Colorado’s mountain towns have developed one of the finest destination wedding markets in the American West over the past two decades — and the quality of the venues reflects that development. What’s remarkable about the Colorado mountain market is that the competition among venues has driven every property to be genuinely excellent at what it does. The Little Nell knows exactly what kind of wedding it hosts. Dunton Hot Springs knows exactly what kind of couple books it. The Sundeck on Aspen Mountain knows that the views from 11,000 feet are the product and delivers them reliably.
This is a guide to the best of what Colorado’s mountain towns offer, organized by town and by what each venue does best.
TELLURIDE
Dunton Hot Springs (Dolores River Canyon, 45 minutes from Telluride)
The most extraordinary wedding destination in Colorado and one of the most extraordinary in the American West. An 1880s silver mining ghost town, restored over 25 years into a luxury resort of 12 log cabins with private geothermal hot springs — available only as a full buyout. The chapel, the saloon, the hot spring pools, and the mountain canyon landscape create a completely private world. Photographs here look like the 19th-century American West in the best possible sense. If there is a single venue that defines what makes Colorado’s mountain wedding market different from anywhere else, it’s Dunton.
Mountain Village Venues (Telluride)
The Mountain Village at Telluride, connected to town by gondola, has the Peaks Resort and several private estate properties with the most dramatic panoramic mountain views in Colorado. The gondola ride from town to Mountain Village is itself a logistical element that guests will remember.
The Telluride Historical Museum / Town Park (Town of Telluride)
For couples who want to marry in the town itself — in the Victorian-era valley with the box canyon walls rising on three sides — the town park and the museum grounds create intimate, town-scale celebrations.
ASPEN
The Little Nell
Aspen’s only ski-in/ski-out hotel, at the base of Aspen Mountain, has been the prestige wedding venue in Aspen for decades. The event spaces, the mountain access, and the Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant create a complete luxury experience. The ceremony locations on the mountain — accessible by gondola — give the option of getting married above treeline.
The Sundeck on Aspen Mountain (via Silver Queen Gondola)
An event space at 11,212 feet above sea level, above treeline, with 360-degree views of the Elk Mountains. The most dramatically positioned ceremony venue in Colorado, accessible only by gondola from Aspen Village. For couples whose primary goal is the most extraordinary alpine landscape available anywhere in the American West, the Sundeck delivers it.
Rosewood Hana (Snowmass Village, 8 miles from Aspen)
The newest luxury property in the Aspen area, in Snowmass Village, with the most contemporary resort infrastructure and design aesthetic. The views from Snowmass — a wider, more open valley than Aspen’s — are extraordinary, and the property’s event spaces have the quality that a new Rosewood property brings.
Aspen Meadows Resort
A Frank Lloyd Wright-influenced conference center and retreat on the edge of Aspen, operated by the Aspen Institute, with event spaces that combine architectural intention with meadow and mountain landscape. A more intellectually oriented property than the ski resort venues.
Zocalito Latin Bistro & Garden (Downtown Aspen)
For intimate celebrations in town — the Latin-influenced restaurant with a garden courtyard in the heart of Aspen’s restaurant district. Small scale (maximum approximately 60 guests) and distinctly local.
VAIL
Larkspur Events (Vail Mountain)
A timber-framed event venue in the base area of Vail Mountain with a ceremony lawn and the Gore Range as backdrop. The most specifically mountain-context wedding venue in Vail, and the one that produces the most distinctly Colorado mountain photographs. The Gore Creek meadows behind the venue and the mountain access above it create multiple distinct portrait environments.
The Sebastian (Vail Village)
A boutique luxury hotel in the heart of Vail Village with a rooftop terrace and contemporary event spaces. More urban-mountain in character than Larkspur — closer to the shops and restaurants of the village, with Vail’s architectural character as the backdrop.
Sonnenalp Hotel (Vail Village)
A Bavarian-style alpine hotel in the heart of Vail — the most European-looking property in the Vail market, with the character of an Austrian mountain resort hotel rather than an American ski resort. The chapel, the garden, and the interiors create a distinctly different aesthetic from the contemporary mountain luxury of Larkspur.
Gore Creek Meadows (East Vail)
A meadow event venue in the quieter East Vail area, with Gore Creek running through it and the Gore Range visible from every angle. The most natural and least developed setting available at Vail, and the one that produces the most organic, landscape-integrated photography.
THE ASPEN FACTOR
Worth noting: Aspen’s celebrity culture and social scene create a specific kind of destination wedding context. Guest lists at Aspen weddings are typically composed of people who know each other from multiple social contexts — it’s a small, high-density social world. The photographs from these celebrations reflect this: they’re more candid, more socially complex, and more genuinely documentary than the photographs from isolated mountain retreat venues. Myla’s approach — watching rather than directing — is particularly well-suited to the social density of an Aspen wedding.
