Engaged on a via ferrata
Perched on a rock face more than 500 feet off the ground, the last thing Laura Hayes was expecting was for her boyfriend, David Crafton, to propose.
The couple was scaling Telluride’s Via Ferrata, a route with cables and iron footholds that span a steep cliffside with stunning mountain views. David nervously made eye contact with the photographer he hired under the guise that they’d have their photos taken for the guide company’s website. The plan was foolproof, he thought, as Laura followed her sister and brother-in-law along the crags.
Photo by Life Feeling Photography.
The guide had told the group to spread out, so when David asked Laura to join him a few rungs down, she refused. “I’m not really afraid of heights, but at this point my hands were getting sweaty,” she says.
He finally convinced her, and when she reached him, he pulled the ring box out of his pocket. He was confident he wouldn’t drop it, but he insured it just in case.
“Are you serious?” she asked several times before saying yes. Grinning, David put the box back in his pocket until they reached the top.
The photographer had to cut the box out of David’s shorts, which got bundled up in the zipper when he shoved it back in his pocket. Once the ring was finally on Laura’s finger, they popped a bottle of champagne and celebrated their engagement in front of the aptly named Bridal Veil Falls.
Photo by Royal Digital.
Laura and David got married exactly a year later in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, David’s home state. They now live in Fort Collins, where they recently bought a house and spend their free time rock climbing, mountain biking and training for the Horsetooth Half Marathon. On July 1, they’ll celebrate their first anniversary as the Craftons.
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A Jeeping proposal
Elly Pellatz and Conor Stump met while off-roading and had gone on many “Jeeping” trips together, but this time was different.
They drove up to the Kelly Flats trail off Colo. 14, where Conor had asked Elly’s dad for his blessing to date her in June of 2019. A couple years later, there he was, driving his Jeep with a ring in his pocket and something up his sleeve.
Conor’s family was in town for his brother’s wedding, and he timed the excursion so they could all tag along. Elly wasn’t suspicious, though, because they always went Jeeping with a group. It was a typical weekend, she says.
Around lunchtime, Conor seized the opportunity while Elly was watching a Jeep climb over the rugged rocks below. He put pieces of paper that read, “Will,” “You,” “Marry,” “Me?” on the dashboards of four other Jeeps, which were parked in a circle.
He joined Elly and walked her back to the Jeeps, where, to her surprise, he got down on one knee and said, “Elly, you’ve been my Jeeping partner for two years. Would you want to be my Jeeping partner for life?”
She said yes, and the couple spent the rest of the day celebrating with their Jeeping crew.
Elly and Conor, of Greeley, celebrated their wedding on May 13, 2022, at Zoë’s Cafe & Events. Elly’s ring was custom-made by Weiss Jewelers, and she got her dress from Abeille Bridal. She and her bridesmaids arranged their own bouquets with buckets of flowers from Little Seed Flower Farm. Every detail was captured—including the groom’s Jeep-themed cake—by Taylor Nicole Photography.
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Taking “I do” to the extreme
Jordan Kelly and Erik Carlson both love to backcountry ski, go whitewater rafting and ride their fat tire bikes through the snow. Weather permitting, they often do all three activities in the same day. They call it the “triple threat.”
The Fort Collins couple matched on Tinder in the spring of 2017. Erik’s profile said, “If you don’t backpack, it’s not going to work out.” He had gone on dates with plenty of women who claimed to be outdoorsy but weren’t, at least by his standards, so he put Jordan to the test. Their first date was a day spent backcountry skiing up Cameron Pass.
Jordan, a trail runner, mountain biker and river rafter, was up for the challenge, and that day marked the first of many daring adventures together. Most of their excursions turned out great, though some of them went horribly wrong. They fondly refer to the backpacking trip when Erik proposed as a “suffer fest.”
Photo by Austin Michael Seback Photography.
Stranded in the snow
In September 2020, while the Cameron Peak Fire was raging, Jordan and Erik headed to Durango for a 50-mile backpacking trip along the Weminuche High Route, a steep and unofficial trail that climbs up some of the biggest passes in the area. Knowing it’d be an epic trip, Erik planned to propose.
The first few days were beautiful, then the smoke rolled in, pushed south by a massive snowstorm, obscuring the views Erik planned to have as the backdrop when he got down on one knee. It was cold and windy, and Jordan had gotten cranky. Nevertheless, Erik set up his camera and proposed. Surprised and suddenly cheery, she said yes.
A few hours later, hail pelted them as thunder and lightning lit up the sky. They hiked, drenched and shivering, to where they’d camp for three days in an ultralight tent as 18 inches of snow accumulated around them. Their dog, Kepler, was also soaked. They didn’t bring winter gear.
They finally bit the bullet and got up early to hike 18 miles to the nearest RV campground, where someone volunteered to drive them back to their car. After that trip, Erik knew he’d chosen the right bride.
“Neither of us were at each other’s throat,” Erik says. “We survived it without breaking down or fighting, so it seemed like it was meant to be after that.”
Photo by Austin Michael Seback Photography.
The triple threat
The couple’s backpacking disaster didn’t stop them from venturing off the beaten path. In fact, they doubled down and eloped in the only way that made sense for them. They made it a triple threat.
On April 29, 2022, Jordan and Erik packed their van and drove up Michigan Ditch Road, where they spent the night. They had their raft, fat tire bikes, skis and Jordan’s snowboard, along with their thrifted wedding attire and flowers from Wild Posies, a Loveland florist.
Their photographer and fellow adventurer, Austin Seback, of Kalispell, Mont., flew in to capture the next day’s events. They decided to marry themselves—after all, you don’t have to have an officiant to tie the knot in Colorado.
A blizzard engulfed the van overnight and the howling wind kept them awake. They got up at 3:30 a.m. and reluctantly put on their wedding attire underneath their snow gear.
The plan was to ride their fat tire bikes up to the east side of the Nokhu Crags, a 270-degree bowl in the Never Summer Mountains, where they’d say their vows and ski down to meet their parents for a champagne toast before rafting the Poudre River.
Photo by Austin Michael Seback Photography.
But after struggling to bike through the snow for half a mile, they ditched the bikes, strapped “skins” to their skis and trekked another four miles up the road.
“At some point, we had to have a chat. I was like, ‘Are we really doing this?’” Jordan says. “Our photographer came in clutch and encouraged us to keep going.”
As they got closer, the snow dissipated, revealing bright blue skies and the powdery landscape ahead. In that moment, they knew they’d made the right decision to keep going.
When they got to the top, they stripped off their snow gear and said their vows. Jordan’s were inspired by the earth and sky, and Erik drew parallels between their relationship and the cardinal directions. Tears were shed, rings were exchanged and photos were taken. Then it was go time.
They took off down the mountain, Erik on skis and Jordan on her snowboard, soaking in their first moments as newlyweds.
“That was one of the best skis of my life,” Erik says. “It was amazing to ski that with Jordan and feel this amazing afterglow following our ceremony.”
When they reached the bottom, they met up with their parents, who released Kepler and let him bound toward them in a bowtie collar. The group celebrated with a toast and then headed down to a rafting section of the Poudre River called “Bridges.”
The couple climbed onto the raft, which had a “Just Married” sign on the back that Erik’s dad made. They floated down to an eddy near a bridge, where their parents and photographer watched from above. Other rafters waved as they passed by, saying how cool it was that Jordan and Erik decided to raft on their wedding day. Little did they know that was just how they concluded their grand adventure.
Photo by Lyndsey Leach Photography.
The following October, Jordan and Erik had a party with friends and family at Block One Events in downtown Fort Collins. The Poudre Valley Playboys performed, and guests enjoyed slices from Project Pizza and tacos from Santa Elena’s food truck. Jordan, who worked at Odell Brewing Company at the time, brewed a gluten-free beer for the celebration. She had a bouquet from Native Hill Farm and a custom opal ring made by Rocky Mountain Goldworks that incorporated two family rings: one from her mom and one from Erik’s grandmother.
Local photographer Lyndsey Leach captured their special moments that day, many of which were full of laughter. Instead of having guests give sappy speeches, they did a roast.
“The roasts were really funny and kind of scathing, but in the way that you feel seen,” Jordan says and laughs. “Everyone wants to get their paws on your wedding, especially family members, but we just did everything the way we wanted to, and I wouldn’t change that for a minute.”
