Colorado, United States
AspenWedding photography
Eight thousand feet up, where the light is thin and hard and unlike anywhere lower.
We photograph weddings in Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley — private mountain houses with glass walls onto the range, historic brick buildings in town, gondola-accessed restaurants, and ranch properties down valley. Two photographers, full-day coverage, from $14,000.
Altitude changes photographs. At eight thousand feet there is less atmosphere between the sun and the subject, so the light is harder, the shadows deeper and the sky a darker blue. Handled properly it gives a clarity no sea-level destination can.
Altitude changes photographs. At eight thousand feet there is less atmosphere between the sun and the subject, so the light is harder, the shadows are deeper, the sky is a darker blue and the contrast is higher than a camera expects. Handled badly it produces squinting faces and blown-out snow. Handled properly it produces a clarity that no sea-level destination can give you.
Aspen has two entirely distinct seasons and they are different commissions. The winter wedding is a small indoor affair with an extraordinary white exterior, short days, and a portrait window that closes hard when the sun drops behind the mountain in the middle of the afternoon. The summer one is a green alpine wedding with wildflowers, afternoon thunderstorms, and evening light that goes on forever.
Both are worth doing. Neither should be planned as though it were the other, and the single most common mistake is a winter schedule written as if the sun sets when the clock says it does — behind a mountain, it sets an hour early.
The light
When to marry in Aspen.
The part a visitor cannot look up, and the reason this page exists rather than a list of packages.
December to March
Snow, hard bright light off it, and a genuinely short usable day. The sun leaves the valley floor well before official sunset.
June to August
Green, wildflowered and beautiful, with near-daily afternoon build-ups that break into a thunderstorm and clear by evening.
Late September
The aspens turn, and for about two weeks the hillsides are solid gold. It is the most photographed fortnight of the mountain year, for good reason.
The venues
Where to be married in Aspen.
The rooms this market is built on, and what each one does to a photograph. Listed as places rather than as partnerships — we have no preferred-supplier arrangement with any of them.
The Little Nell
Hotel at the gondola base
At the foot of Aspen Mountain, which means the ridge takes the sun off it early — the portrait window here is set by the mountain, not the almanac.
Aspen Meadows
Bauhaus campus, west end
Modernist buildings and open lawns rather than timber and antler, which is a completely different register from everything else on this list.
The Little Nell Summit and Aspen Mountain Club
Gondola-accessed, 11,200 feet
Reached by gondola on a timetable, with a last car down that is not negotiable. Above the valley shadow, so it keeps light after the town has lost it.
Maroon Bells
Glacial valley, permitted ground
The most photographed peaks in Colorado, with access restricted in season and a permit required for an organised ceremony. Late September turns the aspens below them solid gold.
Private homes, Red Mountain
Contemporary houses above the town
Glass walls facing the range, which means the interiors are lit by snow. That bounce is a fill no reflector matches.
The kind of place
- Private mountain houses with glass walls facing the range
- Historic town buildings in Aspen itself, brick and Victorian and entirely unmountainlike
- Mountaintop restaurants reached by gondola, with a fixed operating window
- Ranch properties down valley, wide and open and considerably warmer
What a Aspen wedding plans around
- The sun disappears behind the ridge line well before published sunset, particularly in winter. The portrait window is set by the mountain, not by the almanac.
- Altitude affects guests who have flown in that day, and it affects how quickly everyone gets cold standing still outdoors.
- Gondola-accessed venues operate to a schedule, and the last car down is a real constraint on the end of the evening.
- Summer afternoons build storms with some regularity. A four o’clock outdoor ceremony in July needs a plan B that someone has actually walked.
Frames
From Aspen.
The commission
Photographing a wedding in Aspen.
An Aspen wedding is a full day with two photographers, from $14,000, with a venue walk beforehand and travel quoted at cost.
Winter and summer are different commissions here and should not be planned as though they were the same. In winter the sun disappears behind the ridge well before published sunset, so the portrait window is narrow and non-negotiable and it goes into the schedule first. In summer the afternoons build storms with some regularity, so a four o’clock outdoor ceremony in July needs a plan B that someone has actually walked.
Gondola venues run to a timetable and the last car down decides the end of the evening. Preview within seven days, complete hand-graded set within eight weeks, full-resolution files, private archive, print release with no expiry.
- Wedding, from
- $14,000
- Photographers
- Two
- Preview
- 7 days
- Full delivery
- 8 weeks
Aspen wedding photography — questions
How much is an Aspen wedding photographer?
From $14,000 for a full day with two photographers and a venue walk beforehand. Travel and accommodation are quoted at cost and itemised before booking.
Is a winter wedding here harder to photograph?
Different rather than harder, and the constraint is time rather than light. You get a short bright day and a very early mountain sunset, so the portrait window is narrow. Plan it first and build the rest of the schedule around it and a winter wedding here is spectacular.
When does the sun actually set?
Behind the ridge line, well before the published time — in winter, more than an hour earlier on the valley floor. We establish the real figure for your venue and date, and the schedule is written back from it.
What about the altitude for guests?
It affects anyone who flew in that day, and it affects how quickly everyone gets cold standing still outdoors. Both are worth building into the schedule rather than discovering during the ceremony.
Which month?
Late September, for about two weeks, when the aspens turn and the hillsides are solid gold — the most photographed fortnight of the mountain year, deservedly. February and March for full snow with more daylight than December.
Can we be married at Maroon Bells?
At permitted locations with a permit obtained in advance, and access is restricted in season. We check the current rules for your date rather than assuming last year’s.
Nearby
Married in Aspen?
Tell us the date and what you are planning. We reply personally, usually within two business days.