Black Mountain Lodge: Arapahoe Basin Weddings

Why get married at Arapahoe Basin

If you love the idea of getting married at a ski resort in the Colorado mountains, you should definitely check out Black Mountain Lodge at Arapahoe Basin.

Black Mountain Lodge is located at the top of Arapahoe Basin Ski Area at 28194 US Hwy 6, Keystone, CO 80435

Vendors and special guests can access it from a dirt mountain road in the summer, but wedding guests will be treated to a beautiful chair lift ride up the mountain.

From their site:

Tie the knot at 11,500 feet! Our beautiful deck overlooks the Continental Divide and large spreads of wildflowers. It is an incredible setting for your Colorado wedding.

Black Mountain Lodge accommodates up to 200 guests for your special day. Vaulted ceilings, timber and stone design elements and towering windows adorn the interior of this romantic mid-mountain venue. Our lodge provides convenient spaces for your ceremony and reception, eliminating the stress of switching venues during your day. Transform our open room to your specifications—leave space for dancing or create a special space to cut the cake. Cocktail hour can be held outside on the front patio next to your ceremony space.

The space can hold up to 200 guests, so it’s a great options for large mountain weddings.

What is the overall feel of an Arapahoe Basin Wedding?

I love the open air, mountain feel of this venue. When you choose to get married at Arapahoe Basin, you get most of the ski area buildings to use as well. So your photos will have nods to ski culture sprinkled throughout. And it’s insanely hard to beat the views at the top of the mountain where the ceremony takes place.

Where do we get ready for our Arapahoe Basin wedding?

I’m going to be honest. The getting ready spaces at A-Basin aren’t anything to write home about. And in fact, there aren’t really two dedicated spaces. For many couples, this doesn’t matter, and they are happy to use whatever space is available (afterall, this isn’t why you get married at Arapahoe Basin).

If you do choose to get married on site, one of you will be in the large open room above the ski school and the other one will be in the bar area of the bottom of the mountain restaurant. While the ski school room is fairly private, the bar area is not, so you won’t want to do any actual dressing in the bar area.

You can get dressed in the ski school room, though, and the space is big and open so it can hold a decent number of people.

if you choose to get ready off site, you could pick a hotel or airbnb in nearby Keystone or Dillon.

What is the ceremony space like at Arapahoe Basin?

There are two different ways to orient your ceremony, depending on which views you want to capture (though honestly, you can’t really go wrong with either).

One set up has the reception space to the side, and the other with the reception space to your guests’s backs.

What is the reception space like at Arapahoe Basin?

The reception space is inside Black Mountain Lodge, the restaurant part way up the mountain. The space is directly adjacent to the ceremony deck and features great walls of windows that let in good light during the day. There is a built in bar for drinks and cocktails, and there is ample space to set up other features for the day, like a dessert table or an oxygen bar.

The only slightly tricky side to the floor plan, is that the room is long, so some guests end up seated fairly far from the main couple during toasts. The dance floor is usually held at the opposite end from the main table.

I do love the market lights strung across the space, though, and the large chandeliers add some architectural elements to your photos.

Pro Tips for Getting Married at Arapahoe Basin

If you’re getting married here in the summer, be prepared for rain showers and rain delays.  Just stay flexible and relaxed and don’t worry about it. The events team will get you and your guests up the mountain as quickly as weather allows. They’ll even provide ponchos for your guests as necessary.

And if there happens to be moisture in the air, you increase you chance for epic rainbows!

There are endless locations to take photos on the property. At the bottom of the mountain, where the main restaurant and ski school are located, there are beautiful groves of evergreen trees. And at the top of the mountain, you’re right in the basin of the mountains which features spectacular views.

Leave time for sunset photos. The alpenglow on the peaks is INSANE and with the peaks so close, if you time it just right, you’ll have gorgeous pink colors on the mountains in your sunset photos.

Remember you’re at altitude. Altitude affects everyone differently. If you’re planning a wedding in the Colorado mountains, make sure to check out my guide for getting married at altitude.

Your event rental with guests present is for 5 hours, but you’ll have extra site time for getting ready, portraits, and set up.

Weddings can be held on the property from late June to mid-September, and they book up 1-2 years in advance, so if you are interested in having your wedding there, don’t wait to reach out! You can reach their events team at Weddings@a-basin.net