Colorado Mountain Weddings 101: Everything You Need to Know About Bringing Guests to High Altitude

Most weddings taking place in the mountains of Colorado - whether the location is Aspen, Beaver Creek, Vail, Telluride, or Crested Butte, among other fabulous locations - are considered destination weddings. You are bringing guests from all over the country (and the world) to a high altitude climate. As Dorothy said, “We’re not in Kansas anymore!” 

Below are some great ways to prepare yourself and your guests for a mountain wedding! Remember to give them this information before they travel so they have it while packing. This information should appear on your wedding website and/or the details card of your formal invitation. If you provide welcome bags/welcome letters/any printed information for guests upon arrival, be sure to include this information in there as a reminder: 

What to bring for your mountain wedding (or buy at an overpriced mountain ski town boutique):

Altitude Adjustments:

Denver’s elevation is 5,280 feet above sea level and most of our wedding and event venues increase in elevation from there! The town of Vail sits at 8,150, the Aspen Wedding Deck is at 11,212, and Beaver Creek Village is at 8,080. Anything above 8,000 feet in elevation is considered high altitude. In very simple terms, this means there is less air pressure thus fewer gas molecules (oxygen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide). Lower air pressure = less oxygen to breathe. This does not affect everyone but for some it can cause shortness of breath, headaches, nausea, dizziness, and trouble sleeping.

It usually takes approximately two weeks for a normal body to fully acclimate to higher elevations and higher altitudes. Most people don’t have that amount of time so here are some tips to help: 

Mountain Weather:

Regardless of the season, guests should expect to experience all different kinds of weather in Colorado. It could be sunny and warm one day and windy and chilly the next. The high could be 90 and blue sky during the day in June and 40 degrees at night.

Rain Backup Plans

If your plan is to get married outside, as a planner I do EVERYTHING in my power to get you married outside. Just ask my couple that got married in a fairly heavy rainstorm. To be fair, it started downpouring during the wedding and we were armed with tons of umbrellas. Or ask my couple who walked down the aisle and it started snowing. If you are bringing guests to Colorado, they are going to experience Colorado! 

What couples can do to make their guests more comfortable: 

Here are a few ways to make your guests feel more at home or relaxed in this new and sometimes uncomfortable environment.

How Events By Marguerite handles weather and wedding mountain logistics: 

I plan for all weather possibilities! As a planner, keeping an eye the radar and staying in touch with the venue regarding their thoughts on weather (and the plans b and c we have in place) is necessary.

Now that you have all the information you need to prepare you and your guests for a mountain wedding, let's start planning your perfect day!

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