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Melanie & Chris

October 19, 2024

Melanie & Chris

October 19, 2024

M&C

Melanie & Chris Home Page Banner
October 19, 2024

Wedding Day

October 19, 2024

Surprise!!! After spending almost 2.5 years trying to plan, we decided to elope in Rocky Mountain National Park on Saturday, October 19th, 2024. We started planning in February, and it was the hardest secret we've ever had to keep!


We flew into Denver on Friday before driving up the Peak to Peak scenic byway, which was incredible, despite the fog! That took us directly into Estes Park where we applied for our marriage license, received specific instructions for self-solemnizing our ceremony, and went on our way! We stayed in a beautiful hotel on Lake Estes with endless mountain views, and woke up first thing Saturday morning to drive into the park and watch the sun rise over Sprague Lake. Our very intimate ceremony took place sitting on a log, freezing, crying, and reading each other the vows we wrote in our custom vow books with the outline of Pike's Peak printed on the covers. We took our first Frewen-Peña Family Selfie with our rings before promptly taking them off before our day of exploring the park!


Our hike began at Bear Lake, towards Alberta Falls and eventually up to Loch Lake, all of which was quite literally breath-taking. We came back down to end at the Glacier Gorge trailhead, passing more waterfalls on the way down, took the shuttle back to our car and headed back to the hotel where we cleaned up for a sunset dinner in the mountains.


It was the most perfect, beautiful, intimate day, and we are so excited to celebrate with everyone now that the secret is out! Take a look at our virtual scrapbook: Our Story in Pictures, as well as photos from our engagement shoot, elopement, and honeymoon. We can't wait to start our lives together, filled with more sunsets, more mountains, more waterfalls, and more adventures.