Colorado Wedding Blog
Relationships | Marriage Wedding Planning
Start Planning Your Next Adventure
Create the wedding and marriage of your dreams with insights, tips, and little notes.
Boulder Fall Wedding Guide: Venues, Permits, License, and Tips
Summary
Plan a stunning fall wedding in Boulder with expert tips on venues (Chautauqua, Flagstaff Mountain), permits, Boulder marriage license, and Colorado self-solemnization. Perfect for elopements and micro weddings, including advice for out-of-town couples, weather backups, and timing peak color with a local Boulder wedding officiant.
Key Topics
Boulder wedding officiant
Boulder Fall Wedding
Boulder wedding ceremony
Boulder elopement
Boulder micro wedding
chautauqua wedding
Flagstaff Mountain Wedding
colorado self-solemnization
Boulder marriage license
Boulder wedding venues
outdoor wedding boulder
fall wedding colorado
Wedding Officiant Colorado / Photo: Pavel Danilyuk
Introduction
Fall in Boulder is a showstopper—golden cottonwoods, glowing Flatirons, crisp air, and that signature Colorado blue sky. Whether you’re local or traveling in, this guide walks you through the essentials: locations, permits, weather prep, guest experience, and a step-by-step wedding day plan.
Key Takeaways
Peak color: Typically late September to mid-October, with variability by elevation—have a backup date or plan.
Permits vary by location: City parks, county open space, state parks, and Chautauqua each have different rules—secure yours early.
Colorado allows self-solemnization: You can marry yourselves; witnesses aren’t required (though many couples still include them).
Weather swings fast: Build a covered or indoor fallback and keep guests warm (layers, blankets, warm beverages).
Keep it walkable: If you’re staying near Pearl Street or Chautauqua, your ceremony, portraits, and dinner can be within walking distance.
Why Choose Boulder in the Fall
Boulder combines small-city charm with dramatic natural backdrops. In autumn, the Flatirons glow at golden hour, and creek corridors turn fiery yellow. You’ll also benefit from shoulder-season lodging rates (outside peak football/homecoming weekends) and an incredible farm-to-table dining scene for rehearsal dinners and micro-receptions.
Best Ceremony Settings (City & Nature)
Choose what fits your vision, guest count, and accessibility needs. (Confirm current availability and permit rules with each site.)
Iconic & Walkable
Chautauqua Green/Meadows: Views of the Flatirons, proximity to historic cottages, and the Dining Hall.
Central Park & Boulder Creek Path: Creekside ambiance with easy access to downtown/Pearl Street restaurants.
University Hill & Near-Campus Greens: Convenient for small gatherings and portraits.
Nature-Forward
Open Space & Mountain Parks (OSMP) trailheads and overlooks: Great for elopements and small groups; some areas limit group size and amplified sound.
Flagstaff Mountain overlooks: Sunset vistas and short walk-ups—parking is limited; carpooling is smart.
Nearby foothill parks and reservoir areas: Offer color, water, and space for small ceremonies.
Indoor/Hybrid (for weather peace of mind)
Historic venues and small lodges near Chautauqua or downtown that allow a brief outdoor vow exchange, followed by an immediate move inside for warmth, cocktails, or dinner.
Permits, Licenses, and Logistics
Ceremony location permits: Requirements differ across Boulder City Parks, OSMP, Flagstaff, and private venues. Confirm if you need a special event or small gathering permit, group size limits, parking, and any seasonal closures.
Marriage license: Issued by a Colorado county clerk (Boulder County is convenient). Bring a valid ID; witnesses are not required, and self-solemnization is allowed in Colorado.
Sound & music: Many outdoor spots restrict amplified sound—opt for acoustic or low-profile speakers where allowed.
Leave No Trace: Stay on durable surfaces, pack out décor, and respect seasonal wildlife closures.
Tip: Lock your permit + license first, then book vendors (officiant, photo, hair/makeup) and finalize your guest communications.
Weather & Light Strategy (Backup Plans Included)
Temperature swing: Mornings and evenings can be chilly; mid-day can still feel warm in the sun.
Wind & storms: Afternoon gusts are likely—secure florals and choose hairstyles that withstand movement.
Golden hour portraits: Plan vows to finish 30–60 minutes before sunset for warm light on the Flatirons.
Plan B: Reserve a cozy indoor space, tent a patio, or choose a venue with a covered porch; have blankets, warm drinks, and clear signage to guide guests.
Guest Experience & Accessibility
Parking & transit: Some trailheads have limited parking and paid kiosks. Consider rideshare codes, shuttles, or carpool instructions.
Footwear & pathways: Flagstone, roots, and gravel are everyday—recommend sensible shoes or provide flip-flops for photos.
Comfort station: Basket with blankets, hand warmers, tissues, sunscreen (yes—even in fall), and water.
Post-ceremony flow: Choose a dinner venue within a 10-minute drive of the portraits to keep the evening relaxed.
For Out-of-Town Couples: Travel, Timing, & Altitude
Airports: Most couples fly into Denver International Airport (DEN); Boulder is ~45–60 minutes by car (depending on traffic).
Acclimation: Boulder’s elevation is ~5,300 ft. Arrive a day early, hydrate, limit alcohol, and plan an easy first evening.
Where to stay:
Near Pearl Street: Walkable to shops, bakeries, and dinner spots; easy for downtown photo ops.
Chautauqua Cottages: Historic charm at the base of the Flatirons; ideal for sunrise portraits and quick ceremony access.
Guest comms: Send a simple PDF or page with parking/permit notes, footwear guidance, weather expectations, and your Plan B location pinned on a map.
Make a weekend of it: Sunrise Flatirons stroll, Pearl Street brunch, and a farm-to-table dinner for a relaxed, local feel.
How to Plan Your Boulder Fall Ceremony (Step-by-Step)
Choose your vibe & guest count (city-adjacent vs. nature-forward; elopement vs. small gathering).
Secure your ceremony location & permits (confirm group size and sound rules).
Apply for your Colorado marriage license (self-solemnization is allowed; witnesses optional).
Book your core team (wedding officiant, photographer, hair/makeup), and consider weekday timing for privacy.
Time your ceremony around light (wrap vows ~30–60 minutes before sunset; keep a wind-proof Plan B).
Design guest comfort (layers, blankets, warm drinks, clear directions, and parking tips).
Finalize details (readings, music within rules, signing table, pens, and license return).
Confirm week-of (weather check, vendor group text, Plan B triggers, and signage).
Boulder Fall Wedding FAQ
Can we self-solemnize in Colorado?
Yes. In Colorado, couples can marry themselves—no officiant or witnesses required. Many still choose a wedding officiant to craft and lead the ceremony.
Do we need witnesses?
No. Witnesses are optional.
When is peak fall color in Boulder?
Often late September to mid-October, with year-to-year variation. Book a flexible date or maintain a weather-friendly backup.
Are drones allowed?
Rules depend on location. Many public lands restrict drone use; verify before you fly.
What about amplified music?
Expect restrictions outdoors. Acoustic or low-volume setups usually work best—confirm with your permit.
What’s a smart Plan B?
A venue with covered space or a nearby indoor room you can flip to quickly. Blankets, warm drinks, and clear guest messaging help keep the vibe cozy.
Wedding Day Checklist
Marriage license, IDs, and a pen for signing
Permit confirmation and printed location map(s)
Rings, vows, and reading copies (wind-proof clips)
Weather kit: shawls, blankets, hand warmers, clear umbrellas
Low-profile speaker (if allowed) + offline playlist
Water/snacks for the couple and key guests
Day-of point person (not the couple) and vendor group text
Signed license return plan
Work With Michael
Looking for a calm, thoughtful ceremony that fits Boulder’s autumn magic? I’ll help you shape a personal script, navigate local rules, and keep the day smooth—from sunrise vows at the Flatirons to a candlelit dinner downtown.
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody is a Colorado wedding officiant serving Denver, Boulder, Golden, Larkspur, and mountain communities throughout the state. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings, bringing a calm presence, thoughtful guidance, and emotionally grounded ceremony writing to couples seeking a meaningful experience. He also offers Colorado elopement ceremonies for couples who want something intimate, intentional, and beyond the boundaries of a traditional wedding day. His work is shaped by a lifelong interest in connection, reflection, and personal growth. Michael is the author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of The Elements of Being podcast. As a wedding officiant, he draws from that same foundation: the belief that our relationships, words, and everyday interactions help shape a life rooted in love, empathy, and purpose. Michael’s ceremony work has been recognized across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in Denver, marking his eighth consecutive year receiving the honor. He was also named “Best Business of 2024, 2025, and 2026” by Three Best Rated and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA.
Beyond weddings, Michael and his wife, Sammy, have sponsored an annual student scholarship for more than 10 years. They also founded Civic Growth Alliance, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities through civic advocacy, resident engagement, strategic partnerships, public safety initiatives, neighborhood vitality, and community well-being.
Wedding locations: Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Lower Highlands, and Sloan Lake. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Larkspur, Littleton, Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more. If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
Wedding Planning Tips
#30 - The Dynamics of Marriage During a Pandemic | Clinical Psychologist Dr. Lavelle
Introduction
Welcome to “The Elements of Being” podcast, where I dissect and explore the minds and habits of psychologists, filmmakers, writers, and industry icons. Essentially, we examine the mental and emotional narratives and processes that steer the social stream of consciousness….Truly a chance to geek out over the psychology behind human behavior. Each episode is a glimpse into the trends and patterns of human behavior and the underlying influences that navigate us into different directions. Whether we primarily focus on nutrition or the unconscious, guests share insights, thought-provoking lessons, the nuances of creativity, and the elements of being….us.
Today, I’d like to introduce the very talented Dr. Sera Lavelle, owner of NY Health Hypnosis & Integrative Therapy and co-founder of the soon-to-be-launched mindful eating app, Bea Better Eating. It’s practically a sin that we didn’t discuss her current project in great detail (especially with my interest in our relationship to food and the psychology of our eating behaviors). Instead, we took a deep dive into the role of hypnosis in the clinical setting and the intriguing dynamics of marriages and conflict resolution. A fitting topic as everyone reflects on their relationships during the last 12 months of the pandemic.
Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Lavelle, is an expert in using hypnosis and integrative therapy for weight loss, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, infertility, and relationship issues. She also served as an Adjunct Professor at Brooklyn College and Adelphi University, where she taught Psychology of Sex and Gender.
and Psychology from a Multi-Cultural Perspective. Dr. Lavelle’s work with eating disorders has been highly recognized, with articles about her and her team appearing in Forbes, Prevention, Elle Magazine, NY Times, and NY Magazine.
In our interview, we discussed hypnosis and the broader implications for one's inability to reach a hypnotic state as well as its integrative role in the restoration of a failing marriage. We also dissect the fair expectations in the marriage dynamic, maladaptive patterns that lead to the most conflict and sustained tension, the idea of “settling down,” and the new relationship challenges experienced during the shelter-in periods of the pandemic.
To learn more about Dr. Lavelle, visit https://www.nyhealthhypnosis.com/dr-sera-lavelle. Check out her latest project, Bea Better Eating, on https://www.beabettereating.com/, as well.
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is a wedding officiant serving Denver, Boulder, Golden, and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in Denver (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings and now offers Colorado elopement ceremonies for couples looking for an intimate experience beyond the boundaries.
Wedding locations: Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Lower Highlands, and Sloan Lake. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more. If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
Wedding Planning Tips
#31 - Understanding our Emotional Regulation (and Self-Injury in Adolescence) | Research Scientist Dr. Whitlock
Introduction
Welcome to “The Elements of Being” podcast, where I dissect and explore the minds and habits of psychologists, filmmakers, writers, and industry icons. Essentially, we examine the mental and emotional narratives and processes that steer the social stream of consciousness….Truly a chance to geek out over the psychology behind human behavior. Each episode is a glimpse into the trends and patterns of human behavior and the underlying influences that navigate us into different directions. Whether we primarily focus on nutrition or the unconscious, guests share insights, thought-provoking lessons, the nuances of creativity, and the elements of being….us.
In today's episode, I examine emotional regulation and self-injury in adolescence with research scientist, Dr. Janis Whitlock. She has worked in the area of adolescent and young adult mental health, resilience, and wellbeing for over 30 years. She is dedicated to bridging science, practice, and lived experience wisdom in ways that inform, enhance, and support the human capacity to thrive. She has experience as a frontline provider and program developer and, for the past two decades, as a researcher, educator, author, and public speaker in these and related areas.
As the founder and director of the Cornell Research Program on Self-Injury and Recovery and the co-founder of the International Society for the Study of Self-Injury, she has deep expertise in areas of self-injury and related mental health challenges, including suicide, depression, and anxiety. She has also studied and written about connectedness, resilience, the role of social media in mental health and prevention, and sexual health. She earned a doctorate in Developmental Psychology from Cornell University, a Masters of Public Health from UNC Chapel Hill, and a BA from the University of California at Berkeley.
In this episode, we discuss:
-The call to understand our emotional selves.
-Common emotional regulation strategies.
-Learning the value of awareness and detachment when appropriate.
-The concept of emotional dysregulation and how it contributes to the cycles in our lives.
-Rethinking the role of controlling our thoughts and emotions.
-How emotional regulation strategies can vary among populations.
-Connection between emotional regulation and adolescent and young adult mental health challenges.
-Emotion as an allowable part of your life.
-Reasons for the classification of non-suicidal self-injury and suicide cases.
-Assumptions and reasons for self-injury among adolescents
-Patterns of adolescent self-injury and the likelihood of the same patterns in adulthood.
-The role of social media and other technological affordances in mental health and development.
To learn more about Dr. Whitlock, visit https://www.human.cornell.edu/people/jlw43 and check out her book “Healing Self-Injury: A Compassionate Guide for Parents and Other Loved Ones.”
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is a wedding officiant serving Denver, Boulder, Golden, and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in Denver (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings and now offers Colorado elopement ceremonies for couples looking for an intimate experience beyond the boundaries.
Wedding locations: Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Lower Highlands, and Sloan Lake. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more. If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
Wedding Planning Tips
#33 - Systematically Building a Regenerative Future | Brenna Simmons-St. Onge`
Introduction
Welcome to “The Elements of Being” podcast, where I dissect and explore the minds and habits of psychologists, filmmakers, writers, and industry icons. Essentially, we examine the mental and emotional narratives and processes that steer the social stream of consciousness….Truly a chance to geek out over the psychology behind human behavior. Each episode is a glimpse into the trends and patterns of human behavior and the underlying influences that navigate us into different directions. Whether we primarily focus on nutrition or the unconscious, guests share insights, thought-provoking lessons, the nuances of creativity, and the elements of being….us.
Today, I’d like to introduce you to Brenna Simmons-St. Onge, the Executive Director of The Alliance Center. She is a pragmatic visionary with over 15 years of leadership experience, including a decade in corporate social responsibility. During the pandemic, Brenna launched the Regenerative Recovery Coalition, a coalition with over 335 members working together to build Colorado toward a regenerative future. Through large public-private partnerships, Brenna is leading the Coalition to create equitable social structures that will foster shared prosperity on a healthy planet. As a dynamic change agent, Brenna leads with a nonprofit heart and a business mind, leveraging holistic approaches to implement and scale solutions to some of humanity's most significant issues.
In our interview, we break down the concept of a regenerative future, the individual and social efforts required for systems-level change, and the gap between idealism and pragmatism. We also examine how to secure the attention of policymakers and corporations and how they should rethink and measure success and growth within a capitalist system.
In this episode, we specifically discussed:
-How to personally balance living in our modern capitalist system while recognizing the significant challenges upon us.
-Transition from a corporate career to a values-driven professional path.
-The definition of the concept "regenerative future."
-How the Alliance Center has drawn the attention of governors and other politicians in Colorado.
-How Brenna and the Alliance Center choose the most appropriate focuses at a given time for driving systems-level change with regenerative business in mind.
-How can we bridge the gap between idealism and pragmatism?
-What's required in the "regenerative future" message to secure the attention of policymakers and corporations?
-How corporations and smaller businesses should rethink and measure success and growth within a capitalist system.
___________________________
To learn more about Brenna Simmons-St. Onge, visit https://www.thealliancecenter.org/.
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is a wedding officiant serving Denver, Boulder, Golden, and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in Denver (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings and now offers Colorado elopement ceremonies for couples looking for an intimate experience beyond the boundaries.
Wedding locations: Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Lower Highlands, and Sloan Lake. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more. If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
Wedding Planning Tips
#34 - The Lens of a Positive Psychologist During a Crisis | Dr. Itai Ivtzan
Introduction
Welcome to “The Elements of Being” podcast, where I dissect and explore the minds and habits of psychologists, filmmakers, writers, and industry icons. Essentially, we examine the mental and emotional narratives and processes that steer the social stream of consciousness….Truly a chance to geek out over the psychology behind human behavior. Each episode is a glimpse into the trends and patterns of human behavior and the underlying influences that navigate us into different directions. Whether we primarily focus on nutrition or the unconscious, guests share insights, thought-provoking lessons, the nuances of creativity, and the elements of being….us.
Today, I’d like to introduce you to Dr. Itai Ivtzan, a positive psychologist, a Professor at Naropa University, and the School of Positive Transformation Director. Over the past 20 years, he has run seminars, lectures, workshops, and retreats in the USA, UK, and worldwide at various educational institutions and private events. In addition, Dr. Itzvan is a regular keynote speaker at conferences and has published five books and more than 50 journal papers and book chapters. His main areas of research and teaching are positive psychology, mindfulness, and spirituality.
Accordingly, Dr. Itzvan has invested much time in studying mindfulness academically, writing books about it, teaching it, and training mindfulness teachers. As part of his work, he established the School of Positive Transformation, offering practical well-being courses for practitioners, teaching them how to transform themselves and their clients and students.
___________________________
To learn more about Dr. Itai Ivtzan, visit https://schoolofpositivetransformation.com.
The Elements of Being Podcast with Michael Moody featuring Dr. Itai Ivtzan
In our interview, we examine the lens of a positive psychologist during a period of crisis. Dr. Ivtzan shared his personal struggles during the onset of the pandemic, and we discussed how to practice empathy when in conflict with family and friends and compassion for loved ones who hurt us. We also dive into the meaning we assign to such disruptions as the recent pandemic and destructive wildfires in Colorado, as well as the role of meditation and mindfulness in our well-being.
In this episode, we specifically discussed:
-The lens of a positive psychologist during a crisis.
-Making sense of crisis.
-Sitting with ourselves when our physical states are threatened.
-The dialogue regarding collective trauma in the positive psychology community.
-Feeling compassion for others when we've been hurt by even those who love us.
-Practicing empathy when experiencing fiery divisions between family, friends, and people we don't know.
-The role of mindfulness in building resiliency.
-The reasons why solitude is vital to our mindfulness.
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is a wedding officiant serving Denver, Boulder, Golden, and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in Denver (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings and now offers Colorado elopement ceremonies for couples looking for an intimate experience beyond the boundaries.
Wedding locations: Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Lower Highlands, and Sloan Lake. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more. If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
Wedding Planning Tips
Colorado Elopement: Elk Falls Lookout & Pond (Staunton State Park) | Denver Wedding Officiant
Summary
Plan a Colorado elopement ceremony at Staunton State Park’s Elk Falls Lookout and Elk Falls Pond near Denver. A Denver wedding officiant shares route tips, distance, parking, and the best seasons for hiking elopements. Find scenic ceremony spots with mountain views and rock platforms—even within the first miles. Book your Colorado elopement wedding for unforgettable photos.
Key Topics
Denver wedding officiant; Colorado elopement wedding; Staunton State Park elopement; Elk Falls Lookout; Elk Falls Pond; hiking elopement near Denver; Front Range elopement; scenic ceremony locations Colorado; Colorado ordained minister; mountain wedding backdrop; Evergreen/Conifer elopement; wedding ceremony hikes
Introduction
Living in Denver offers many perks, including beautiful hiking trails in state parks within 60 minutes of a Colorado elopement wedding. Here’s the first of a series of Staunton State Park hikes that I’ve recently recommended to my wedding couples in Colorado as options for a wedding ceremony elopement. I’ve included a review from a past visit and my notes.
Staunton State Park offers impeccable views from its trail for a beautiful elopement wedding in Colorado.
Colorado Elopement Wedding Hikes:
Elk Falls Lookout and Elk Falls Pond via Scout Line Trail, Marmot Passage Trail, and Chimney Rock Trail
Time of Year: Late July.
Weather: 60 degrees and sunny at 8:49 am, 71 degrees and cloudy at 12:56 pm.
Cover: Sparse trees on the Scout Line trail and more exposed on Marmot Passage and Chimney Rock Trails. Completely exposed around Elk Falls Pond.
Time: 8:49 am - 12:56 pm.
Distance: 10.9 Miles total (Scout Line to Marmot Passage to Elk Falls Pond to Chimney Rock to Elk Falls Overlook. Return: Lion's Back to Elk Falls Pond again. Marmot Passage to Scout Line to the parking lot).
Traffic: Light to moderate (a mix of bikers and hikers on Marmot Passage to Elk Falls Pond).
Parking: Lazy V parking lot (2 miles past the visitor center). 60% full at the beginning and end of the hike.
Equipment: Hiking boots.
Terrain: A well-marked dirt and rock path that connects to many routes. The accent on Scout Line and the first part of Marmot Passage had more rocky terrain overall.
Experience: Absolutely love Staunton State Park! All the staff are friendly, and the trails and picnic areas are well-maintained. The ascent on Scout Line Trail and the first part of Marmot Passage Trail offered incredible sweeping views of the surrounding mountains (all within 2 miles of the hike). Most of the hike was scenic, and I saw a deer just 15 feet off the trail. The pond is charming, and the Elk Falls Overlook provides beautiful 270-degree views. I passed the Elk Falls Trail on the way up and chose Lion's Back on the way down to the pond to save time. Although this route is out-and-back, you can create a loop with their extensive trail system. Can't wait to bring other hikers! Note: I bypassed a few miles by starting my hike from the Lazy V lot.
Cost: A state park day pass or annual pass is required for access to the trail.
Difficulty: Easy, but the initial uphill hike may require a baseline of cardio.
Notes from Your Colorado Wedding Officiant: I loved this trail and can’t wait to return! Although the 11-mile trek might be a haul for wedding couples with less endurance, you’ll be plenty satisfied hiking within the first 2.5 miles with plenty of stunning views right off the bat. Many areas also offer rock platforms large enough for additional guests. No doubt, there are many options on this trail for a Colorado Wedding Elopement. You may also take other trails for photos or a wedding ceremony at Elk Falls Pond or Elk Falls Lookout. Being so close to the Front Range of Colorado, the winter season will offer snow-covered options with fewer road closures. It also serves as a cooler option than the Front Range during the summer. Fall would be a wonderful, dry option, while the early spring may be muddy depending on the snowmelt.
Staunton State Park offers endless options for elopement ceremonies. A state park pass Is required, though.
The sweeping panoramic views is a perfect backdrop for a wedding elopement in Colorado.
You don’t need to hike 11 miles for a Colorado elopement wedding ceremony in this state park. You’ll find the perfect location in the first 2.5 miles (even in the first .5 mile).
The terrain aren’t ideal for high heels but they aren’t bad for a bride in hiking boots!
The interesting rock formations in Staunton State Park offer an interesting backdrop for your elopement ceremony.
Although it might be a bit of a hike up, the Elk Falls Overlook offers a 270-degree view from a rock platform (perfect for a ceremony with Colorado ordained minister).
A perfect location for a wedding elopement ceremony. Only a 25 minute hike up to this point.
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is a wedding officiant serving Denver, Boulder, Golden, and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in Denver (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings and now offers Colorado elopement ceremonies for couples looking for an intimate experience beyond the boundaries.
Wedding locations: Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Lower Highlands, and Sloan Lake. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more. If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
Wedding Planning Tips
Colorado Elopement Hikes near Denver: North Table Mountain West Loop (Golden)
Introduction
Living in Denver, Colorado, offers many perks, including beautiful hiking trails for an elopement within 18-30 minutes. Here’s the first of a series of Golden hikes that I’ve recently recommended to my wedding couples in Colorado as options for a wedding ceremony elopement. I’ve included a review from a past visit and my notes.
North Table Mountain is the high plains of the high plains in Golden, Colorado
Date: February 5th.
Weather: 33 degrees and sunny at 9:14 am.
Cover: Completely exposed (more ideal for winter and early spring because of the sun).
Time: 9:14 am - 11:47 am.
Distance: 6 Miles total (West trailhead parking lot to Lichen Peak to the east side of the mountain and looping north and then west back to the lot).
Traffic: Low (normally high).
Parking: Several spots are available.
Equipment: Hiking boots and microspikes.
Terrain: Definitely a quick climb up from the lot, but flat once you reach the peak. Faced 12-20 mph winds on my back until I reached the east side and began looping north/northwest. At that point, I was walking against a not-so-kind wall of wind. Beautiful views of neighboring mountains and Golden. It’s a well-marked snow-covered path, but I could see it being muddy during the late spring.
Difficulty: Easy, but the initial walk up may require a cardio baseline.
Notes from Your Colorado Wedding Officiant: While my visit was in the winter, the trail provided a snow-dusted landscape that framed every step. Considering that the mountain is shaped like a table, wedding couples have endless options for scenic backdrops, with the mountains to the west and Golden and Denver to the east. Wind is certainly a factor at times and should be considered for the elopement ceremony. Late winter and early spring will provide hard ground without mud, but may require microspikes for traction in snow. Late spring and summer will offer a dry path and plenty of sun exposure. An early morning hike is recommended for cooler temperatures. The fall is a perfect season with moderate temperatures and stunning views of changing leaves.
When it isn’t windy, the rock cliff and the views of Golden can provide a perfect backdrop for an elopement wedding in Colorado.
The west side of Table Mountain provides a private perspective between the mountain and its sisters across the road.
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is a wedding officiant serving Denver, Boulder, Golden, and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in Denver (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings and now offers Colorado elopement ceremonies for couples looking for an intimate experience beyond the boundaries.
Wedding locations: Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Lower Highlands, and Sloan Lake. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more. If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
Wedding Planning Tips
#35 - Designing Your New Work Life | Dave Evans
Introduction
Welcome to “The Elements of Being” podcast, where I dissect and explore the minds and habits of psychologists, filmmakers, writers, and industry icons. Essentially, we examine the mental and emotional narratives and processes that steer the social stream of consciousness….Truly a chance to geek out over the psychology behind human behavior. Each episode is a glimpse into the trends and patterns of human behavior and the underlying influences that navigate us into different directions. Whether we primarily focus on nutrition or the unconscious, guests share insights, thought-provoking lessons, the nuances of creativity, and the elements of being….us.
Today, I'd like to introduce you to Dave Evans, the Co-Director of the Stanford Life Design Lab and a co-founder of Electronic Arts, one of the world's largest interactive entertainment companies. He also led the design of Apple's first mouse and laser printer and has a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford.
Recently, Dave and his colleague, Bill Burnett, coauthored the #1 New York Times bestseller Designing Your New Work Life....and it served as the foundation of our conversation. It's a job-changing, outlook-changing, life-changing book that shows us how to transform our new, uncharted work lives and create a meaningful dream job. With new insights on making our way through disruption- large and small, personal or global-the book helps us navigate during these times of fear and anxiety about the unknown and through our post-COVID work lives and beyond.
Specifically, we discuss their Disruption Design with a focus on curiosity, reframing, radical collaboration, awareness, bias to action, and storytelling. We also learn how to make possibilities available even when our lives have been disrupted, examine the tools to enjoy the moment, and begin to prototype our future.
___________________________
To learn more about Dave Evans and his new book, visit https://designingyour.life.
The Elements of Being Podcast with Michael Moody featuring Dave Evans
In this episode, we specifically discussed:
-How to redesign our professional lives with unknown disruptions in mind when we've already invested in a specific path.
-How to break the chain of working endlessly without satisfaction and "doing whatever it takes" modeled by our parents and society.
-How to approach the dilemma of serving life of purpose for less pay or settling for a higher wage at a less satisfying job.
-Design thinking and the benefit of applying this mode of thinking to our professional lives.
-The importance of curiosity in our professional lives.
-Prototyping new positions and experiences while serving a current position.
-How we can reframe our current position to change our work experience or career trajectory.
-A distinction between reframing and renaming our work experiences.
-The benefits of radical collaboration.
-The foundation of great storytelling.
-The best exit strategies.
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is a wedding officiant serving Denver, Boulder, Golden, and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in Denver (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings and now offers Colorado elopement ceremonies for couples looking for an intimate experience beyond the boundaries.
Wedding locations: Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Lower Highlands, and Sloan Lake. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more. If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
Wedding Planning Tips
Boulder Elopement on Green Mountain Loop via Chautauqua | Denver Wedding Officiant
Summary
Plan a Colorado elopement wedding just 35 minutes from Denver on the Green Mountain Loop via Chautauqua in Boulder. A Denver wedding officiant guides this rewarding route with sweeping views. Get details on distance, elevation, parking, and seasons. Book your Boulder elopement for a stress-free ceremony with unforgettable mountain backdrops.
Key Topics
Denver wedding officiant; Colorado elopement wedding; Boulder elopement; Boulder wedding officiant; Green Mountain Loop via Chautauqua; Chautauqua Trail elopement; elopement hikes near Denver; Gregory Canyon wedding photos; microspikes winter hiking; front range elopement; Colorado ordained minister; scenic elopement locations Boulder
Introduction
Now that cooler weather is upon us, an elopement ceremony in nearby Boulder is always a safer bet for mild temperatures and interesting terrain. Definitely my new favorite front-range trail with sweeping views east, north, and west! Don’t plan to host your wedding ceremony elopement here? Maybe decide after these photos. You can easily have a Colorado elopement wedding within 35 minutes of Denver. I’ve included a review from a past visit and my notes.
The Green Mountain Loop in Boulder offers a few options for an elopement wedding in Colorado.
Colorado Elopement Wedding Hikes:
Green Mountain Loop via Chautauqua Trail
Time of Year: Late-October.
Weather: 38 degrees and sunny at 8:57 am, wind: 4 mph (non-factor).
Cover: 65% dispersed cover.
Time: 8:57 am - 12:31 pm.
Distance: 7.3 miles total (left on the loop at Amphitheater Trail).
Bathroom at Trailhead: Yes.
Route: Chautauqua Trail to 6th Street Connector Trail to Meadow Trail to Amphitheater Trail to Saddle Rock Trail to EM Green Man Trail to Green Mountain West Ridge Trail to Ranger Trail to Gregory Canyon Trail.....and then back to Meadow Trail to 6th Street Connector Trail to Meadow Trail to Chautauqua Trail. In other words, follow the All-Trails map (except Ski Jump Trail-closed).
Traffic: Light.
Parking: 50% full (parking now free until Memorial Day Weekend, tons of parking for the many trail connectors).
Equipment: Hiking boots.
Terrain: A well-marked rocky trail with a 2600-foot climb over the first 3.7 miles. Primarily a dirt path for the first 1 mile down from the peak of Green Mountain, before a rocky dirt trail starts again within the canyon. The Meadow Trail on the front and back ends is mostly a dirt trail, too.
Experience: I think this is the most rewarding front-range hike so far. While everyone jumps on Boulder's Royal Arch and Flatirons trails, this neighboring trek offers interesting terrain with incredible east, north, and west views up the steep incline to the top of Green Mountain. You can see over 20 other peaks as well as the high plains at 8100 feet. On the way back, you're also rewarded with a rocky stroll through Gregory Canyon. I clocked 3.5 hours for 7.3 miles. Expect to add time to your hike for the climb and soak in the views.
Cost: Free.
Difficulty: Hard Level 1 (cardio and muscular endurance necessary for the consistent grade up the first half and steady footing on the way down; moderate distance overall at 7.3 miles; no significant scrambles; 1 ladder climb because of a mudslide).
Colorado Ordained Minister Notes: As with the neighboring Royal Arch hike, my wedding officiant clients will need good cardio and muscular endurance to manage the 2,600-foot climb within the first 3 miles. For such hikes, I move at a pace that doesn’t overstep my physical boundaries, and I certainly take breaks when necessary. The work is worth the wedding elopement with a view! You can cut off a couple of miles by parking at the Gregory Canyon Trailhead, too. I won’t judge. :)
When to Visit: Although the trail is close to Denver, winter offers a snow-covered option, depending on the week and the sun exposure along parts of the trail. Microspikes will help you conquer the terrain. The mix of shade and sun exposure makes a summer morning hike bearable (though it will warm up quickly by noon). Early fall is a wonderful, dry option, while the early spring may be a bit muddy depending on the snowmelt (the sun may dry most of the trail by mid-afternoon).
Although my recent hike was over 7 miles, you can easily host your Colorado elopement wedding ceremony within a few short miles.
My wedding couples will be able to name over 20 peaks in the distance with this handy tool on Green Mountain in Boulder.
This is view is only 35 minutes from Denver. Simply amazing.
The terrain aren’t ideal for high heels but they aren’t bad for a bride in hiking boots!
This part of the Gregory Canyon is a nice option for an elopement ceremony too!
We have a skyline in Denver…..and Boulder gives us the majestic rock formations swimming in the forest of trees.
The high plains of Colorado coming to life with new color!
Sometimes the hidden parts of a trail often provide majestic backdrops for a Colorado wedding ceremony too.
The varying terrain of Boulder offers multiple backdrops for an elopement ceremony on one trail!
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is a wedding officiant serving Denver, Boulder, Golden, and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in Denver (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings and now offers Colorado elopement ceremonies for couples looking for an intimate experience beyond the boundaries.
Wedding locations: Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Lower Highlands, and Sloan Lake. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more. If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
Wedding Planning Tips
Redefine Yourself for Marriage: Mindful Preparation with a Denver Wedding Officiant
Summary
Discover how the Redefine Yourself approach—awareness, acceptance, and adaptation—supports meaningful, intentional wedding ceremony planning with a trusted Denver wedding officiant. This mindful framework helps Colorado couples move beyond logistics to align vows, values, and relationship readiness for a ceremony that truly reflects their story. From premarital guidance and personalized vows to calm, confident wedding ceremony planning in Colorado, you’ll learn practical strategies to remove obstacles and deepen connection. Work with a compassionate Colorado wedding officiant who blends mindset tools with ceremony craft to make your day feel authentic, joyful, and unforgettable.
Key Topics
Denver wedding officiant
Colorado wedding officiant
mindful marriage preparation
premarital guidance Denver
wedding ceremony planning Colorado
intentional wedding ceremony
Redefine Yourself approach
awareness acceptance adaptation
relationship readiness before marriage
personalized vows and readings
modern non-religious wedding ceremony
spiritual but not religious ceremony Denver
Denver wedding officiant offering premarital guidance
How to prepare for marriage in Colorado
mindset and marriage preparation, Denver, CO
officiant who helps write personal vows in Denver
ceremony planning with mindfulness and intention
Couples coaching with a wedding officiant in Denver
Introduction
Think about your life for a moment. Do you think it is a struggle? Are you generally unhappy? Is something or someone missing? Do you feel out of place?
Whether or not you answered yes to these questions, you are probably reading this article because you are searching for something meaningful in your life, or for a solution to change how you feel or behave.
The Redefine Yourself approach will catalyze this change. During this transformation process, the primary focus of physical and personal change isn’t just nutrition and exercise. It’s a targeted focus on awareness, acceptance, and adaptive strategies. Each word is individually significant, but most powerful as a sequence.
As you integrate the Redefine Yourself approach into your life, you will refine your perspective and understand why you:
Do what you do.
Can’t reach your goals.
Find yourself in the same destructive position repeatedly.
Date the same type of person with or without the same hair color, and allow the relationship to last six months to twenty years too long.
Complain about everything in your life to your friends, who then end up complaining about your complaining, and so forth.
Can’t reach your best physical, emotional, and mental self.
Live an unhappy and unfulfilled life.
Change starts with the mind for my Denver personal training clients. / Photo: Tara Winstead
Beginning Your Journey
Redefine Yourself will help you understand and redefine the very essence of YOU. It is the answer to your perpetual failure to achieve the happiness and success that you desire. You’ll uncover your shocking inner self that has undermined your efforts everywhere from the gym to the workplace.
By the end, you’ll incorporate the simple approach that will not only reshape your life but also positively impact the people around you. Most importantly, you will remove the invisible obstructions that hold you back from achieving personal success!
Redefine Yourself will become the “in-your-pocket” resource for daily change. It exemplifies a new generation of health and fitness books that emphasize the mental and emotional “you” in pursuit of personal and professional success.
You’ll utilize the following three-step process when confronting your inner influences and adapting new strategies:
1. Awareness
You are a detective collecting the truth of a moment, observing yourself and every movement, sight, touch, scent, and sound of the world. You are gathering evidence for the truth without judgment. Redefine Yourself will help you examine the most common mental and environmental factors that influence your happiness. This list includes self-talk, surroundings, emotional restraint, fears, insecurities, perceived control, decision-making processes, and belief in your abilities.
You’ll probably realize that one could write a separate book about each of these influences. In fact, you’ll easily find them in a bookstore or online, already written. But for the purpose of introducing you to yourself, I’ve only touched lightly on what you need to think about when examining yourself. We’ll call it a light stroke of awareness. At this point, you are just naming what you observe about yourself. While you may not fully confront the reasons you’re dealing with these challenges, the Redefine Yourself approach will help you accept them and adopt successful strategies to overcome them.
Perhaps you already think that you are fully aware in your daily life. How do you know this? Is this truth based on assumptions or objective evidence? Have you separated yourself from your mental judgment and just absorbed the world?
Most people answer no to these questions. You might do this occasionally, but not often enough. Instead, you usually take a leap of faith without stopping first. You jump, again and again, not knowing where you will land.
You live a forever-looking-forward existence. You pick up bits and pieces around you, but never stop the train of life. “Not enough time,” you say. However, you make time for things that aren’t important to you. “I already know,” you say, but have never stopped to look and be certain.
Redefine Yourself isn’t the start of a gentle persuasion to do something. It is a knock on the head to make you realize that you’re not doing something that you think you’re doing.
You probably aren’t aware as much as you need to be. I know that you’ve made millions of decisions in your life and have survived thus far. How well have you lived up to this point, however? Could you have lived better if you had just halted before reacting? Could you have prevented a disaster by looking in both directions first?
I once wrongly accused my girlfriend of being selfish while she was holding a gift. Have you done something similar? I felt hopeless about my direction in life and my inability to change it, but I didn’t check to see that the truth was in front of me. Have you, as well?
Redefining yourself means becoming and staying aware. When you dedicate yourself to remaining aware before making a decision, judgment or movement, you are committing to a higher state of living. You are committing to seeing both the real perfections and imperfections of the world.
There is beauty in this awareness. Recently, my girlfriend and I went to a good friend’s wedding in Milwaukee. It started with an exchange of rings in the pews of the historic St. Josaphat Basilica and ended in the Pfister Hotel's seventh-floor banquet room in downtown Milwaukee.
The highlight of the evening was the genuine love that I noticed during the father-of-the-bride’s speech. It was unbelievable! I was soaking in the aura of happiness that started in the cathedral eight hours earlier. The guests sincerely loved the couple, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. I captured something special in that single moment. I always wonder how many of these moments—good and bad—I have missed while distracted by my selfish intentions or by my work.
I was not meant to change or add to this wedding moment. It already took motion without me in the picture. I was just a bystander.
There are many more moments, however, which require me to take action. I can make a change to help someone in need or remove myself from a situation.
Often, it doesn’t matter what leads to a moment. It only matters what you do with it. It requires a fair observation and assessment. This awareness will help you realize the real need to redefine yourself.
2. Acceptance
When you accept the mental and environmental factors that influence you, you accept your situation, surroundings, and feelings at that moment. Then you begin using appropriate adaptive strategies to promote positive change. You are putting aside your emotional investment and other subconscious influences to start over and redefine yourself.
Although your focus is on your mindset and the environment during a period of awareness, you mustn’t dwell on the imperfections of you, your situation, or your surroundings. Additionally, you mustn’t fixate on imperfect pieces of life that are unchangeable at the moment. Before adapting new strategies to redefine yourself, you must accept these things in their current state.
Acceptance isn’t easy and is a common reason people choose to be less aware of themselves and the world. It took me a while to understand why people don’t stop and “open their eyes.” When I did, it made sense: people don’t want to. “Ignorance is bliss! The real world stinks!” The world is imperfect, and this is hard to accept. Instead, they construct a rose-colored reality to mask the blight and scathing.
If this is so effective, why are so many people still unhappy? It seems that our instinctive selves always recognize the truth despite our best efforts to ignore it. Our subconscious taps us on the shoulder but doesn’t push us over. It just reminds us that it’s there and tells us what we should do (even though we don’t always do it).
It’s our gut barking, and many people are scared to face it. They’re afraid to identify imperfections in themselves and their environment, and new challenges.
Frederick Douglass, a former slave and leader in the abolitionist movement, echoes this in his narratives:
“…I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing. It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy. It opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but to no ladder upon which to get out. In moments of agony, I envied my fellow slaves for their stupidity. I often wished myself a beast.”
What an unbelievable quote! Even a man of vigor and ambition like Frederick Douglass questioned his own awareness because of the great truths he faced.
You may not share the terrible circumstances that Mr. Douglass did as a slave. You’re fortunate for this. Nevertheless, there may be an unpleasant reality that might show itself, now or later, when you “open your eyes.” To make it worse, you may not know how to handle it or what to do with this new information. You’re afraid to recognize that you chose the wrong career, but you depend on it financially. You’re scared to accept that you chose the wrong spouse, but you’ve already raised two kids with him or her.
No matter what action you eventually pursue, you can accept your current situation. You can accept that knowledge is power even though you can’t always change it.
What’s the point of being aware if you can’t always change it then? It helps you understand the world. It enables you to understand yourself. It helps you understand the subtle influences on your behavior, choices, and personality. It enables you to recognize what you need to do to be happy.
You’re not always given an answer, a path, or the next step when you become aware. Realizing how much you have gained or how isolated you’ve become because of your job won’t be rectified as soon as you notice it.
It’s worth knowing, though, that achieving a greater purpose means living a better, happier life. You can’t redefine your life without knowing its current shape and accepting it.
Moving forward or redefining yourself can’t happen unless you learn to accept how a situation is at a given moment. Otherwise, the insight you gain into practical decisions and problem-solving is fruitless.
I struggled with this for a while. I realized that I wouldn’t let go of my emotional investment in my personal and professional lives. I wouldn’t accept that my marriage wasn’t working. I didn’t accept that the website design I worked on for two months wasn’t right.
Now is the time to trust your instincts, your gut, and your perspective. Put aside your emotional investment and don’t be afraid to start over. ACCEPT it and move on. When you don’t accept it, tell yourself again and again and again that you should.
3. Adaptation
Once you’re aware of the challenges you face and you choose to accept them, you are ready to handle your current and unforeseen obstructions to happiness. You will be prepared to adapt your lifestyle and use adaptive strategies across multiple facets of your life. The specific solution may be different depending on the situation, but the foundation of your approach won’t change. You are just modifying the approach based on new conditions, needs, or wants.
You will also integrate new strategies to practice mindfulness, solve problems, accumulate wisdom through error, create new habits, clarify your purpose, self-police your life, define your boundaries, set goals to steer positive behavior, and engage in conversations with others.
Please keep in mind that adaptation means taking action. You are not a bystander in this process. Here are several examples:
Is your friend is a selfish jerk? Accept All-About-Me Julie as she is and ignore her selfish tendencies, discuss how her actions make you feel, or begin dismantling your friendship.
Do you think the president stinks? Accept that the president (insert Republican, Democrat, or Independent here) is the leader of the United States and ignore his political decisions, get involved with politics, or make a grassroots effort for change.
These examples are another way of saying, “Quit complaining and do something.” Complaining is primarily an emotional output, the result of boredom or simple conversation lacking any substantial or functional value. On the other hand, adaptation isn’t complaining about what you found and sharing how horrible it is for anyone who is or isn’t interested in listening. When you develop an evidence-based strategy and choose the best possible decision, you are effectively adapting your life.
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is a wedding officiant serving Denver, Boulder, Golden, and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in Denver (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings and now offers Colorado elopement ceremonies for couples looking for an intimate experience beyond the boundaries.
Wedding locations: Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Lower Highlands, and Sloan Lake. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more. If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
Wedding Planning Tips
Curating the Life I Want: Intentional Living & Marriage Prep in Denver
Summary
Reset with intention in Denver. A Denver wedding officiant shares a life-planning template to align habits, health, and relationships before “I do.” Get premarital guidance, mindful routines, and ceremony planning tips for Colorado couples. Start curating the life—and wedding—you want.
Key Topics
Denver wedding officiant; Colorado wedding officiant; mindful marriage preparation; premarital guidance; intentional wedding ceremony; ceremony planning Denver; intentional living before marriage; life reset Colorado; vows coaching; non-religious wedding Denver; spiritual but not religious ceremony; Colorado elopement planning; curate the life I want Denver; wedding officiant who offers premarital coaching; Colorado couples mindset guide; build healthy routines before “I do”
“A habit must be established before it can be improved. You need to master the art of showing up.”
CURATING THE LIFE I WANT…
I believe that everyone needs a reset in their life. And, the move to Denver, Colorado, after 42 years in Chicago, Illinois, was certainly the reset for me in 2021. It was an opportunity to rebuild and reconnect many personal and professional areas of my life. I don’t think a person necessarily needs to take the same drastic step for similar results, though. I beg you to explore and consider the adaptations necessary to achieve your best self and challenge the routine of daily life, but maybe in your own way (with a little nudge from this template). This is my annual effort to steer the life I want and be the person I aspire to be. Join me on this journey!
WHAT TO KEEP IN MIND
While I’m proud of my success, I know there’s room to grow. It’s amazing how new environments and challenges remind us of where we need to improve. Living through a pandemic and becoming a parent bent prior boundary lines, and, like many others, I needed to reexamine life's patterns and systems. All of these efforts are integrated into the various sections below. I often find the intentions related to a lifetime of habits the most difficult to change, though. The dietary intentions have been repeated over the last few years as they compete with yesterday's social and cultural influences. Although I haven’t completely met those intentions year to year, I welcome their return to the list. The experimentation continues as I try to integrate them into my life sustainably! And I’m okay with that. This year in particular, I have linked these habits, among others, to well-established habits and specifically described how I will achieve them. I’ve also redefined the principles that will steer all of my efforts. Not surprisingly, they reflect my personal and professional identities. Call this a business plan for my life in 2023….that I want you to steal.
THE PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE MY INTENTIONS
-Examine my focus and efforts toward current relationships and reallocate more time to each if necessary.
-Review and adapt my present routines to support optimal health.
-Define a life that serves my personal needs and simultaneously contributes to the greater good of society and humanity.
-Act and think with a baseline of empathy, compassion, and kindness.
-Seek understanding of myself and others before judgment.
-Choose the most appropriate path despite the effort or personal sacrifice.
-Celebrate equality and diversity of living things and perspectives.
-Take control of my attention. I’m talking about you, phone and social media!
-Define the boundary lines of overextending myself personally and professionally.
Living for today (and the future) as a personal trainer in Denver / Photo: Elina Fairytale
LIST OF MY INTENTIONS
AREA 1: MY PHYSICAL HEALTH INTENTIONS
MY EXERCISE INTENTIONS
Specific Objectives
-Increase cardio endurance by hitting at least 12000 daily steps per day, 2 cardio sessions per week on the Peloton bike or Helix lateral trainer (unless I hike, then 1 session), and 30 hikes of 6 miles or more by the end of the year (or less mileage with a 2000-3000 foot gain instead). Walk to and/or from work to guarantee my steps.
-Hike 30 different Colorado trails in 2023 (with limited repeats of 2022 trails) and support the hiking community with detailed reviews on the Alltrails app to be completed within 24 hours of each hike. Average 3-4 hikes per month. Make exceptions for friends to join!
-Complete 5 sessions of strength/muscular endurance exercise midday afternoons between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm, 2 sessions of cardio (including a hike) in conjunction with the weekday workout sessions (unless the Peloton at home…then at 6:16 pm weekdays or Saturday mornings at 8:30 am), and 3 short range-of-motion focused sessions of the lower limb each week within the weekday workout sessions.
Specific Plan
Monday
-45 min Strength Session
-Circuit Muscle Focus: Chest and Triceps (Low Rep), Core, Range-of-Motion Routine
Tuesday
-45 min Strength Session
-Circuit Muscle Focus: Back and Biceps (Low Rep), Core, Range-of-Motion Routine
Wednesday
-30 min Strength Session and 20 min interval Peloton Ride
-Circuit Muscle Focus: Shoulders, Leg Routine 1, Core, Range-of-Motion Routine
Thursday
-45 min Strength Session
-Circuit Muscle Focus: Arms (High Reps), Leg Routine 2, Core, Range-of-Motion Routine
Friday
-45 min Strength Session
-Circuit Muscle Focus: Total Body/Bodyweight Circuit, Core, Range-of-Motion Routine
Saturday or Sunday
-6-11 mile hike or 3-5 mile hike with a 2000-3000-foot elevation
Every Day
-1 set of 20-30 Perfect Pushups after brushing my teeth every night, 12-20k steps per weekday
MY RECOVERY INTENTIONS
Specific Objectives
-Sleep 7.5 hours every night and rest from workouts on Saturdays and Sundays (unless a hike). Specific intent: In bed by 11:15 pm and waking up by 7:05 am (no snoozing). Complete a late-night routine at least an hour before bedtime.
-Schedule 3 “Take a Deep Breath” phone prompts per day on Google Calendars. Once I see the notification on my phone, I must stop and take a deep breath no matter what I’m doing.
MY DIETARY INTENTIONS
Overarching Goals:
-To minimize inflammation, triglyceride levels, and fluctuating blood sugar levels resulting from dietary choices. Specifically, lower triglyceride levels are back to 150. This number is typically genetically higher than the other numbers. Thanks, Dad! I’m responsible for anything above 150, though.
-To reduce stress and anxiety levels by reducing caffeine and prioritizing sleep.
Specific Daily Dietary Objectives
-Never feel stuffed or starved and eat within 5 hours of the last meal (unless overnight).
-Assess the cues for current snacking habits and change the influences that lead to this behavior.
-Stop eating a meal at the first sign of feeling satisfied.
-Mindfully prepare the size of my 5-year-old’s leftovers, and don’t eat his leftovers :).
-Limit sips of alcohol to 3 days or less.
-Alternate sips of water and alcohol when indulging.
-18 out of 25 meals per week are whole food plant-based foundations and free of oil, meat, processed foods, and refined sugars.
-Only 1-2 servings of dairy per week (less is better).
-Minimize the consumption of anything processed (including vegan and vegetarian products). Choose whole food plant-based options as often as possible.
-At least 3 out of 4 meals per day must be plant-based.
-Calories: 600-800 per meal.
-Plate Ratio: 25-50% Vitamins, phytonutrients, and other micros and macros, 25-40% Protein, 15% Good Fat, 25% Fiber.
Specific Social Dietary Objectives
-Use the Daily Dietary Objectives above as a baseline when eating out (and no matter who I’m with).
-Eat a complete small meal before snacking (to avoid snacking).
-Restrict extracurricular eating/treats to 1-2 servings.
Stretching your limits with a Personal Trainer in LoHi, Denver - Photo: Ketut Subiyanto
AREA 2: MY EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL HEALTH INTENTIONS
MY REFLECTION INTENTIONS
Specific Objective
-Identify one positive characteristic of the day while brushing my teeth in the evening.
MY ATTENTION INTENTIONS
Specific Objectives
-Limit social media interaction to twice per day (preferably on my desktop).
-Limit email actions on my phone to responses that require a response within 60 minutes.
-Maintain an inbox of 2 or fewer emails by unsubscribing from unnecessary emails and being more efficient with email templates and correspondence. Clean out any extra emails by 1:00 pm every Friday.
MY REFRAMING INTENTIONS
Specific Objective
-Replace all complaints with constructive criticism or reframe the message to reflect a positive light.
Even in a personal training career, I must constantly reassess how I allocate my time and energy. / Photo: Ketut Subiyanto
AREA 3: MY RELATIONSHIP INTENTIONS
Overarching Goal: Foster positive and meaningful relationships that support and enhance my life.
Specific Parent/Husband Objectives
-Make myself more emotionally available by removing electronic devices during interactions. Allow at least 1 hour to connect with my wife and son after work. Use the Garmin watch's features to limit phone time. Put down the phone when conversing.
-Hug more! Always hugging on hellos and goodbyes….and random in-betweens!
-Schedule at least one meetup with my wife sans son per week and two date nights per month. No offense, Preston! We'll most likely meet before my son’s pickup from after-school care during the week. If not, date night with a sitter at home!
-Hike or ride a bike on a trail with my wife at least once per month.
Specific Friends, Family, and New People Engagement Objectives
-Engage in more meaningful conversations with friends, family, and new people (even if I’m only spending a minute on the elevator with them) and foster new relationships with people who embody empathy, compassion, and kindness as a foundation for their behaviors and perspectives.
-Contact my inner circle of family and friends at least once per month via phone call, text, or in-person meetups.
No Mountain is high enough as a Personal Trainer in Denver / Photo: Mathew Thomas
AREA 4: MY ENVIRONMENTAL AND REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE/CIVIC DUTY INTENTIONS
Overarching Goal: To reduce my carbon footprint and raise a new consciousness about the environment and agriculture.
Specific Whole Food Plant-Based Diet Objectives
-Aim for a 75% plant-based diet foundation by ordering my groceries online every Sunday morning. Reminder to myself: This is the most effective action any individual can take to influence global warming and preserve our environment while striving for optimal health.
Specific Waste/Pollution Reduction Objectives
-Minimize using Ziploc bags and any single-use plastics, using Pyrex containers and metal silverware.
-Purchase in bulk and/or order several items in advance and at the same time online.
-Use biodegradable bags for trash.
-Place all expired food in our compost bin and recycle all appropriate items.
-Limit the wasted food by reviewing the sizes of prepared meals.
-Replace most car travel within 10 minutes of walking and minimize car usage to only 8000 miles per year.
-Create a list of environmental-related activities by January 20th and check off one activity with my son, Preston, weekly.
Specific Advocacy Objectives
-If I find a way to integrate the podcast back into my schedule, I will dedicate at least three podcast episodes to climate change and regenerative agriculture.
-Link professional messages to environmental advocacy.
Travel extends the boundaries of what we know about ourselves and the world. I can’t wait to indulge in Rome again this summer! / Photo: Mario Cuadros
AREA 5: MY TRAVEL INTENTIONS
Overarching Goal: Expand my connection to various cultures and experience in new environments.
Specific Domestic Travel Objectives
-Visit and stay overnight in a new town or city every 6-8 weeks! Well, familiar towns and cities can account for half of the plans, too :) Review our travel plans on the 1st of every month.
Specific International Travel Objectives
-Visit and stay overnight in a new town or city in Europe by the end of 2023. Book our flights and travel plans by the end of the 1st quarter.
Finding the ratio of spending time with my family and myself as well as serving my responsibilities as a personal trainer in Denver, wedding officiant, and podcast host is always a challenge. / Photo: Wallace Chuck
AREA 6: MY SPECIFIC PROFESSIONAL INTENTIONS
Overarching Goal: Adapt my professional life to maximize my personal satisfaction and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of my efforts.
Specific Efficiency Objectives
-Reassess all email templates by February 1st and adapt as needed to increase response time and limit phone and computer time.
-Double-check every message and schedule confirmation before sending. This is a reminder to slow down!
Specific Effectiveness Objectives
-Build fitness and lifestyle check-ins at the beginning of every Denver personal training session and create accessible resources for quick client reference by February 1st.
Specific Time Management Objectives
-Develop a strategy by February 1st to manage all professional-related efforts between 8 am and 5 pm on weekdays (no weekends). Weddings and wedding rehearsals are the exceptions.
-Determine the specific number of hours necessary for the success of my business. 28-32 hours of personal training, one podcast episode every 4-8 weeks, etc.
-Develop a strategy to reintegrate the podcast efforts into my schedule through sponsorship opportunities by February 1st.
-Take personal time off without guilt and without loading the schedule before and after.
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is a wedding officiant serving Denver, Boulder, Golden, and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in Denver (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings and now offers Colorado elopement ceremonies for couples looking for an intimate experience beyond the boundaries.
Wedding locations: Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Lower Highlands, and Sloan Lake. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more. If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
Wedding Planning Tips
Evergreen Elopement: Chief Mountain & Mestaa’ehehe | Denver Wedding Officiant
Summary
Plan a Colorado elopement in Evergreen within 60 minutes of Denver on Chief Mountain Trail or Mestaa’ehehe Mountain. A Denver wedding officiant guides scenic hikes with 360° views and ceremony spots. Get tips on distance, parking, weather, and difficulty. Book your Colorado elopement wedding with an unforgettable mountain backdrop.
Keywords
Denver wedding officiant; Colorado elopement wedding; Evergreen elopement; Boulder/Front Range elopement; Chief Mountain Trail elopement; Mestaa’ehehe Mountain fire tower; hiking elopement near Denver; scenic ceremony locations Colorado; Colorado ordained minister; mountain wedding backdrop
Introduction
Living in Denver offers many perks, including beautiful hiking trails in Evergreen, which are within 60 minutes of a Colorado elopement wedding. Here are two neighboring hikes I’ve recently recommended to my wedding couples in Colorado as options for a wedding ceremony elopement with an incredible backdrop. I’ve included a review from a past visit and my notes.
Chief Mountain offers 360 views for a beautiful elopement wedding in Colorado.
Time of Year: Mid-September.
Weather: 52 degrees and sunny at 9:45 am.
Cover: 65% exposed on Chief Mountain Trail and 100% exposed on Mestaa'ehehe Mountain Trail.
Time: 9:45 am - 1:09 pm.
Distance: 7.3 Miles total.
Route: Hiked to the peak of Chief Mountain Trail and back down towards Forest Service Road 252.1C. Took it to Mestaa'ehehe Mountain Peak on Fire Tower Trail before returning to my car near the Chief Mountain Trailhead.
Traffic: Moderate to high on Chief Mountain, Low on Mestaa'ehehe Mountain (some cars driving to the halfway mark).
Bathroom at Trailhead: No.
Parking: Tough to notice off the road without GPS. Busy but plenty of roadside parking within .5 in each direction of the Chief Mountain Trailhead.
Equipment: Hiking boots.
Terrain: Chief Mountain Trail is a rocky dirt trail with an incline from the first step. The similar terrain along the trail at times might lead you astray. The path to Mestaa'ehehe Mountain is a rarely used dirt road.
Experience: The Chief Mountain Trail is a short but incredibly rewarding trail with sweeping 360 views on top of a short rock scramble. Views really begin about the mile mark and offer more than enough to push its way into my top 3 trails under 12k/4 or fewer miles. For an additional 4 miles (and another peak), I took the service road halfway back down to Fire Tower Trail (really a dirt service road) and climbed the less scenic incline to the tower. It was worth the climb! The top 1/5 offered comparable sweeping views and a perspective of Chief Mountain from a couple of miles away. I was able to walk up the stairs to the balcony of the tower and enjoyed another 360 perspective. Almost as beautiful as Chief Mountain!
Cost: Free.
Difficulty: Moderate (baseline cardio endurance necessary for the steep grade up to each peak).
Colorado Ordained Minister Notes: I’ve been telling my wedding officiant clients about the Chief Mountain trail for weeks, and I couldn’t recommend a better trail with plenty of vistas for a ceremony backdrop under 4 miles. It’s a nice option for newlywed adventurers with a foundation of endurance, seeking the fruits of a big mountain hike. The peak of Mestaa'ehehe Mountain Trail offers equal joy and ceremony pads at the top. Unfortunately, the road up is less exciting. It’s only about 4 miles out and back, and still worth it if you’re seeking more options for a wedding elopement with a view! The Fire Tower (if available) is definitely a unique location for your ceremony!
When to Visit: Although the trail is close to the Front Range of Colorado, the winter season will offer a snow-covered option, considering its elevation (11,700 feet). With this being said, it may also present less than ideal temperatures and snowpack. Checking the weather will be especially important. It also serves as a cooler option than the Front Range during the summer months (although a storm may roll in between 12 pm and 2 pm). Early fall is a fantastic, dry option, while the early spring may be a bit muddy depending on the snowmelt (the sun may dry most of the trail by mid-afternoon).
You don’t need to hike 11 miles for a Colorado elopement wedding ceremony. You’ll find the perfect location after 1.5 miles atop Chief Mountain.
Chief Mountain offers quite a few flat pads for elopement ceremonies.
The sweeping panoramic views is a perfect backdrop for a wedding elopement in Colorado. This location would be perfect for up to 30 guests. You may need to helicopter the chairs to the top, though. :)
The terrain aren’t ideal for high heels but they aren’t bad for a bride in hiking boots!
Perhaps the perfect rock pad for your elopement ceremony! Just a little scramble to get to the top of the rock, though!
Mestaa'ehehe Mountain offers competing views with Chief Mountain (also perfect for a ceremony with a Colorado ordained minister). You can cut your hike in half by driving halfway up the trail.
Could there be a spot than the Fire Tower on Mestaa'ehehe Mountain for an elopement ceremony!
With a little work, anyone can reach this natural wedding venue.
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is a wedding officiant serving Denver, Boulder, Golden, and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in Denver (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings and now offers Colorado elopement ceremonies for couples looking for an intimate experience beyond the boundaries.
Wedding locations: Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Lower Highlands, and Sloan Lake. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more. If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
Wedding Planning Tips
Preparing for Your Wedding Ceremony in Colorado: A Couple’s Guide
Summary
Planning your wedding ceremony in Colorado starts with choosing the right wedding officiant in Denver to guide your special day. From breathtaking mountain backdrops to elegant city venues, this guide offers expert tips for planning a memorable, stress-free celebration. Learn how a professional wedding officiant in Colorado personalizes your ceremony.
Key Topics
Wedding officiant Denver
Colorado wedding officiant
Colorado wedding ceremony guide
Denver wedding ceremony
Colorado marriage license requirements
How to plan a wedding in Colorado
Colorado wedding laws
Hire a wedding officiant in Colorado
Denver elopement officiant
Colorado elopement ceremony
Rocky Mountain wedding ceremony
Estes Park wedding ceremony
Denver wedding venues ceremony
mountain wedding Colorado tips
How to prepare for your Colorado wedding ceremony
Steps to plan a wedding ceremony in Denver
Choosing a wedding officiant in Denver CO
Filing a Colorado marriage license after ceremony
Intimate elopement in Colorado with an officiant
Wedding Officiant Denver / Photo:Pavel Danilyuk
Preparing for Your Wedding Ceremony in Colorado: A Couple’s Guide
Planning your wedding is one of the most exciting times of your life—but it can also feel overwhelming without the right guidance. Colorado offers some of the most stunning backdrops for weddings, from the majestic Rocky Mountains to vibrant urban venues in Denver. Whether you envision an intimate elopement or a grand celebration, thoughtful preparation ensures that your ceremony feels both meaningful and stress-free.
As an experienced wedding officiant in Denver, I’ve guided countless couples through this journey. Below are the essential steps to prepare for your Colorado wedding ceremony.
1. Choose the Right Location
Colorado offers unparalleled variety. Mountain vistas in Estes Park, rustic ranches in Sedalia, or elegant city venues in Denver each create a unique atmosphere. When selecting your spot, consider accessibility for guests, seasonal weather patterns, and whether the location aligns with your vision as a couple.
2. Secure a Licensed Wedding Officiant in Colorado
Selecting the right officiant is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. A professional wedding officiant in Colorado not only ensures your marriage is legally recognized but also personalizes your ceremony to reflect your story. Look for someone who takes the time to understand your values, your journey together, and the tone you want to set for your big day—whether it’s traditional, spiritual, or modern.
3. Understand Colorado Marriage Laws
Colorado has some of the most flexible marriage laws in the U.S. Couples can even self-solemnize, meaning no officiant is required to make the union legal. However, many couples still prefer to have a skilled wedding officiant in Denver guide the ceremony, ensuring it feels polished, heartfelt, and memorable. Remember to:
Apply for your marriage license at a Colorado county clerk’s office.
Bring valid identification.
File the license after the ceremony (usually returned by your officiant).
4. Personalize Your Ceremony
Your wedding day should reflect your personalities and relationship. Work with your officiant to weave in personal vows, meaningful readings, or traditions that matter to you. A great officiant will strike the right balance between structure and spontaneity, creating a flow that feels natural.
5. Plan for the Unexpected
Colorado’s weather can be unpredictable. A sunny day in Denver can quickly shift to afternoon showers in the mountains. Always have a backup plan—whether it’s a tented space, an indoor option, or a flexible timeline.
6. Relax and Be Present
On the day of your ceremony, let go of the logistics and trust the professionals you’ve chosen. A dedicated wedding officiant in Colorado helps set a calm, celebratory tone, allowing you and your guests to fully embrace the moment.
Final Thoughts
Preparing for your wedding ceremony in Colorado should be as joyful as the day itself. With breathtaking scenery, flexible marriage laws, and the right guidance, couples can create a meaningful experience that reflects their love story. If you’re searching for an experienced wedding officiant in Denver, I’d be honored to help bring your vision to life.
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is a wedding officiant serving Denver, Boulder, Golden, and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in Denver (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings and now offers Colorado elopement ceremonies for couples looking for an intimate experience beyond the boundaries.
Wedding locations: Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Lower Highlands, and Sloan Lake. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more. If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
Wedding Planning Tips
Colorado Elopement Wedding Hikes: Nymph Lake, Lake Haiyaha Loop via Fire Trail (RMNP)
Introduction
Living in Denver offers many perks, including beautiful hiking trails for a Colorado elopement wedding nearby. On the other hand, hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park are about 2 hours away and require advance planning (e.g., a day or annual pass and a timed-entry reservation). The drive and extra efforts are certainly worth it, though! The hikes give you access to some of the most beautiful landscapes in Colorado. Here’s the first of a series of Rocky Mountain National Park hikes that I’ve recently recommended to my wedding couples in Colorado as options for a wedding ceremony elopement. I’ve included a review from a past visit and my notes.
Sometimes the most secluded, off-the-beaten path, locations provide the most ideal scenery for an elopement wedding in Colorado.
Time of Year: Late June.
Weather: 55 degrees and sunny at 9:48 am, cloud cover for most of the hike until 1:15.
Cover: 75% covered.
Time: 9:48 am - 1:15 pm.
Distance: 5.5 Miles total (Loop: Nymph Lake Trail to Haiyaha Cutoff Trail (out and back to Lake Haiyaha) to Fire Trail to Glaciar Gorge Trail to the Bear Lake parking lot.
Traffic: High until we reached Lake Haiyaha (low).
Parking: Tons of parking....but no spots (except 1 lucky spot that opened). The shuttle halfway may be the only option (there were lines by 9:15).
Equipment: Hiking boots.
Terrain: Well-marked trail with plenty of rocks to step on and plenty of beautiful views until Lake Haiyaha. We didn't take the turnoff to Dream Lake. Big boulders to climb around Lake Haiyaha. Mostly a covered decline from there via Fire Trail.
Difficulty: Moderate (decent cardio baseline for the initial incline to 10k).
Colorado Wedding Officiant Notes: Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) offers many scenic backdrops for a Colorado Wedding Elopement. Many of the most beautiful trails begin in the Bear Lake parking lot and lead you to incredible lakes, including Dream Lake. While these trails tend to be very popular during the summer, they can also lead you to quiet spots like Lake Haiyaha. My photos of the varying landscapes at 10,000 feet and above took place on a wet and foggy day. Nevertheless, the weather provided a mystic serenity often lost in a bright landscape. For clear views and sun, hikes in RMNP before 11 am is most ideal during the summer. Typically, clouds and rain permeate the sky daily from 11 am until 3/4 pm. In the fall, the incredible colors of the trees might provide the painted landscape you’re looking for, but remember that Trail Ridge Road (the road through RMNP) may be closed because of winter conditions at higher elevations. Assume that you won’t have access to the road from late fall until mid to late spring.
Rocky Mountain National Park offers endless options for elopement ceremonies. Timing of the year is important and a pass and reservation is required, though.
Lake Haiyaha offers an incredible setting on a sunny and foggy day for a wedding ceremony.
Once you climb above 10,000 feet in RMNP, your Colorado elopement wedding ceremony will have a scenic backdrop unmatched.
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is a wedding officiant serving Denver, Boulder, Golden, and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in Denver (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings and now offers Colorado elopement ceremonies for couples looking for an intimate experience beyond the boundaries.
Wedding locations: Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Lower Highlands, and Sloan Lake. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more. If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
Wedding Planning Tips
Episode #32 - Growing a New Future of Farming and Food Equity | Dr. Damien Thompson
Introduction
Welcome to “The Elements of Being” podcast, where I dissect and explore the minds and habits of psychologists, filmmakers, writers, and industry icons. Essentially, we examine the mental and emotional narratives and processes that steer the social stream of consciousness….Truly a chance to geek out over the psychology behind human behavior. Each episode is a glimpse into the trends and patterns of human behavior and the underlying influences that navigate us into different directions. Whether we primarily focus on nutrition or the unconscious, guests share insights, thought-provoking lessons, the nuances of creativity, and the elements of being….us.
Today, I’d like to introduce you to Dr. Damien Thompson, the co-founder of the organization, Frontline Farming, and director of the Center for Food Justice and Healthy Communities.
In addition to his training in anthropology, Dr. Thompson holds a certification in Permaculture Design and a 200-hour Yoga Alliance Teaching Certification. His interests center on the building of community food systems, small-scale urban food production, developing community, and cultural practices related to food and medicine, teaching and learning in education, and permaculture. Dr. Thompson has a keen interest in how communities can utilize traditional and modern information and practices to build food systems that uplift marginalized and oppressed peoples, restore ecosystems, build biodiversity, support cultural diversity as well as provide individuals and families with the highest level of access to the means to support their own health (and we talk quite a bit about these topics today). I should mention that Dr. Thompson is also a mayor-appointed member of the Sustainable Food Council for the City of Denver, and a co-chair for the city’s Good Food Purchasing policy group. No doubt, he plays a significant role in the necessary trend of regenerative agriculture and our future connection to food.
In our interview, we bridge his education in anthropology to his farming practice and social work as the co-founder of Frontline Farming. Specifically, we geek out on the fundamentals of farming and the benefits of permaculture and a regenerative agriculture focus. We further dissected the social challenges surrounding food security, justice, and sovereignty as well as the equitable changes needed in our food system.
In this episode, we specifically discuss:
-Frontline Farming's mission.
-Advantages and disadvantages of regenerative agriculture practices with a focus on no-tilling/conservation tilling, water conservation, terracing, and cover crops.
-Inequality in our present food systems and the need for changes in food security, food justice, and food sovereignty.
-The connection between big data, food systems, and racial equity.
-The importance and repercussions of the language we use in our discussion about food systems and the policy that supports them.
___________________________________
To learn more about Dr. Thompson, visit https://www.frontlinefarming.org/.
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is a wedding officiant serving Denver, Boulder, Golden, and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in Denver (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings and now offers Colorado elopement ceremonies for couples looking for an intimate experience beyond the boundaries.
Wedding locations: Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Lower Highlands, and Sloan Lake. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more. If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
Wedding Planning Tips
Episode #29 - Overcoming Illness and Poor Health with a Natural Diet and Mindfulness | Asha Gala
Introduction
Welcome to “The Elements of Being” podcast, where I dissect and explore the minds and habits of psychologists, filmmakers, writers, and industry icons. Essentially, we examine the mental and emotional narratives and processes that steer the social stream of consciousness….Truly a chance to geek out over the psychology behind human behavior. Each episode is a glimpse into the trends and patterns of human behavior and the underlying influences that guide us in different directions. Whether we focus primarily on nutrition or the unconscious, guests share insights, thought-provoking lessons, the nuances of creativity, and the elements of being… us.
Today, we examine the role of mindfulness in transforming your physical health with Asha Gala, a lifestyle coach and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MSBR) Teacher from the farm at Ethos Primary Care. No doubt, a relevant topic for those listeners interested in improving their health and reversing illness. We discussed the early cultural influences on her diet in Mumbai and the challenges of transitioning to the American way of life and diet as an adult. Most certainly, Asha’s experience with her daughter’s chronic sickness opened up a new world of “food as medicine” as she sought a remedy…and we explored the connection of that journey to the challenges her patients face today.
#29 - Overcoming Illness and Poor Health with a Natural Diet and Mindfulness | Asha Gala
We also dissected the early influences on Asha’s dietary and lifestyle approach and how to convince ourselves to move outside of our wired way of life. Our conversation naturally flowed to the common obstacles to transforming your health, the role of compassion, and the importance of the readiness for change. We highlighted the foundation of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and the role of awareness and the breath, as well.
To learn more about Asha Gala, https://www.ethosprimarycare.com/asha-gala.
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is a wedding officiant serving Denver, Boulder, Golden, and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in Denver (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings and now offers Colorado elopement ceremonies for couples looking for an intimate experience beyond the boundaries.
Wedding locations: Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Lower Highlands, and Sloan Lake. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more. If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
Wedding Planning Tips
Episode #28 - Examining Our Connection to Racism with Dr. Maidenberg
Introduction
Welcome to “The Elements of Being” podcast, where I dissect and explore the minds and habits of psychologists, filmmakers, writers, and industry icons. Essentially, we examine the mental and emotional narratives and processes that steer the social stream of consciousness….Truly a chance to geek out over the psychology behind human behavior. Each episode is a glimpse into the trends and patterns of human behavior, and the underlying influences that guide us in different directions. Whether we focus primarily on nutrition or the unconscious, guests share insights, thought-provoking lessons, the nuances of creativity, and the elements of being… us.
Today, we explore our connection to racism with Dr. Michelle Maidenberg. We examine how cultural perspectives and experiences shape much of the racist rhetoric and perspectives in our lives, and how we might perceive and manage the guilt and shame we feel. We also dive into how we might approach situations in which friends, family, or colleagues consciously or unconsciously share racist rhetoric. And finally... besides breaking down the role of biases, sitting with discomfort, and facing social fears related to racism, we break down the importance of mindfulness in our daily approach.
I’m excited to share my genuine and thought-provoking conversation with you. Dr. Maidenberg is the president and clinical director of Westchester Group Works, a center for group therapy in Harrison, NY, where she maintains a private practice.
She is an adjunct graduate professor of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Human Behavior at the Silver School of Social Work at New York University.
Dr. Maidenberg has also published in varied professional journals, the New York Times, the Daily News, Fitness, Woman’s Day, Parents, and many other publications. Her book Free Your Child from Overeating guides parents through mind-body strategies that help kids and teens develop life-long healthful behaviors.
Actively engaged in promoting the health of her community, Michelle is the co-founder and clinical director of the Thru My Eyes Foundation, which helps parents with life-threatening illnesses create a video legacy for their families. She is a Certified Group Therapist through the American Group Psychotherapy Association. Michelle has advanced training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and much more.
To learn more about Dr. Michelle Maidenberg, visit https://michellemaidenberg.com/!
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is a wedding officiant serving Denver, Boulder, Golden, and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in Denver (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings and now offers Colorado elopement ceremonies for couples looking for an intimate experience beyond the boundaries.
Wedding locations: Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Lower Highlands, and Sloan Lake. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more. If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
Wedding Planning Tips
Episode #27 - Living with Intent
Introduction
Welcome to “The Elements of Being” podcast, where I dissect and explore the minds and habits of psychologists, filmmakers, writers, and industry icons. Essentially, we examine the mental and emotional narratives and processes that steer the social stream of consciousness….Truly a chance to geek out over the psychology behind human behavior. Each episode is a glimpse into the trends and patterns of human behavior and the underlying influences that guide us in different directions. Whether we focus primarily on nutrition or the unconscious, guests share insights, thought-provoking lessons, the nuances of creativity, and the elements of being… us.
Wellll….In 2020, our will was challenged, as well as the habits and routines that defined our lives up to that point. The pandemic, social unrest, and election friction certainly shook the best of our physical, emotional, and mental selves in different ways. Similar to past years, I take January to reflect on the prior 12 months, adopt new mental software (habits, perspectives, and patterns of thinking), and reboot. As my best friend Craig mentioned this past May, this historic period is what we've been preparing for over the last decade: The steps to improve physical health. The steps to manage stress effectively. The steps to adapt effectively and efficiently. Having been tested, this is truly the best time to reexamine my adaptability and the protocol needed to move forward as my best self. And I challenge you to make the same pledge.
Although the popular approach at this time of year is to list desired behaviors and actions first, the most critical step (and the actual beginning) is identifying the principles that steer my behavior. In essence, all behaviors and perspectives extend from this moral/ethical/philosophical base. Although I don't expect to live perfectly and follow every principle and intent to a "T," they will certainly steer my conscious and unconscious daily. It is my "business plan" for the new "fiscal year" of my personal life. I encourage you to think about the plan I’m about to share as an example and formulate your own approach within a similar template.
Please keep in mind that "living" always requires effort, and the root of all being is interaction. The universe is undoubtedly interconnected, and true isolation is non-existent. My presence... my actions... my movements... all affect my environment and other living things.
Although my intents serve my selfish needs, they also serve a good beyond myself (for example, being there for my family for years to come, protecting our natural environment, depending less on healthcare, contributing to empathetic and compassionate energy in the community, and more.). All of us can curate a better world with the same intent.
So, what are my principles? What will steer my behavior and perspectives in 2021? I'll admit that I’m not reinventing the wheel this year…I’m simply amplifying my approach and effect in our beautiful world. In 2005, I created a business plan over the course of three months. Little did I know, this practice not only provided the structure for my professional endeavors for the next fifteen years but it guided my day-to-day personal approach as well. It steered my reflection process and organized my thoughts about “living.” It provided my purpose to “live with intent and to guide people in their journey to understand themselves, the people around them, and their interaction with the world.” No small undertaking and a challenge I believe I was meant and fit to do. From day one, I committed to an alignment of my professional and personal lives based on this purpose. In this period, the relationships I developed, the self-improvement book I published, and this very podcast exemplifies the progression of that original plan.
And each year I reexamine that original intent….that mission. I update it with modified principles based on my status and the status of the world at a given point. In 2021, here is my list of principles. Of course, I wouldn’t dare to stop there. Like the many others who approach the new year with a new sense of invigoration and passion, I’ve also broken the habits and behaviors that I seek to change or amplify. Photo: Cruise America - All of us need to cruise in nature to reflect on this past year.
*******
To learn more about Michael, visit https://www.theelementsofbeing.com/!
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is a wedding officiant serving Denver, Boulder, Golden, and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in Denver (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings and now offers Colorado elopement ceremonies for couples looking for an intimate experience beyond the boundaries.
Wedding locations: Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Lower Highlands, and Sloan Lake. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more. If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
Wedding Planning Tips
Episode #26 - Designing the Mind in a New Year with Ryan A. Bush
Introduction
Welcome to “The Elements of Being” podcast, where I dissect and explore the minds and habits of psychologists, filmmakers, writers, and industry icons. Essentially, we examine the mental and emotional narratives and processes that steer the social stream of consciousness….Truly a chance to geek out over the psychology behind human behavior. Each episode is a glimpse into the trends and patterns of human behavior, and the underlying influences that guide us in different directions. Whether we focus primarily on nutrition or the unconscious, guests share insights, thought-provoking lessons, the nuances of creativity, and the elements of being… us.
In today’s episode, I dove into the “mind” with author Ryan A. Bush, discussing his new book, Designing the Mind: The Principles of Psychitecture. His book was a complete indulgence to discuss and certainly appropriate for a deep exploration of ourselves at the start of a new year as we recover from the ongoing pandemic, an economic downturn, the rise of social protests, and an enflamed US election. I think most listeners will agree that the true start of this decade should be on January 1st of 2021 instead… and there’s no better way to understand our current mental software as we are about to reboot.
So, what is Ryan’s psycho-philosophical book about? It combines the ancient adage that true happiness comes from within with the modern metaphor of the mind as an operating system. It integrates the wisdom and insights of ancient mystics, practical philosophers, and cognitive scientists into a mindset and method for reprogramming your own psychological software. Basically, it’s a handbook for mastering your behavior, cognition, and emotions, one algorithm at a time. Whether fear prevents you from pursuing your ambitions, jealousy ruins your relationships, distractions rule your life, or you have an inner critic whose expectations you can never meet, the psychitectural framework will enable you to understand and rewire the hidden patterns behind your biases, habits, and emotional reactions.
If you know me well enough by now, then you probably know I was salivating at the opportunity to discuss these themes in detail…especially in relation to retraining our minds to achieve what we want. We’ll call this episode the prep work for your New Year’s resolutions and intents.
In our interview, here’s what we specifically discussed:
- Whether or not behaviors and perspectives are predetermined.
- How our daily lives specifically contribute to the program of the brain.
- How we can develop the ability to increasingly determine our own subjective experience.
- The basic foundation of psychitecture.
- The influences that corrupt our mental operating system.
- How our default algorithms contribute to many of our psychological problems today.
- The importance of metacognition when critically thinking about a problem.
- The consequences of our mental patterns and biases.
- The false assumptions about exceptional critical thinking skills and self-control.
- How to beta-test and challenge our belief system.
- How our emotions weren't built to deal with modern life.
- The role of unregulated emotion and the underlying influence on brutal dictators, school shooters, and belligerent bigots.
To learn more about Ryan A. Bush, visit https://designingthemind.org/!
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is a wedding officiant serving Denver, Boulder, Golden, and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in Denver (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings and now offers Colorado elopement ceremonies for couples looking for an intimate experience beyond the boundaries.
Wedding locations: Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Lower Highlands, and Sloan Lake. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more. If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
Wedding Planning Tips
Episode #25 - Our Cognitive and Emotional Connection to Film Narrative with Dr. Weik von Mossner
Introduction
Welcome to “The Elements of Being” podcast, where I dissect and explore the minds and habits of psychologists, filmmakers, writers, and industry icons. Essentially, we examine the mental and emotional narratives and processes that steer the social stream of consciousness….Truly a chance to geek out over the psychology behind human behavior. Each episode is a glimpse into the trends and patterns of human behavior, and the underlying influences that guide us in different directions. Whether we focus primarily on nutrition or the unconscious, guests share insights, thought-provoking lessons, the nuances of creativity, and the elements of being… us.
In today’s episode, I examine our emotional connection to film narrative with Dr. Alexa Weik von Mossner…. In particular, we focus on documentaries about veganism. She is a writer and ecocritical cultural studies scholar who works on American literature, film, and digital media. Dr. Weik von Mossner’s scholarly research explores contemporary environmental culture from a cognitive perspective with a particular focus on affect and emotion.
After working for several years in the German film and television industry, she earned her Ph.D. in Literature and is currently appointed as Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of Klagenfurt in Austria. Currently, Dr. Weik von Mossner is a principal investigator on the research project “Narrative Encounters with Ethnic American Literatures” and a researcher on the project “Cinema and Environment: Affective Ecologies in the Anthropocene”.
Along with other prominent researchers, she is developing a new interdisciplinary research field in the environmental humanities, Empirical Ecocriticism. Dr. Weik von Mossner’s academic book publications include Cosmopolitan Minds: Literature, Emotion, and the Transnational Imagination and Affective Ecologies: Empathy, Emotion, and Environmental Narrative. She is also the editor of Moving Environments: Affect, Emotion, Ecology, and Film and the co-editor of
#25 - Our Cognitive and Emotional Connection to Film Narrative with Dr. Weik von Mossner
The Anticipation of Catastrophe: Environmental Risk in North American Literature and Culture.
In our interview, here’s what we specifically discussed:
-Dr. Weik von Mossner’s experience in German television and her creative writing process.
-The foundation and long-term implications of cognitive ecocritical analysis.
-The depictions and narrativization of food and how they engage audiences.
-How the type of medium can change the imaginary culinary experience.
-Our emotional and neuro reaction to depictions of animal abuse, global warming, and food in general.
-The processes of liberated embodied simulation and how these processes are similar or dissimilar to real-life interactions with physical (edible) objects.
-How the narrative strategies of a documentary, such as Cowspiracy, are mutually reinforcing on the cognitive and affective level.
-The emotionalizing strategies of documentaries on veganism.
To learn more about Dr. Weik von Mossner, visit https://www.alexaweikvonmossner.com/!
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is a wedding officiant serving Denver, Boulder, Golden, and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in Denver (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings and now offers Colorado elopement ceremonies for couples looking for an intimate experience beyond the boundaries.
Wedding locations: Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Lower Highlands, and Sloan Lake. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more. If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!