Covid Garden of the Gods Elopement (Social Distancing)
This Covid Garden of the Gods elopement in Colorado Springs, CO is emotional, fun, and above all - flexible. Reviewing this year, we believe that more and more weddings will look like this, especially when being respectful to Federal and State regulations regarding Covid. We would love to see more weddings embrace renting a vacation home for a weekend with their closest loved ones, having a gorgeous ceremony out in nature, having a new expierence, and hiring locals to make their first day of marriage oustanding.
Linda and Phog had to replan their entire wedding in a very short period of time (early May 2020 with Covid, you know.) so Joe and I did everything we could to make the replanning as seamless and stressfree as possible. They had to find a new rental, keep updated with their friends and family, and see which vendors could still work. In fact, when their officiant couldn’t make it a week prior to the ceremony, Joe hopped into gear and organized a beauiful and thoughtful ceremony. He even stood about 10 feet away to respect social distancing guidelines, so scroll down to see that! It was amazing that despite all the moving pieces, everything felt so relaxed on their wedding day. We arrived at the house to photograph them getting ready, had a stunning First Look in the Airbnb backyard, drove to Garden of the Gods for their ceremony and Mr. & Mrs. Portraits, and back to the home rental to have their reception.
Their unique Airbnb is straight out of an architectural magazine - it’s jaw-dropping. The views are unbelievable!! The living room is comprised of two entire walls of windows, which makes the light so dreamy. (If you’d like to use their home for your wedding, as of May 2020, you must ask permission, and if they agree, you can only use their home for just getting ready and very small receptions, no ceremonies.) The six of us kept walking around wishing it was our home! Pro tip: if you want to save on money for your wedding, book an Airbnb or Vrbo that allows events. You will get a gorgeous venue and accommodation for a quarter of the cost! Also another Pro Tip: get married somewhere beautiful and free. Garden of the Gods is a breathtaking location and completely free to get married there!
Scanning over this blog right now brought immense joy over me. Love endures all, for pandemic or worse, Linda and Phog chose love. They had an absolute blast doing it too. Their wedding was a massive highlight of 2020, and I think it is a fantastic example of how to have an amazing first day of marriage under odd circumstances and saving a ton of money doing it too.
PS: Joe and I respect following CDC, State, and Local guidelines, and we chose to distance ourselves and wear a mask during their wedding + every event since then. Okay, now enjoy their first day of marriage!
