When searching for the right Colorado wedding venue for you, you’ve got so many amazing options. From Denver city views to saying “I do” in front of a 14er, you really can’t go wrong with a Colorado wedding.

Most likely, this is your first and only time picking a wedding venue. With the number of options and opinions out there, it can be incredibly overwhelming. I’ve picked up a few tips and tricks along the years as wedding photographer for choosing the right venue so that you can have the best experience (and wedding photos!).

What to Look For When Picking a Wedding Venue

1. Pick a location that is all in one. Trust me when I say, you don’t want to spend your wedding day in a car driving from a getting ready location to your ceremony location and then to a separate reception location. It creates so much additional hassle for you as well as your wedding guests, leaves opportunity for forgetting items and leaving things behind (trust me, you’ll have so much on your brain and remembering to bring your marriage license to your ceremony might not be at the top of your list), and having several separate locations leaves less time for me to photograph your day.
2. Pick a location that looks great au naturel. Less is more, right? Pick a venue that speaks for itself and doesn’t need a million decorations to make it feel like a wedding venue. You’d be surprised at how beautiful a regular ole brick wall can look in photos.
3. Pick a location with access to lots of natural light. This goes for the getting ready space, ceremony space as well as the reception space. The more access to natural light you have, the better your photos will be.
4. Try to find a ceremony spot where the sun will be BEHIND you. You may or may not know this, but the best lighting situation for ceremonies is when the light is behind you. This is something to ask your venue when you are touring and make sure you won’t be looking into the sun, but rather, you are facing your shadows and your guests are faced towards the sun. I know you don’t want your guests to be blinded, so finding a spot with trees, a pavilion, or some type of shade will help.
5. Book Early. Venues generally book over a year out, especially on poplar wedding weekends. Unless you want to get married on a Wednesday during the winter months, book your wedding venue as early as possible. I even know couples that have booked before officially getting engaged because of high demand! The earlier you book, the faster you can get your vendors booked up and ease up on the stress of wedding planning.
6. Have a backup for bad weather. You might be thinking that this is a no-brainer, but I’ve shot a lot of weddings that didn’t think they’d need a backup and you guessed it, it rained. Colorado weather, especially in the mountains, is all over the place. Have a backup in case of rain, but also remember that rain in the mountains comes and goes fast, especially in the afternoon. You might be better off waiting it out!