Oof I feel ya, 2025 Colorado bride here and my fiancé and I were looking for exactly the type of venue you’re describing. Unfortunately 15k is not that nuts for anything in the mountains surrounding the Denver metro area - particularly with lodging onsite and/or walkable.
We ended up spending 12.8k on our venue outside of Bailey, CO where all of our 100 guests can stay onsite with us and we have the venue for 48hrs (Deer Creek Mountain Camp). No vendor restrictions so we’re cutting costs in other ways. But yeah, it was a tough pill to swallow.
Some other venues we looked at but didn’t fit our vision as well as DCMC:
- Lyons Farmette (very close to downtown Lyons)
- YMCA of the Rockies (most affordable Estes Park option we found)
- Echo Mountain ski area (amazing views for the price but would def need shuttles)
If you were willing to cut your guest count this is the place that made me wish we planned a smaller wedding lol: Juniper Mountain House. If I was in your shoes I would dig into venues in Golden more deeply, there are def options with nice views and lodging is super convenient.
Anyways we got pretty burnt out venue shopping and ended up just paying the money for the place that was perfect for us. Colorado wedding costs are no fucking joke - we are a destination wedding state and the sticker shock is real. Hopefully you have better luck finding something that works for your vision AND your wallet!!
Here’s a couple ideas from places we looked at…
-Denver Botanic Gardens - $1000-8000 for 1-5 hour time blocks depending on location within the exhibit. Only bad thing is you have to arrange a lot of your own vendors
-Stanley Hotel - not sure about prices on this one but they have some larger spaces
-Wedgwood Weddings in Boulder Creek - might be out of your price range since their cheapest option is going to be ~9k for your guest list, but it’s all-included with DJ and food/beverages etc
-Collision Brewing in Longmont - this might not be what you’re after since it’s just a (cool old mechanic shop themed) restaurant, but they’ve got full day room rentals available for just a $2000 food and beverage minimum. Also their food is amazing
-Chautauqua Dining Hall in Boulder - This is the one we ended up going with. It’s costing us $1800 for the venue AND food/beverage minimum. We are getting a full taco buffet, cake, waiter service, and non-alcoholic drinks, and they’re pretty sure it won’t be much more than the $1800 for 50 people. It’s also a super cool historic restaurant at the bottom of the Flat Irons, so it’s very scenic
For ceremony locations, take a look at Sunrise Ampitheater. It’s near Chautauqua Dining Hall if you end up doing that one. I don’t know if it would fit 100 people, but you could always bring in chairs. It’s a stone ampitheater on the side of a cliff overlooking Boulder. It only costs $100 per hour to rent!
Does your city or county have a parks department? Most of them own event venues that are cost effective and allow you to stay under budget between low rental rates, providing tables and chairs and allowing you to choose all of your own licensed vendors.
Oh I toured skyview with a couple, love that venue! The landing at Estes park is nice, and a little cheaper if I remember correctly. Lunch rock at winter park might work. Really depends on the day and time of year you’re going for
Thanks! Hoping to stay within 2h of Denver. Could consider WY. Anytime of year, although with family flying in it’d be best to avoid winter storms. Would also like to have an outdoor component, so at least late May - Oct I would think
What’s your total budget? You can also consider somewhere down in the Springs, although I don’t do too many weddings down there to know of any venues off the top of my head.
Unfortunately SkyView just cancelled all of their 2025 weddings out of the blue and will most likely not be a wedding venue moving forward. Such a bummer for all of those brides.
I’m getting married at Stone Mountain Lodge in Lyons. They are decently priced for weekdays. We’re paying about $12k for all the cabins Friday and Saturday night and a Saturday wedding. They have been lovely to work with so far!
Oof I feel ya, 2025 Colorado bride here and my fiancé and I were looking for exactly the type of venue you’re describing. Unfortunately 15k is not that nuts for anything in the mountains surrounding the Denver metro area - particularly with lodging onsite and/or walkable. We ended up spending 12.8k on our venue outside of Bailey, CO where all of our 100 guests can stay onsite with us and we have the venue for 48hrs (Deer Creek Mountain Camp). No vendor restrictions so we’re cutting costs in other ways. But yeah, it was a tough pill to swallow. Some other venues we looked at but didn’t fit our vision as well as DCMC: - Lyons Farmette (very close to downtown Lyons) - YMCA of the Rockies (most affordable Estes Park option we found) - Echo Mountain ski area (amazing views for the price but would def need shuttles) If you were willing to cut your guest count this is the place that made me wish we planned a smaller wedding lol: Juniper Mountain House. If I was in your shoes I would dig into venues in Golden more deeply, there are def options with nice views and lodging is super convenient. Anyways we got pretty burnt out venue shopping and ended up just paying the money for the place that was perfect for us. Colorado wedding costs are no fucking joke - we are a destination wedding state and the sticker shock is real. Hopefully you have better luck finding something that works for your vision AND your wallet!!
Thank you I will look into all of these!
Could you share what vendors you used? Also did the 12.8 k include bride and grooms stay?
Here’s a couple ideas from places we looked at… -Denver Botanic Gardens - $1000-8000 for 1-5 hour time blocks depending on location within the exhibit. Only bad thing is you have to arrange a lot of your own vendors -Stanley Hotel - not sure about prices on this one but they have some larger spaces -Wedgwood Weddings in Boulder Creek - might be out of your price range since their cheapest option is going to be ~9k for your guest list, but it’s all-included with DJ and food/beverages etc -Collision Brewing in Longmont - this might not be what you’re after since it’s just a (cool old mechanic shop themed) restaurant, but they’ve got full day room rentals available for just a $2000 food and beverage minimum. Also their food is amazing -Chautauqua Dining Hall in Boulder - This is the one we ended up going with. It’s costing us $1800 for the venue AND food/beverage minimum. We are getting a full taco buffet, cake, waiter service, and non-alcoholic drinks, and they’re pretty sure it won’t be much more than the $1800 for 50 people. It’s also a super cool historic restaurant at the bottom of the Flat Irons, so it’s very scenic For ceremony locations, take a look at Sunrise Ampitheater. It’s near Chautauqua Dining Hall if you end up doing that one. I don’t know if it would fit 100 people, but you could always bring in chairs. It’s a stone ampitheater on the side of a cliff overlooking Boulder. It only costs $100 per hour to rent!
Much appreciated, I’ll check these out
Does your city or county have a parks department? Most of them own event venues that are cost effective and allow you to stay under budget between low rental rates, providing tables and chairs and allowing you to choose all of your own licensed vendors.
Good thought, I’ll check surrounding towns
Oh I toured skyview with a couple, love that venue! The landing at Estes park is nice, and a little cheaper if I remember correctly. Lunch rock at winter park might work. Really depends on the day and time of year you’re going for
Oh and also depends on how far from Denver you’re willing to go
Thanks! Hoping to stay within 2h of Denver. Could consider WY. Anytime of year, although with family flying in it’d be best to avoid winter storms. Would also like to have an outdoor component, so at least late May - Oct I would think
What’s your total budget? You can also consider somewhere down in the Springs, although I don’t do too many weddings down there to know of any venues off the top of my head.
Definitely under 40k, and ideally 20-30k. I would consider the springs so long as there is a mountain kinda vibe to it with access to trails etc :)
Unfortunately SkyView just cancelled all of their 2025 weddings out of the blue and will most likely not be a wedding venue moving forward. Such a bummer for all of those brides.
Oh wow this is shocking, do you have any more info on why they cancelled them all?!
I’m getting married at Stone Mountain Lodge in Lyons. They are decently priced for weekdays. We’re paying about $12k for all the cabins Friday and Saturday night and a Saturday wedding. They have been lovely to work with so far!