Rainy Crystal Creek Reservoir Elopement on Pikes Peak

Zoie and Alex came to Colorado from Missouri to get married on the side of a mountain, with their people, their playlists, and a whole lot of heart.

They had a permit in hand and a plan in mind… an outdoor elopement at Crystal Creek Reservoir, just off the Pikes Peak Highway near Colorado Springs. The lake behind them, clouds overhead, and everyone they love standing close. Sounds like the perfect day, right?

Then, Colorado did what it does best, and gave us some turbulence on our afternoon plans.

A Day That Didn't Go to Plan

The rain rolled in early, quiet and steady at first, and then harder. By the time we were all gathering at the reservoir, it was hailing. Thunder, cold wind, a total shift in what the day was supposed to be.

We tucked into the tiny gift shop to regroup. The kind of space that smells like postcards and sunscreen, filled with strangers trying to find dry places to stand.

Zoie and Alex stayed calm. No panic. No drama. Just patience.

We were going over plan B’s and C’s and at one point the shop manager said, “You can do it in here if you need to, we’ll close down.” Oh heck no. I wasn’t going to let them get married in a gift shop when we had the entire beautiy of Pikes Peak around us. We waited. We all know how Colorado can roll. Weather moves, quickly.

Making Space for What the Day Wanted

While we waited, I pulled them aside for a few photos, just the two of them. Zoie wore a locket with her father’s ashes around her neck, and Alex looked at her like she was the only person in the world. Jeezer, friends. What a love.

We found a quiet rhythm there, just for a moment. In the middle of the chaos, the rain, the uncertainty of what might unfold, they had that calm.

Eventually, the storm eased up. Not gone, but gentler. Enough that we could step outside and make our way down to the water. The chairs stayed in the vehicles that brought them, with the ground too wet to use. No one minded. Everyone just stood close and showed up. Each person fiding their spot on the shore, Pikes Peak large and snow-capped in front of them.

The Ceremony

Their friend married them by the edge of Crystal Creek Reservoir, with the mountains quiet in the distance and clouds hanging low.

No aisle. No arch. Just love and soft rain, and people pulled in close.

Zoie and Alex wore custom Chucks. Their crew was tattooed, wild, and joyful, a chosen family kind of crowd. The kind that shows up big, supports loud, and loves hard. The kind of group you’d want behind you in any kind of weather.

What the Storm Gave Us

This spot is usually a hard one for light, too harsh during the day, too backlit from the west. But that storm? It gave us cloud cover. Texture. Soft light. Color. Mood.

What was supposed to be a sunny mountain wedding turned into something deeper. More honest. The kind of day you remember not because it was perfect, but because everyone rolled with the imperfection and leaned on each other to find that silver lining.

If you’re planning an elopement in Colorado Springs, or looking at Pikes Peak wedding locations, this is one of those spots that can be as moody as it is magical.

Not every elopement goes to plan. But some of them become more than you expected.

Zoie and Alex didn’t get the weather they were hoping for. But they got something better: intimacy, presence, and a reminder that sometimes love shows up strongest when nothing else is going right.

If you're dreaming of a wedding that feels like you, no matter what the forecast says, I'm here for it. Let's plan something real, wild, and fully yours.