Micah and Caleb originally planned a larger wedding, but like many couples during Covid, they decided to have a Leadville Colorado elopement with their two dogs as witnesses. It was the perfect fall day in October. They shared their vows, played with their pups, and enjoyed an epic sunset in one of their favorite places.
Here is a Q&A from the gorgeous Micah about their elopement in Leadville, Colorado:
How did you and your significant other first meet?
Caleb and I met while I was living in Frisco, CO. Caleb went to Colorado Christian University which only had school Mon-Thur which left each weekend fully open for snowboarding in the mountains. At the time, I lived with a friend of his from college. Caleb and his room mate Jarod would drive up almost every weekend and stay on our couch, or floor, depending on what was open and available as we also hosted a lot of couchsurfers that season! We actually were both in long term relationships seeing other people and coincidentally, both of these were breaking apart in their own way. Although we hung out a lot, we were both really involved in our own lives and didn’t pursue anything together for months after meeting until we both had moved on and could admit that we liked each other.
What is your proposal story?
Ahh this was so fun! And it was so us! I had a location I had been to before and really wanted to return to go camping – and it was way OUT THERE! You have to offroad about 1 hour to get there and then hike in another mile from the secluded and exposed trailhead – literally on top of a mountain above treeline. The plan was to hike down into the valley by the alpine lake and set up camp close by. I was slow to gather and pack and Caleb had planned to propose that night. We were driving in at sunset – which was stunning btw and Caleb was absolutely simmering. We had fought a good bit of the drive there and I couldn’t understand why he was so mad except we would have to hike the 1 mile in by headlamp light – not that big of a deal in my mind. The weather was perfect and we stayed up late to capture the stars reflecting on the glassy lake. I set an alarm to wake up early the next morning because the alpine glow in this area is phenomenal; with the mountains bare walls facing straight East. I explored the outline of the lake looking for the best location to take photos and to my surprise Caleb popped out of the tent and started making me a cup of coffee – not super out of the norm but Caleb isn’t typically an early riser for a sunrise nor is his first instinct to start coffee (he’s never drank it himself). Alpine glow started to slowly tip the top of the mountain and Caleb realized his moment was close. He left the coffee and ran down to where I was at – setting up my camera. After I took a few photos while he asked questions, he asked to take a picture together. He changed the settings to video and we walked out and watched the rest of alpine glow together while our pups chased each other back and forth. After a minute or two Caleb told me he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me and got down on his knee and held out the prettiest ring. My jaw had dropped because I don’t wear much jewelry and I’m a little bit picky when it comes to the subject – but he picked out the perfect set (all on his own!) for an active gal like me. He finally said my name because I hadn’t responded while being stunned at the beauty of the ring and he had started to get really concerned haha! I said yes and the rest is history – also the coffee was totally forgotten!
What are your favorite things to do together?
Backpacking, camping, outdoor climbing, offroading, dogsledding (Kyote runs on Caleb’s team), snowmobiling, backcountry skiing, and more – we really have our hands in too many cookie jars but we’re always finding fun things to do along with getting great deals on really junky old toys to fix up and play with (nothing like an old exciter snowmobile to rally with friends)!
Why did you decide to elope/have an intimate ceremony?
Ugh, covid haha! I had considered eloping before but family is a big deal to us and we’re both very close to our parents. We originally wanted to have a camp wedding where all of our closest friends and family could spend the weekend with us. I was honestly heartbroken to not have them there with us but eloping was way more special than I thought it would be and we’re so glad we moved forward with saying our vows and tying the knot in such a difficult time. We didn’t realize how special our elopement would be with just the two of us – it was really so intimate and we got to focus on our time together which resulted in a truly memorable day.
What was your favorite thing about your wedding/elopement day?
Our vows and playing with our pups. We got married in an area that feels like home to us – the wild mountains that we love spending time exploring and playing in. We actually drove out to our elopement location that morning and spent time writing our vows out separately. It was a really awesome time to soak in the day and the beautiful space we were committing our lives to one another in. Our pups had no idea what was happening but were loving their time outside dirtying up their pretty floral collars. They were quite confused when we inked their paws to sign our marriage license as witnesses!
What advice do you have for other couples that are thinking about eloping?
Number 1, hire an incredible photographer like Megan who cares so deeply about your experience! This will ensure your day is going to go soooooo smoothly and you’ll be completely in tune with your purpose in your day and soaking in all of the sweet moments. Number 2, make it yours. Your day can truly look any way that you want it to. We off roaded, hiked into an alpine valley, said our vows at alpine glow, and shared some whiskey and cheesecake before returning to our airbnb. And Number 3, don’t forget about each other and why you are doing the dang thing. You’re promising to choose one another and to fight for one another’s well being for the rest of your lives, keep that at the forefront of your day (and marriage!) and let all of the stress of planning a perfect wedding fall into the background. What matters is not who see’s your flowers or decor but your choice to love one another and the adventures you take on together along the way. Choose each other always and remember to be kind to yourselves and one another.
Want more info on elopings?
Are you interested in planning your own Leadville, Colorado elopement? Mayflower Gulch is the perfect spot! But I also know of many others. Make sure to fill out my contact form to get in touch! I’d love to help you plan your epic Colorado elopement!
