Big Sky Waterfall Elopement | Allison + Sydney

It was a first trip to Montana for Allison, Sydney, and eleven of their closest friends and family for a gorgeous elopement at Ousel Falls. Photography by Merissa Lambert Photography.

"Allison and I met over 11 years ago. I asked a mutual friend what she was up to that Sunday morning and she told me she was going to head to a friend's house and invited me to join. I walked into her backyard, saw her sitting there and just felt something that I had never felt before. She took my breath away. We dated for a very short period and decided we needed to experience life some more before this could work. Then the Pandemic taught us all a lot of things. It taught us what truly matters in life and she reached out to me. I couldn’t wait to see her again. Since then, we’ve built two small businesses together and are now married. She is the one shouting for me the loudest, teaching me to be patient with myself, and loves me like nothing I’ve ever experienced. If this story teaches anyone anything, it's to keep living your life, and eventually things will work out far past your expectation.

We honestly had no idea how it would go to elope, not to mention in another state, but Merissa (our photographer) made us feel at home immediately. The funny thing about this entire trip was it was all of our first time to Montana! We told our closest friends of our plan and they said, “we’re coming too.” So, we planned a trip to Big Sky for 13 of us! We wanted the day to be zero stress and all laughs. We popped champagne and I watched my wife get her hair and make up done in a Whataburger T-shirt. We then headed to Ousel Falls to meet Merissa and start our hike to our waterfall. Honestly, it felt like a dream looking back on it now. We are not used to seeing the absolute glorious scenery that IS Montana. I think it’s safe to say for all of us that once we got to the falls it took a minute to take it all in. It was loud, calm, beautiful and perfect. I’d say the same about us." –Sydney