Breckenridge Colorado Travel Guide | Destination Wedding Photographer
I’m finally getting around to blogging about our Breckenridge, Colorado trip! We traveled here to capture Chris and Danielle’s wedding. I’d been dying to visit Colorado, so it was a dream trip!! We stayed at the Residence Inn by Marriott, located in the downtown area. Being able to walk to breweries and restaurants was a huge plus! The pool has some of the best views of the town as well. I highly recommend it! Here’s a little bit about how we spent our days.
DAY ONE
We landed in Denver and immediately started the drive to Breckenridge. I always plan to arrive a couple days ahead of time when shooting a destination wedding so I have time to get used to the area. (And in this case, the altitude). Breckenridge sits at 9,600 feet above sea level, so I knew I would need time to adjust. Once we got settled in, we stopped for a drink at the Broken Compass Brewery followed by dinner from Sancho Tacos & Tequila. Sancho’s would prove to be our favorite restaurant from the whole trip!! Our top taco choices: barbacoa, chicken fajitas and the surprising fried chicken.
DAY TWO
When we travel for a wedding, it’s not unusual for both of us to work on the trip. We spent a leisurely morning eating breakfast in our room, answering emails and getting ready for the day. Our top goal was to go hiking at Blue Lakes Trail – where the wedding would be! We timed it out so we would arrive around the same time the wedding ceremony would happen. Even though the weather could be different, it gave me a good idea of what to expect as far as lighting and the terrain. When you’re working in the mountains, it’s important to know what you’re walking into.
Spoiler alert: we loved it! The views were stunning (see below), and we had a great time on the trail. We even saw a moose and her baby on the opposite shoreline. The trail is only about 25-30 minutes from town and easy to access with parking available.
Next, we went to Sapphire Point Overlook. The hiking loop was super simple with lots of beautiful views. Again, parking was really easy making it a quick stop. Afterwards, we relaxed a bit at the hotel before exploring the downtown area of Breckenridge. So many shops and fun places to see! We stopped for a drink at Breckenridge Brewery, which had some lovely live music on their patio. The night finished with Giampetro Pizza and dessert from Mountain Top Cookie Shop – I didn’t know cookies like this existed!! 10/10 recommend.
(iPhone photo captured by my husband!)
DAY THREE
We took the Breckenrige Gondola in the morning so we could explore the mountains. Since we went in the summer, we obviously couldn’t ski, but we wanted to check out the area. After exploring Breckenridge Resort, we took the chairlift up to Peak 9. The views were absolutely breathtaking!
Since this was the day before the wedding, we enjoyed an early dinner and went to bed early so we would be ready to go.
DAY FOUR – WEDDING DAY!
The moment we were waiting for all weekend! Danielle and Chris tied the knot during a beautiful ceremony at Blue Lakes Trail. The day was simply perfect. I’ve known them since high school, so it was wonderful being part of their story. I shared a few photos below, and you can see their full blog post of Breckenridge wedding photos here.
After a long day, I spent the rest of the night uploading photos, editing a few sneak peeks and packing up to head home!
TRAVELING HOME
It’s always so sad to wrap up a fun trip, but we left with some incredible memories. My film camera always comes with me when I travel, so I knew I would have that to look forward to! When I shoot with film, I mail the physical film rolls out to a lab to get developed. They process them and send them back as digital scans, which can take a few weeks. When they arrive, it’s like Christmas morning!! I get to relive the trip again, and since it’s film I don’t have to edit them much.
Overall we had the best time and can’t wait to go back again in the future. Next time, we may choose to go in the winter for all those activities. Until then, here are a few more film scans from the trip – enjoy!
Photos taken with medium format film.