The weather forecast called for rain. Telluride decided to throw in hail, sideways wind, and some of the moodiest skies I’ve seen instead. Somehow, it turned into one of my favorite evenings for mountain elopement photos. Andrea and Cody stood on a hillside overlooking the San Juan Mountains, completely soaked, reading private vows to each other while a storm rolled across the valley behind them.
This wasn’t even their wedding day.
By the time Andrea and Cody reached out to me, they’d already had a discouraging experience with another photographer. We photographed their engagement session together first, and somewhere between that session and our conversations afterward, they decided to trust me with their entire two-day wedding celebration. That never feels like something I take for granted.
From the very beginning, they knew exactly how they wanted their wedding weekend to feel. Andrea told me she wanted a relaxed morning together before getting ready separately, an afternoon ceremony, and plenty of time celebrating with family. More than anything, she didn’t want to spend the day worrying about timelines or making sure everything was going according to plan.
Cody shared something I hear from more couples than you might think—he simply didn’t want to stand in front of a huge crowd. They both have small circles of people they love deeply, and neither of them wanted to invite extended family or acquaintances just because it felt expected.
They also wanted to make sure their grandparents, whose mobility was limited, could fully enjoy the wedding day. Rather than disappearing for hours to chase mountain views, they decided to separate their adventure from their celebration. So the day before they got married at Mountain Lodge Telluride, we headed into the mountains for private vows.
Mountain Elopement Photos That Were Better Because of the Storm
As we climbed higher into the mountains, the clouds started rolling in. You could actually watch curtains of rain moving across the valley below us. Then the wind picked up. Then the rain. Then the hail.
I kept waiting for one of them to look at me and say, “Maybe we should call it.” Instead, they looked at each other, ready to do the thing. So they walked out into the middle of this hillside and started reading their vows.
The wind caught Andrea’s hair. Cody’s suit was soaked within minutes. The mountains faded in and out behind them as clouds drifted across the peaks. They laughed when the wind interrupted them and wiped away tears mixed with raindrops. It was their own version of perfect.
Looking back through these photos, I honestly can’t imagine blue skies telling their story as well as this storm did. The weather became part of the moment. It’s the kind of memory you laugh about years later because no one could have planned it, and somehow it turned out even better because of that.
A Telluride, Colorado Wedding Weekend That Left Room to Actually Enjoy It
The next day, Andrea and Cody celebrated with their family at Mountain Lodge Telluride. Because they’d already shared their private vows and explored the mountains together, there wasn’t any pressure to leave their guests for hours chasing portraits. They could be present, knowing they’d already experienced this incredible adventure together.
I love suggesting this approach to couples because it changes the entire pace of a wedding weekend. Instead of trying to fit everything into one day, you give each part the space it deserves. The mountains get their own chapter. Your family gets theirs. And neither one has to compete with the other.
Andrea and Cody are the kind of couple who make this job so easy to love. They’re sweet, deeply connected, and completely comfortable just being themselves together. Watching them stand in the middle of a Colorado storm, reading promises they’d written for each other without worrying about the weather, reminded me that the most meaningful wedding days rarely go exactly according to plan.
Sometimes they get rained on, sometimes they get hailed on, and sometimes that’s exactly what makes them unforgettable.
