Love in the Wind: Kayla & Tyler’s Adventurous Rocky Mountain Elopement

A Love Story Built on Spontaneity

Some love stories begin with a spark. Kayla and Tyler’s began with hours of late-night video chats across a four-hour distance, building something real before they ever stood face to face. When they finally met in person at a bird sanctuary, they stayed so long the rangers had to kick them out. Later that night, at dinner, they did it again – so lost in each other that the restaurant staff had to politely ask them to leave.

That first date set the tone for everything that followed.

When Kayla mentioned she was leaving for Mexico and didn’t know when they’d see each other again, Tyler said something beautifully presumptuous: “I’ll see you in Mexico.” And he did. Their second date happened on another continent, in San Pancho, where Tyler skateboarded in his flow state while Kayla watched in awe, where they raced through town in golf carts and danced until sunrise, where she wrote in her journal: “I have never felt more seen, safe, honored, supported or celebrated.”

Four years later, after moves across state lines, blended families, travels to Vietnam by motorcycle and the Galapagos Islands, Tyler proposed on a bridge in Paris. The ring was custom-made from a designer Kayla had casually mentioned she loved. The moment was planned, but the love? That had always been spontaneous.

A Day Built for the Unexpected

For their elopement, Kayla and Tyler chose Rocky Mountain National Park not for its postcard perfection, but for its wildness. They wanted moody landscapes, dramatic lighting, and whatever chaos nature decided to throw their way. They dressed in black and white with Western flair: turquoise earrings, a bolo tie, cowboy boots paired with crampons. They packed thermal layers, hand warmers, and a faux-fur headband. They came prepared not just for winter, but for adventure.

What they couldn’t prepare for was the wind.

At 2 pm, we met at Sprague Lake for their ceremony. The moment they stepped onto the ice, the wind hit like a freight train. It wasn’t a gentle mountain breeze – it was the kind of wind that steals your breath, that makes you lean into it just to stay upright. During their vows, the wind literally blew them across the frozen lake. Kayla’s faux-fur headband wasn’t just a style choice; it became essential gear. They laughed. They cried. They held onto each other and said “I do” while nature threw everything it had at them.

And they loved every second of it.

After their ceremony, they had planned to pop champagne and sign their marriage license right there on the ice, but the wind and cold had other plans. Those celebrations would have to wait for lower winds and warmer hands. Most couples would have called it at this point. The sensible move would have been to retreat to warmth, to skip the exposed hike to Dream Lake and settle for photos in the shelter of the trees. But Kayla and Tyler aren’t most couples. They’d traveled across continents for each other. They’d built a life on spontaneity and saying yes to the unknown. A little wind, even treacherous wind, wasn’t going to stop them.

We hiked to Dream Lake through conditions that would make seasoned mountaineers think twice. When we reached the top, the wind was even more intense. We captured a few moments among the dramatic peaks and frozen water, but they made the call to save their full wedding attire portraits for lower ground where the trees could offer some protection.

Love That Laughs

Back down in the shelter of the forest near Bear Lake, Kayla and Tyler changed back into their wedding clothes. The wind was still fierce, but the trees broke its worst fury. Here, surrounded by towering pines and blue-hour light, they finally had the space to just be: to laugh that deep, ridiculous laugh they’re known for, to hold each other without being blown sideways, to exist in their own little world while I captured it all.

“When we laugh together, fuck, do we LAUGH,” Kayla had written in that journal she made for Tyler early in their relationship. That laughter has been a constant through four years, through step-parenting and a baby girl, through moves and travel, and the everyday chaos of building a life together. It was there on that windy mountain, too. In how they steadied each other on the ice, in how they caught each other’s eyes when another gust nearly knocked them over, in how they chose to keep going when turning back would have been reasonable.

The Story They’ll Tell

As the sun set and blue hour painted everything in shades of twilight, Kayla and Tyler stood together in their bold black and white outfits, cowboy boots firmly planted, completely unfazed by the day’s intensity. They’d wanted spontaneity. They’d wanted the unexpected. They’d wanted a story to tell. And mountain weather delivered in the most spectacular way possible.

In twenty years, when they look back on this season of life, they’ve said they want to remember not to take the slowness for granted – the importance of both little and big moments, their support for each other, and their three girls. This elopement was all of it: a big moment made of countless little ones. The way Tyler made sure Kayla’s headband stayed secure. The vows they stated without waver, despite numb fingers. The shared decision to hike Dream Lake even when conditions were harsh. The quiet moment in the trees when they could finally breathe and just be married to each other.

They’re heading to Kyrgyzstan for their honeymoon, then to Mexico to celebrate with friends and family. More adventures, more far-flung places, more moments of saying yes to whatever comes their way. Because that’s who Kayla and Tyler are: people who show up prepared for anything, who laugh in the face of chaos, who understand that the best stories come from the days when everything goes wonderfully, impossibly “wrong” – and you choose to love it anyway.

NEED A PHOTOGRAPHER FOR YOUR Rocky Mountain Elopement?

Meet Larissa + Bailey! As two born and raised Coloradoans who have photographed 300+ couples in 100+ locations across Colorado, we specialize in creating a different kind of wedding day that is just as adventurous as you are. We use our experience and knowledge to craft a different kind of wedding day that feels completely authentic to you. Want to hike to a high alpine lake? We can give you trail options for that! Want to canoe along the banks of a mountain lake? We can tell you the best lakes to do it on! Want to watch the sunset from the top of the world? We’ll lead you to our favorite spots for sunset! Book your Rocky Mountain elopement photographer today!