What is a Leave No Trace Elopement, and Why They're Important

Being a wedding photographer in Colorado means that I’m lucky enough to be able to experience the absolute beauty of nature to the fullest! From the rolling fields with mountains looming in the distance, to those same snow capped mountain peaks, Colorado has such an incomparable natural beauty. I’m not saying this to brag, but more to give you an idea as to why I’m so passionate about the topic of this article. Leave No Trace is something I’ve implemented into all aspects of my life, and my elopements are no exception! Why exactly Leave No Trace matters (believe me it does, whether you’re in Colorado or not), is what we’re going to get to the bottom of right now!

A bride and groom stand in the middle of a national park in Colorado and hold hands in the snow during their leave no trace elopement

A Bit About Me

If you’ve been following me for a while you may have read one of my previous blogs on how to plan your own sustainable wedding. If that’s the case then you likely know about my principles on sustainability, but if not let me catch you up to speed!! Prior to my profession in wedding and elopement photography I went to school to study environmental science and sustainability. Implementing what I learned throughout my schooling into my photography has always been a priority for me!

Now this of course does not make me perfect, nor do I want you to feel guilty when reading this blog if you’ve never considered sustainability or Leave No Trace. Sustainability is something that you have to work on CONSTANTLY! It is a lifelong pursuit and goal to leave the place we call home better off than when we found it. Easier said than done right? That’s why resources like this are SO important, and why I hope that you are able to take some actionable steps of Leave No Trace into your elopement after reading this!!

A bride and groom kiss in the snow with their dog sitting next to them while in a national park of Colorado during their leave no trace elopement

The 7 Principles of Leave No Trace

Leave No Trace has 7 core principles to be aware of and follow, so let’s talk about them in the context of your elopement!

1. Plan Ahead and Prepare

Planning an elopement itself comes with a lot of planning and preparation, so adding a little more into the mix to abide by Leave No Trace shouldn’t be an issue! When planning your elopement, know the rules and regulations of the location you plan to have your ceremony in. Try to avoid busy seasons if at all possible to minimize stress on the land. Be aware of your hiking route if you have one and stick to it. Whether you memorize it, have a map and GPS, or you hire a guide for the hike. “Preparation is the key to success”, is a phrase for a reason!

2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces

What’s a durable surface you might be asking? It means something established, like a trail, road, or campsite. If you’re planning on hiking for your elopement. A crucial part of abiding by Leave No Trace is that you stick to the path. They exist for multiple reasons, including your safety, and to ensure that the natural beauty you see around you stays that way!

A bride and groom kiss while in a gondola in the mountains of Colorado

3. Dispose of Waste Properly

This one is pretty simple to understand, if you bring something out to the site of your elopement you bring it back in. It’s called Leave No Trace after all! After your elopement day there should be NO evidence that you were ever there, aside from the memories and your stellar elopement photos of course!!

4. Leave What You Find

I know it can seem simple and harmless to take a memento from your day, no one’s going to miss a single little rock right? With Leave No Trace though, not only are you not leaving anything you bring behind, but you also want to leave anything that was already there right where it was. This of course excludes any trash that you happen to find. If someone else isn’t abiding by the rules of Leave No Trace there’s no harm in cleaning up after them. Mother Nature will thank you!!

A bride and groom kiss one another while on a hiking path during their leave no trace elopement in Colorado

A bride and groom read their vows with their wedding parties around them, behind them is the scenic view of the mountains of a national park in Colorado

5. Minimize Campfire Impact

For any couple that does plan on camping after their elopement ceremony, part of Leave No Trace is keeping your campfire WELL under control. If fires are allowed where you are staying it’s important to keep them contained and within the set structures or boundaries set up on location. When you’re done with your fire you must let it burn to ash fully and scatter the ashes once they’ve cooled.

6. Respect Wildlife

If you do happen to come across any wildlife during your elopement, the next principle of Leave No Trace is to respect them and to let them be. Anything in nature is by definition a wild animal. They have their own lives, ecosystem, and behaviors that can be altered for the worse if humans interact with them. Do not feed, chase, approach, or attempt to interact with them in any way. Lastly if you do intend to bring your dog along to your elopement be sure they stay on leash so they won’t disrupt the wildlife, they can’t read this so it’s up to you to make sure they follow the rules!!

7. Be Considerate of Other Visitors

Unless the space you’re eloping at allows complete private use during your ceremony, there’s a good chance other guests will be present during the ceremony. Most National Parks that allow elopements and small weddings will only allow one ceremony at a time at certain locations, but will not close off the area to regular guests. Part of Leave No Trace is respecting the other visitors and allowing them to enjoy the space as you are, even if it’s your elopement!!

A bride and groom kiss while standing in the snow during their leave no trace elopement in Colorado, behind them are the mountains of the national park

A bride and groom with their hiking gear on walk away from the camera and towards the mountains during their leave no trace elopement in Colorado

Special Things to Highlight

The 7 principles of Leave No Trace cover basically any question you could have when planning your elopement, but there are still some things I’d like to mention specifically!

NO Confetti Tossing

The first thing I’d like to bring up is that under no circumstances should you ever have a confetti toss during your elopement. There is biodegradable confetti out there for sale, but that still should not be used. A confetti toss is impossible to clean, especially on a windy day. And while some confetti may be biodegradable in the case of flowers and leaves, that is still going against a principle of Leave No Trace.

Part 3 of Leave No Trace is to clean all your waste, and a portion of that includes not bringing in any foreign species or plants into the ecosystem. Even if the plants making up the confetti are natural to the landscape they can still impact the environment in a way that otherwise would not have happened if left untouched. That is the goal of Leave No Trace, to leave things untouched and existing as if we were never there!

2 photos side by side of a couple dancing together in a field under the mountains of Colorado while in their wedding attire

Members of a wedding celebration raise their glasses together for a toast

Pick up ALL of Your Trash

No matter how small something is, if you bring it to your elopement ceremony it is your duty with Leave No Trace to bring it back out. Whether it’s the wrapper of a granola bar, or the cap of a water bottle. While it may not seem like it, your small actions can end up having a HUGE impact! Picking up your trash keeps the environment around us healthy and happy, and can literally be the difference between life and death for an animal. I’m not trying to be dramatic here, it’s just the truth!!

Be Respectful to Different Ecosystems

Some ecosystems are more sensitive to change than others, not only here in Colorado, but all around the world. Some environments are more passive and can be influenced negatively due to contamination from a plant species of a different environment. In Colorado specifically you want to avoid trampling the wildflowers in order to both keep them alive and not spread them to areas where they wouldn’t naturally grow. The tundra ecosystem of Colorado is another that must be treated with the utmost respect. The blooming season in the tundra is so short due to the temperatures. The wildlife in these areas rely heavily on these plants, so if these are interfered with in any way it can drastically and negatively impact the ecosystem as a whole.

A couple in their hiking gear walk up a path in the mountains away from the camera during their leave no trace elopement in Colorado

A bride and groom smile at one another as they stand in the snow in a national park of Colorado during their leave no trace elopement

Respect Other Hikers that May Be Around

Part of abiding by Leave No Trace for your elopement is respecting the other hikers and visitors that may be in the area during your elopement. Remember that your elopement space isn’t a private venue you reserve, rather it is a shared space that other guests are likely to be present at, especially during the busy seasons of Colorado! A key aspect of this I want to mention is any music that you plan to have playing during your elopement. Whether it’s for a first dance, or just some background music, keep the volume to a minimum. Some locations even have ordinances against music being played at all, so be on the lookout for that if you do plan on having some light tunes going!

Don't Approach Wildlife

Your elopement in Colorado is going to feel like pure magic! Even so, you have to remember that this is NOT a Disney movie!! On the off chance that there is a wild animal near your ceremony that is remaining calm during this moment, do NOT approach them. Again these are wild animals. There’s no way to tell how they’ll react, or what kind of impact your interaction could have on them. This is also true in regards to feeding the animals, as this could lead to a dependency for them and in turn negatively impact their life.

A bride and groom kiss one another while standing in the middle of a street in Boulder, Colorado

A bride and groom stand atop a hill looking out over a lake and the mountains of Colorado during their elopement

Why Leave No Trace Matters

Keeps Access Open to All

So why exactly is abiding by Leave No Trace for your elopement so important? First and foremost it keeps these beautiful parks and natural spaces open for ALL to enjoy! When an area is not properly respected by its visitors it will be closed due to misuse which can unfortunately happen quite often. The area needs time to recover, and this can take a while in some cases, thus making the space completely inaccessible for anyone that was hoping to enjoy it.

Protects Our Beautiful Home

We only have one world, it’s our job to protect and care for it! You wouldn’t like it if you had visitors over and they tracked in mud all over your floors, left trash all around the house, or fed your pet something that upset their stomach. Think of our natural environment in this way, except in the case of our world these mishaps can have long lasting, even permanent repercussions! Abiding by Leave No Trace for your elopement not only means that you get to enjoy this space, but also your children, grandchildren, and so on!!

A bride and groom hold hands while standing on a rock next to a lake in a national park of Colorado during their elopement day

2 brides stand atop a rock and are about to kiss while the sun rises during their leave no trace elopement in Red Rocks, Colorado

By now you can probably tell how much I care about Leave No Trace, and how important I feel it is to incorporate into an elopement! We only get this one chance in this one world that we live in. It’s an incredible world, one that I love living in and experiencing, and one that I want others to be able to enjoy for generations to come! For more wedding and elopement planning tips check out my other resources on the blog, and if you’re ready to book me as your photographer you can send me an inquiry through my contact page!