a comfortable one.
Both of Corina’s first looks happened on that back patio with a snow-covered peak filling the frame. No venue required. Then they drove thirty minutes, got married at Officers Gulch, and then I took them to a meadow with amazing views for them to share private vows. Comfortable in the morning, spectacular in the afternoon, same day.
You can bring in a private chef, have food catered, or just cook together. Any of those beats a plated dinner in a room you rented for a few hours.
The takeaway
Corina and Zach described their perfect day as no alarm, good food, driving somewhere beautiful, and ending up around a fire with people they love. Together, I helped them plan exactly that.
Slowly getting ready at their gorgeous and cozy VRBO. Officers Gulch for the ceremony. Her brother officiating. Their son with the rings. License signed right after, a toast with everyone who came, and then the two of them alone in a meadow above Dillon Reservoir with a cupcake and the vows they’d been holding onto.
Renting the house is a big part of why the whole day felt that way. Waking up somewhere with room to spread out, getting ready with your people in the next room, and having somewhere to come back to when it’s over.
Planning something like this? Danielle Tolson Photography covers mountain elopements across Colorado and the Blue Ridge Mountains, comprehensive planning included. See packages and planning details
