A Scenic Buffalo National River Overlook Elopement

When Madison first reached out to me, she shared that her & Michael had been married for a couple of years, but they had not been able to celebrate it together in a way that felt right for them. At the time, Michael was on his second deployment and they wanted to plan something together that felt deserving of their history and their relationship. They’ve literally known each other since 6th grade & were really good friends over the years, until 2018 when they decided they wanted something more. Fast forward and here we are planning their dream day together. They live in Texas & I live in Alabama, so we wanted to find something between us that fit the vision they’ve held for their elopement/anniversary for so long. That landed us at this beautiful little nook of the woods in Kingston, Arkansas. It’s a little over 8 hours from Birmingham. So, I packed up my little family (my son was around 7 months old at the time) and we made a road trip to the south-central part of the United States.

We saw mountains, river valleys, plains. It was mostly a straight shot to Arkansas, with the exception of stopping every two hours with a baby & getting a flat tire in Memphis. We ended up staying in a little town called Jasper, with a population of less than 500 people. It’s the kind of place where people know each other by name and everyone knows if you’re an outsider, haha! You have zero cell service unless you are in town and the roads are as windy as they are long.

A couple of days before our arrival, the area had seen snow, which we were really excited about since we don’t typically see that a lot in Alabama. That was something I factored into the drive up to Whitaker Point/Hawksbill Crag, but I didn’t anticipate the two-way, one lane road drive up a very steep mountain. I’ve traveled to many places and driven/ridden on some of the scariest roads you can imagine, but I was praying a little harder going up this one, haha!

I met Michael & Madison at the top parking lot. We said our hellos, chit-chatted for a few minutes, & made our way down the trailhead for them to change into their attire. They had a simple first look together & then started the trek up to Whitaker Point. It was the perfect time to talk, get to know them, hear about their story. As we approached our spot, the wind started to pick up. We passed a handful of people on the trail, but it was fairly deserted for a weekday elopement. Instead of hiking to the point, we stopped along the way at a more private spot for them to exchange vows. Their hair was wild & I couldn’t hear anything they said to each other, but I could see the looks on their faces and that’s all I needed to know. We spent a little more time here for portraits and then continued our hike. At the top of the mountain was an open area surrounded by just a few trees, overlooking the most beautiful wooded valley. We spent the rest of our time here, wrapped in golden light. Michael & Madison toasted each other with their favorite drinks, happy to just be together. We hiked back at dusk, the last cars in the parking lot. Full of happiness, sad to leave after spending a couple of days together (you can see their day-before couple session at Lost River Valley here). When I got back to my Airbnb, I couldn’t stop thinking about how this is exactly what elopements are supposed to feel like.

Here’s a few of my favorites from our journey together.

XO, Dakota