Hannah + Simon's Elopement at Dunton Hotsprings in Colorado
Snowy Winter Wedding | Dunton Hotsprings
the hearnes » adventure elopement photographers
When Hannah and Simon reached out to us, we had just stopped booking any more elopements for the year, but they mentioned they wanted to have their wedding at Dunton Hot Springs in Colorado, which was a place we’d always wanted to photograph, so we found a spot in our schedule that worked for them! They had celebrated their engagement at Dunton Hotsprings the previous year and fell in love with the resort, especially in the snow, so we all kept our fingers crossed that it would snow for their elopement weekend! As the weekend approached, the forecast was looking like there wouldn’t be snow, but then five days before their elopement a snowstorm came on the radar! It ended up being perfect — it snowed all day before and covered the property with the most stunning blanket of snow, and then the day of their elopement was perfectly clear. We couldn’t have been more thrilled for them!
The morning of Hannah and Simon’s wedding, they decided to start the day off with a relaxing soak in the natural hot springs! If you’ve ever been to Dunton before, you know the bathhouse is one of the most gorgeous buildings and they had it all to themselves for a steamy session. There is also a hot spring pool outside and despite it being about ten degrees, they worked up the courage to go out there for a few minutes to soak in the gorgeous mountain views and fresh snow! This was such a special way to start their elopement day and we had so much fun getting creative with the Dunton Hotsprings Bathhouse. After they had plenty of time relaxing and soaking up the hot water, they headed back to their log cabin for a private breakfast before getting ready for the rest of the day.
After a relaxing morning and private breakfast in their cabin, Hannah and Simon got ready for their elopement ceremony! Simon got ready in a separate cabin and then went to the historic Dunton library for whiskey with his best man. They FaceTimed family and friends back home, some even sharing in the whiskey celebration with them! I thought it was really cool how Hannah and Simon both blocked out time to call people back home and connect with them on their wedding day, this was such a special idea and I’m sure a really meaningful memory for them. Hannah got ready in their cabin and showed off her dress on FaceTime too!
After getting ready and connecting with the family who couldn’t be at their elopement, Hannah and Simon hiked separately out to a frozen waterfall with us for their first look and to read private letters to each other. They both completely surprised each other with their wedding outfits and it was the sweetest thing watching them see each other for the first time! Getting out to this waterfall with the deep, fresh snow was not easy! We were very impressed by them doing in in wedding clothes! Reading each other letters together was such a sweet way for them to connect and really center in for their ceremony.
After their private letters, Hannah and Simon relaxed in the library while their closest friends gathered at the ceremony site. One of their buddies set up a Facebook livestream for their friends and family back home, another sweet Covid-friendly way to include the people in their lives that couldn’t be at the elopement. Alison, the incredible events coordinator at Dunton Hotsprings, performed their ceremony and it was so beautifully intentional, reflecting their love and relationship so well. They also had some friends read meaningful excerpts which made it extremely personal. After their ceremony and a few photos with friends, they went back to a cabin where the staff had set up a gorgeous lunch for everyone! I love how much of their day they set up to spend time with the close friends who were there, yet they still had a lot of great time together just the two of them.
After lunch and a bit of time for them to rest and relax alone together, we met back up for a snowshoe hike and sunset portraits. Hannah and Simon showed us the spot where they’d celebrated their engagement with a romantic picnic the year before. We reminisced on those memories with them and talked about how surreal it was to be back there a year later for their elopement in the fresh snow again! It was so beautiful to be up on the mountain above the resort with the trail all to ourselves and beautiful views of the mountains surrounding us. We took fun portraits, laughed a lot, Callen put the drone up, and we even re-created the Evermore album cover in honor of Taylor Swift’s 31st birthday ;) As we made our way back down the mountain and the sun started to set, we stopped one last time for some golden light photos with the snow. Walking back to the cabins was so beautiful and the sunset went off in the distance just as we arrived! We met back up with their sweet dog Ruby, did some final photos around the iconic cabins and Dunton buildings, and then they ended the adventure we drinks at the bar (perfect!!).
To bring in the end of their elopement, Hannah and Simon gathered with their closest friends around the campfire, sipped hot apple cider and reminisced on the perfect day they’d had. Once the sun was down and it started to get really chilly, they all migrated into a cabin for dinner around a warm wood-burning stove. One of my favorite things about their day was how relaxed the entire schedule was — every next step came naturally as they were ready for it instead of being tied to a strict schedule for each event. Dunton Hot Springs is such a great place for a wedding because everything is very close, and everything is provided so it’s super easy for the couple to just sit back and relax through the whole day. We were so sad to say goodbye, but so thankful to have been invited to celebrate this day with them!
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The Hearnes Adventure Photography is run by Abbi and Callen Hearne, a husband & wife elopement wedding photography (and planning!) team with a major emphasis on adventure. Unless stated otherwise, all blog and social media posts are written from the perspective of Abbi!
We’ve completely built our life around adventures in beautiful places, and one of our greatest joys is sharing the adventure with our couples. We lived on the road full time for a few years and then fell in love with a little house in the desert of Moab, Utah; our favorite place throughout all of our travels. We still spend about half of the year living on the road, traveling to more favorites like Alaska, Yosemite National Park, and beyond.
We use our extensive experience and expertise in the outdoors to plan unforgettable custom elopement days for every couple. We usually work with couples to plan everything from their elopement location down to the vendors they’ll work with and the timeline of the day(s) we’ll spend together. We always shoot together and we have kept things intentionally small, working with a limited amount of couples each year such that we can bring our full value to every single planning email, phone call, and of course, elopement day!
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