We met in 2013 at a friend’s backyard party soon after Alicia moved to Montana, and were immediately in our own little orbit. We spent the whole night talking about the stars, the world and telling adventure stories and found out we were quite aligned. We started dating immediately after with many adventures later and the rest is history!
We became business partners and founded Off the Beaten Path Wedding in 2017. Pairing Neal’s photography and Alicia’s planning and officiating, our passion is helping couple’s celebrate their love authentically with intimate weddings and elopements. So, when we were deciding how to get married, we considered a lot of things, including eloping mid-boating trip. Including family was important to Alicia, so we decided to celebrate with our closest family and friends at the Double Diamond X Ranch. The mountain views are so incredible! Tucked away at the end of a valley, the remoteness is magical. With the cabins on-site, everyone could come together, enjoy time in this beautiful place and experience some of the things we love, like rafting. We chose to have our siblings as our wedding party, Neal’s sister and Alicia’s brothers because no matter what, they are there for us even if by Zoom. It felt so right to have them by our side as we promised to be together forever. And writing our own vows with promises that were personal and at times humorous really brought home the commitment we were making. After the big moments were over, we hung out around the campfire and enjoyed an amazing view of the stars. Neal was able to photograph the Milky Way, which made a cool favor for everyone after the wedding! NEOWISE, the comet was also marking its incredibly rare voyage around the sun which only happens once every 7,000 years. Since we met under the night sky, having that happening at the time of the wedding felt very significant.
