By Dale Mitchell, Summit Photo & Film

Brianna and Alex’s fall wedding at Maroon Bells began with a place that already meant something to them. Alex grew up hiking in Colorado and had wanted to bring Brianna to the Bells for years. When they finally visited together the year before their wedding, they knew this was where they wanted to celebrate.

On September 28, 2026, they returned with family and friends for a ceremony surrounded by golden aspens, followed by a reception at Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs. The weather had been a question mark beforehand. What unfolded was a beautiful mountain day: clouds moving around the peaks, rich fall color, and time for the photographs they cared about most.

Brianna and Alex embrace as her veil stretches across the foreground, with golden aspens and the Maroon Bells behind them.

A shared love of the outdoors

Brianna and Alex met at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and started dating in 2018. Hiking became something they loved doing together. For Alex, Colorado held memories of growing up outdoors; for Brianna, it was one of the first places where she fell in love with hiking.

That connection shaped their wedding plans. Maroon Bells was the priority from our earliest conversations, and we built the photography around having time there together. The photographs needed to hold the landscape, but also the way they felt with each other.

A first look and private vows among the aspens

Before the ceremony, Brianna and Alex made space for a first look and private vows. Our plan was to meet Alex in the parking area and walk him to a spot along the path toward the ceremony site, adjusting the final location to the day’s light and conditions.

The yellow aspens gave this part of the day a different feeling from the open mountain view. Their first-look photographs move from the anticipation of Brianna approaching to the two of them facing each other, smiling and holding hands. It was a quiet beginning before joining their guests.

Alex waits on an aspen-lined path as Brianna approaches behind him for their first look.
Brianna and Alex embrace on wooden steps surrounded by golden aspens.
Brianna and Alex smile at each other while holding hands among the autumn trees.

A fall ceremony at Maroon Bells Amphitheater

Guests gathered at Maroon Bells Amphitheater for the afternoon ceremony. The mountain backdrop was layered with low clouds, while the trees below carried the warm gold of late September. Brianna’s white dress and veil, Alex’s blue suit, and the wedding party’s soft green dresses stood out against those autumn colors.

The ceremony photographs show both scales of the day: the whole gathering framed by the valley, and the smaller exchanges at the front. Then came the walk back together, with family and friends close by.

Guests watch Brianna and Alex's ceremony at Maroon Bells Amphitheater beneath golden leaves and cloudy peaks.
Brianna and Alex stand with their officiant during their mountain wedding ceremony.
Brianna's veil moves in the breeze as she and Alex share a kiss during the ceremony.
Brianna and Alex walk away from the ceremony smiling, with their wedding party behind them.

Family photographs, then time together at the lake and bridge

We planned family photographs immediately after the ceremony at the ceremony site, followed by the wedding party and then portraits of Brianna and Alex. Naming each family grouping in advance and having one person gather everyone was part of the plan to keep that section moving without wearing them out.

Brianna and Alex pose with their wedding party against the Maroon Bells and golden aspens.

Protecting the couple’s portrait time mattered. Brianna and Alex had told me they wanted the photographs to feel relaxed and natural, with clear direction to help them settle in. The resulting gallery has room for laughter and movement alongside the quieter portraits.

We photographed among the aspens, along the water, and on the wooden bridge. A clear umbrella became part of several portraits, with the changing mountain weather still visible around them. Golden leaves frame some images closely; in others, the couple is small beneath the peaks. Together, those views tell more of their connection to the place than a single mountain portrait could.

Brianna looks back toward the camera while standing with Alex on a path through golden aspens.
Brianna and Alex share a kiss under a clear umbrella on a wooden bridge near Maroon Lake.
Brianna and Alex stand together on a wooden bridge above a rocky creek and autumn trees.
Brianna and Alex embrace on a rock beside the lake, with the Maroon Bells reflected in the water.
Brianna and Alex laugh as they hold their hands toward the camera to show their wedding rings.
Brianna and Alex hold hands while looking toward Maroon Lake and the cloud-covered mountain peaks.
Brianna smiles beneath her flowing veil with golden autumn foliage behind her.
Brianna and Alex share a portrait beside the water beneath the Maroon Bells and a hillside of golden aspens.

Rather than building the day around another long portrait break at the reception, our plan kept the emphasis here. The couple had their own car, which let their departure follow their portrait plan rather than the guest shuttle’s schedule.

A Hotel Colorado wedding reception in Glenwood Springs

After the mountain portion of the day, the celebration continued at Hotel Colorado. The evening brought everyone indoors for dinner, toasts, cake, and dancing—a change of pace from the paths and open views at the Bells.

The reception photographs are full of reactions: Brianna and Alex listening to speeches, laughing across the table, and sharing the cake cutting. Warm flowers around the cake echoed the autumn color outside. Their first dance brought the focus back to the two of them before friends and family joined the dance floor.

Brianna and Alex enter their Hotel Colorado reception as guests raise their glasses.
A guest gives a toast while Brianna and Alex listen from their reception table at Hotel Colorado.
Brianna laughs and raises her glass with Alex during a reception speech.
Brianna and Alex cut their wedding cake surrounded by warm orange and white flowers.
Brianna and Alex share their first dance at Hotel Colorado with guests watching.
Friends lift Brianna and Alex on chairs during the evening dance-floor celebration.

Thank you, Brianna and Alex, for having me photograph your wedding. From the aspens and mountain views to the energy on the dance floor, it was a wonderful day to be part of.

Planning your own Maroon Bells wedding?

For Brianna and Alex, the useful starting point was knowing what mattered most: time together at the Bells. Their first look, ceremony, family photographs, and portraits all had a place in the plan before the drive to Glenwood Springs.

Explore our Maroon Bells photography page and Maroon Bells wedding guide for more context. To talk through photography for your own mountain wedding, tell us about your plans.

The wedding team