Alma and Jose got married in October at the National Forest land in Keystone, Colorado. The setting was open, quiet, and deliberately unfussy. After starting to plan a big wedding, they quickly realised it wasn’t for them so instead chose somewhere where they didn’t need to have a schedule or worry about venue packages! Instead, the day was all about them and their families.

They have been emo and alt kids since middle school, so wearing black was also a non-negotiable. “I wanted to be a scene queen so badly and I rocked the knee high converse back then! Alma told us. “I personally could never see myself in a white wedding dress and our favourite colour is black, so it just made sense! Jose looked up to Tony Hawk and Bam Margera. (It was never just a phase). We were going for Gomez and Morticia Addams vibes, and I think we were pretty close!”

As neither of them wanted a wedding that required them to be the centre of attention, their first instinct was to elope alone. However after sitting with that decision, they realised they did want witnesses. Just not a huge audience. The final version landed somewhere in between with just a few key family members present. They also had Alma’s younger brother lead the ceremony.

It rained all day, but they didn’t mind one little bit. “There is nothing else we wish we had done”, Alma said. “We did everything as we planned, short, simple, and dark! The ceremony was simple and perfect with nothing but the sounds of rain hitting our umbrellas and the creek water behind us.”

. The sky stayed heavy. The soundscape was simple. Rain on umbrellas. A creek moving behind them. No music competing with the setting. No readings padded out to fill time. The environment carried the moment without help.

Afterwards, everyone went their separate ways for a few hours before regrouping later that evening. Dinner was held at Sauce on the Blue in Breckenridge, where they hired a private yurt. That dinner became their favourite part of the day. Being together as one family in a setting that felt calm and intentional mattered more than any formal tradition.

Their advice reflects that clarity. “Stay authentic to yourselves”, the bride concluded. “You don’t wanna look back not recognise the couple in the pictures. We could not love our photos more. Our photographer, McKenzie, really made the day way more special. From our first conversation with her we knew we were in good hands. She made sure to take everything we said into consideration and made us feel heard and not judged. Like I mentioned before, we are not ‘centre of attention’ kind of people but she sure made us feel comfortable and confident in front of the camera.”