Surprise Wedding in the Mountains at  Shrine Mountain Inn
Wedding Details:

This was the first wedding we have photographed that was not advertised as a wedding.  For Brett and Monique they were wanting to keep it focused.  Was not as much about size as the people that wanted to be there for them.  It was supposed to be an overnight concert in the mountains.  It was that but when guests showed up they were walking into a wedding ceremony.

We would call this an extremely non traditional wedding with a DIY flare.  The venue has a couple of homes or little lodges.  They had the one further away from the entrance.  The ceremony was in a clearing not far from the home.  The view was great and to the East.  Guests stood in two groupings to the side. The reception area was outdoors near the other buildings.  It was a well decorated set of tables with games.  They had a family style dinner that was cooked on site.  As the night went on the party continued as most lodged there overnight.

Shrine Mountain Inn Review:

To get to Shrine Mountain you go to the top of Vail Pass.  From there you go up Shrine Pass till it basically ends at a parking lot.  It is a unique venue.  We would not call Shrine Mountain Inn a wedding venue.  Due to it being at a higher elevation over 11K it is only open in the late summer to early fall.  Over the winter there is a lot of snowmobiling nearby as there is a lot of snow.  The venue is ideal for the smaller groupings of 75 people or less.  It is a great venue for people more about being with other people over the wedding with all the precise details.