Mayflower Gulch Winter Engagement

Alex and Melanie currently live in the mid-west where they are both in school. But they come to Colorado often to visit family. So when the time came to start planning their wedding, they quickly decided that Colorado was the place for them! They’re finalizing details to marry in Rocky Mountain National Park in late July. So they decided that they wanted a different vibe for their engagement session.

We tossed around a few ideas, but when I sent them details on Mayflower Gulch, they were sold!

To be honest, I have seen photos from the old mining camp at Mayflower Gulch for several years now, but had no idea what it was called or how to find it. So I was thrilled when I stumbled across information about the site on another photographer’s website.

On the day of our shoot we had plans to meet at the trailhead mid-afternoon. But emergency roadwork on I-70 caused a multiple hour delay and we weren’t sure it was going to happen! As we crawled along at 10 miles an hour waiting for a detour over Loveland Pass, we tossed around a couple other ideas for the session. In the end, though, we decided to risk it and push on for Mayflower Gulch.

We missed most of the day’s sunshine by the time we got to the trailhead, but there was still plenty of light so we hit the trail. The snow coated evergreens along the path were magical and we took our time to enjoy the beauty and stillness.

It was getting dark by the time we reached the mining camp (about 1.5 miles from the trailhead), so we worked quickly to make sure we weren’t in total darkness on the hike back.

On the way back to the cars we chatted cooking, favorite ethnic foods, and future plans. We got back to our cars in time to witness a beautiful full moon in a twilight blue sky.

I can’t wait to see these two again in a few short months for their summer RMNP wedding.

Until then, check out a few of my favorite winter engagement images.