Weddings May–October · Venue Only, weddings of up to 150 guests
Barn Weddings on a Real 1914 Colorado Ranch, Where the Loudest Sound Is a Red-Tail Hawk
Younger Ranch (est. 1914) is our sixth-generation family cattle ranch north of Colorado Springs, six miles east of Monument. Come through the gate, follow the winding gravel ranch road, and you’ll see why we call it a little slice of heaven.
Our Family’s Ranch
Our family has worked this land since 1914, when Charles Younger began buying the ranch, and the Younger family still runs cattle here today. We, Rex and Gina Younger, host the weddings, and if you love old barns and old photos, you can read our full story.
Our Barns and Ceremony Site, Space by Space
From getting ready to the last dance, here’s where it all happens.
Getting ready
The Bride Barn
A 100+ year-old granary we’ve repurposed for you and your bridesmaids. Look for the hand-carved initials in the wall boards, left by residents and ranch hands of yesteryear.
Inside: custom bathroom vanities, cow hides, sheep skins, comfy antique furniture, a white shiplap ceiling, rustic tin, and barn wood. Plenty of mirrors, including two full-body mirrors, and a private powder room for the bride.
Getting ready
The Groom’s Tipi
Up the ranch road into the timber, where the boys can be boys. A spacious 25′ tall tipi with rustic leather couches and a paver floor.
Outside, a patio set where the guys can hang out among the swaying pine trees.
Ceremony
The Ceremony Site
A 25-mile view of Pikes Peak, straight across from the ceremony site, set among towering pines and soaring red-tail hawks. Your guests sit on wood benches.
A hand-peeled, blue-stained ponderosa pine arch surrounds the two of you as you say, “I do!”
Cocktail hour
The Cocktail Barn
Our open-air hay barn (a pole barn) with market lights and 360-degree views. Wine barrels and a wagon set the scene.
Your hors d’oeuvres are served on an authentic, refurbished antique railroad luggage cart.
Reception
The Reception Barn & Patio
A smooth, stained and waxed concrete dance floor. Historic barn wood wainscot around the whole interior. Antique barbed-wire strands from the ranch hang each market light. Tables and chairs are included with your venue rental, and the barn seats up to 150 in different arrangements. It’s heated for cool Colorado evenings, and the big sliding barn doors open when the night is warm.
Step out to the stamped concrete patio with market lights and our handmade whiskey barrel fire pit. Concrete walkways lead down to the ceremony site and to the restrooms.
Optional add-on
The Texas Longhorn Experience
This is a working cattle ranch, and our Texas Longhorns are part of the family. We keep them near your wedding, and the two of you get a photoshoot with them, horns and all. It’s the kind of photo your friends will ask about for years. The Texas Longhorn Experience is an optional add-on; just ask us when you book.
Reception
The “Grain-Bin-Bar”
A handmade copper bar top, with a whiskey-barrel table inside.
History in Every Board
In 1895, Charles Younger married Lucy Elliot, the daughter of a well-known Monument merchant. For several years Charles ran his father-in-law’s shop, Elliott’s Carriage & Wagon Repository, and freighted lumber to Cripple Creek by horse-drawn wagon.
After Charles began buying the ranch in 1914, the family took the carriage building down board by board, numbered every piece, hauled it east and raised it again here on the ranch. It still stands near the wedding area today. It isn’t a wedding space, but it’s a treasured part of our family’s history, and one of the reasons we say this land holds more than a century of stories. Read the full family story.
Rain or Shine
Colorado weather can change its mind, and we plan for it. We have Plan B and Plan C options for inclement weather that can be put into action on the day of your wedding.
If the weather turns, the heated Reception Barn seats up to 150, so everyone has a place inside, and we’ll walk you through our weather plans on your tour. More answers are on our FAQs page.
Why Couples Choose Younger Ranch
- It’s the real thing. A sixth-generation family cattle ranch, with more than a century of history on the land.
- Texas Longhorns in your photos. Add the Texas Longhorn Experience and our Longhorns stay near your wedding for a couple’s photoshoot you won’t get anywhere else.
- The view. Pikes Peak behind you at the ceremony site.
- The whole venue is yours. Exclusive use for 12 hours with Venue Only, for weddings of up to 150 guests.
- It’s private. A private ranch, closed to drop-in visitors.
- Your choice of vendors. You choose your florist, DJ, photographer and other non-required vendors. Your caterer, coordinator and bar service come from our required lists. Tables and chairs are included with your venue rental; additional rentals such as linens, glassware and china are handled by your caterer and ordered through our rental vendors, Event Rents or Colorado Party Rentals. Have another rental in mind? Just ask.
“The Pikes Peak view from the center of the arch at the ceremony site was breathtaking.… I could not have pictured a better venue for our once in a lifetime day!”
Kaylee, WeddingWire, June 2024
“The ranch itself is stunning, with breathtaking views of Pikes Peak that truly take your breath away. The facilities are top notch, with an adorable bridal suite that is both practical and beautiful.”
Terri, WeddingWire, September 2023
Come Walk the Ranch
Pictures only go so far. Book a free tour and see the ceremony site, the barns, and the view of Pikes Peak in person.