Website: arapahoebasin.com
Address: 28194 US-6, Dillon, CO 80435
Phone: (970) 468-0718
Price Range: $$$$ - Starting at $11,000
Guest Capacity: 200
A Basin as most refer to it, happens to be one of our favorite places to ski as well as one of our favorite Colorado Wedding Venues to photograph. The lodge and ceremony location are both situated right at tree line, requiring your guests to enjoy a lovely ride up the Black Mountain Express chairlift.
The wedding deck, a few steps outside of Black Mountain Lodge, provides a beautiful location for your wedding ceremony. It offers two layouts and we do have a preference of which one if you care to ask. One of favorite parts of every Arapahoe Basin wedding is the traditional ride on the chairlift immediately following your ceremony.
If you haven’t visited Arapahoe Basin, you’ll quickly discover how authentic this ski area is. Their staff is all experienced and mostly locals to Summit County. They know how to handle weather related issues and any hiccups that arise. Because of the alpine environment at 11,500 feet, it does get chilly at night, so be sure to provide blankets for your guests or ask them to bring a coat.
With that high alpine environment comes some of the most beautiful backdrops for your wedding pictures. In the spring and even into June, you’ll find the East Wall still covered in snow. We often point out to wedding guests the terrain we ski in the winter. Come late July, the wildflowers begin to bloom and the fields surrounding the lodge are a canvas of vibrant colors.
In planning for your Arapahoe Basin Wedding, we can suggest several nearby locations for first look or wedding party photos. We usually try to avoid photographing everything at the ski area to provide a bit of variety to your pictures. While the venue is as beautiful as it gets, we love the adventure of moving around.
In summary, you can’t go wrong with having an Arapahoe Basin Wedding. It consistently makes our list of 10 Highest Rated Colorado Wedding Venues.
From the parking lot, walk towards the 6th Alley Bar & Grill and you’ll see the lower section of the Black Mountain Express. This chairlift is a short ride and drops you off halfway up the mountain. From here, it’s easy to spot the wedding deck and the inside reception space which is only a few hundred feet away from the lift.
We usually suggest getting ready at an Airbnb in Keystone or Dillon which are just a few minutes down highway 9. The onsite getting ready rooms at Arapahoe Basin are ski-school rooms and not the most conducive for hair & makeup artists. After everyone is dressed, we usually setup a first-look spot where we can grab some portraits and wedding party photos. Past that, our last recommendation is to time you reception around the time of year. Summer days are much longer so moving things back a slight bit helps with the ambiance. Our last, but maybe most important photography tip, is to save time for sunset photos. The alpenglow on the East Wall right around sunset is our favorite. From experience, it is short lived, but oh so sweet.
Trent & Stacy Gillespie are a husband & wife photography team who specialize in artistically documenting weddings through beautiful and bold photographs. Located in Colorado, they're available for local & destination weddings.