Montana weddings
Snowy Glacier National Park Elopement
Kaytlin & Nick | Glacier National Park
From the bride…
Nick and I had our first date in Glacier a few years ago. We hiked to Iceberg Lake and then had dinner at the restaurant in the Many Glacier Hotel. After that, we had many adventures in Glacier National Park, including getting engaged! We knew that we wanted to also get married in Glacier, so Many Glacier seemed like the perfect idea to bring our story full circle! Nick and I decided that we wanted our ceremony to be intimate, so we decided to elope with only our immediate families in attendance. Nick is one of seven children, so we still had a decently large group!
THE ATTIRE
I went home to Missouri to visit my parents shortly after getting engaged and on a whim, decided to go to a bridal shop to see if I could get an idea of what I generally wanted to wear on my wedding day. I fell in love with a high neck, gorgeous lace gown and bought it that same day! I also wore a fur shawl that I borrowed from my grandmother. Thank goodness for this since it was so cold (40 degrees in June!).
Nick was more deliberate than I in his wedding day attire planning. He got his gray wool suit custom made in Montana. The lining was a light blue and brown print with his monogram inside.
THE VENUE
We thought that the deck of the Many Glacier Hotel would be the perfect venue for our big day, but the weather that day had other ideas. It was hailing and the wind was so strong that the hail was going sideways! Thankfully, we have a great family who was willing to hike a little bit into the woods where we found a quiet spot by the lake that was protected from the weather.
THE CEREMONY
It was very special to have Nick’s brother, Ethan be both the best man and officiant because he was able to personalize our ceremony just for us! My brother, Kayne, and his friend, Anthony, played their guitars and sung during our ceremony. A recording of this is on our wedding video, so we can completely relive the day anytime we want!
The most anticipated moment of our wedding day was hearing each other read our vows. We decided to write our own and didn’t let each other know anything about them beforehand. Our vows are now framed in our bedroom so we can remind ourselves of them every day!
BOAT RIDE
After the ceremony, we chartered a boat and cruised around the lake for an hour while we enjoyed everyone’s company, popped champagne, and ate snacks.
LOOKING BACK
One of my favorite parts of our wedding was everyone being so flexible with us because of the weather. Our families were down to go anywhere we asked them to–even a mile into the woods in dresses and heels in 40-degree weather!
ADVICE
Pick one or two things that are important to each of you and focus on those things. Let the other details work themselves out and don’t stress. Your best memories won’t be your decor or makeup, but enjoying the time with your new spouse and celebrating with friends and family! Be sure to take a few intimate moments with just your spouse and soak up the day.
CREDITS:
Photographer: Marianne Wiest Photography
Location: Glacier National Park
Old West Wedding Inspiration in Montana
From the photographer, Stella Kelsie Photography: There’s just somethin’ ’bout a cowboy. We wanted a western themed couple, but not the typical modern western bride and groom we see so often here in Montana. Instead, we drew inspiration from the past, with a groom that looked like he was straight out of an old west movie, a horse, and a ghost town that once was home to real life vigilantes. Our bride had enough of a modern touch to appeal to today’s brides, but not lacking in old west glam. Her bouquet was a reflection of the sunset, that one that every good cowboy rides into at the end of the day.
Our handsome cowboy stole his beautiful bride’s heart, and we all enjoyed the evening’s spectacular sunset over the sagebrush of the wild west.
The Style Team
Photographer: Stella Kelsie Photography | Event Planner: Events by Autumn | Floral Designer: Earth Within | Dress Store: Velvet Bride | Makeup Artist: Shear Art Salon | Groom’s Attire: Jones Leather and Livestock | Location: Bannack Ghost Town
A Rustic Luxe Montana Ranch Styled Elopement
From the photographer, KC Kreit Photogaphy: This western ranch styled shoot is a shoutout to Montana. We had everything from horseback riding, a carriage, a styled dinner, and of course antique turquoise jewelry. The bride, Miss Montana 2015, wore Willowby’s Penelope gown and she paired it with hand-painted cowboy boots, a vintage Native American hair pin, and new and antique turquoise jewelry. The groom wore a cowboy hat along with a ranch style twist on a tux. Other aspects included floral tablescapes, vintage turquoise artwork, Montana made decor, calligraphy invitations and menus, an outdoor bar with cocktails, a styled cake table, and a fire pit to complete the Montana ranch feel.
THE STYLE TEAM
Photographer: KC Kreit Photogaphy | Floral Designer: Habitat Floral Stuido and Events | Location: The Resort at Paws Up | Bride’s Gown: Belles & Lace Bridal | Groom’s Attire: Kaufmans Menswear | Invitations: Sweetgrass Paper Company
A Texas Meets Montana Ranch Wedding
From the photographer, Lauren Brown: Jonas had one request for Jenny when she asked him about wedding planning. Just one. The couple lives in Austin, Texas but were getting married in Ennis, Montana where Jenny had spent so much time vacationing with her family – fishing in the summer and skiing in the winter. Jenny and her father George had taken charge of the wedding planning, and with the help of the talented team at Lukas Trudeau had put together a beautiful plan for a light and classic outdoor reception that would perch above Ennis on a high plateau and look out on the pristine Ennis Lake and surrounding mountains. Jonas’s one request was for a little piece of home, a little reminder of Austin, set to the Montana backdrop. Austin is well known for it’s music and festivals, and one of Jenny and Jonas’s favorite of these is the Austin City Limits festival, held yearly in Zilker Park near downtown. One of the hallmarks of the ACL festival is a giant picture frame, where friends meet and gather and re-orient. This is what Jonas wanted. A giant picture frame reminiscent of the one where he and Jenny so often gather with their friends. And so he built one. And perched on a plateau overlooking Ennis Lake and the surrounding valley and mountains in the distance, friends gathered and laughed and snapped photos under a giant white picture frame.
THE WEDDING VENDORS
Photographer: Lauren Brown Photography // Second Shooter: Lindsey Mulcare Photography // Event Planner + Design and Decor: Lukas Trudeau Event Co // Band: Andrew Gromiller and the Organically Grown // Dress Designer: Anna Campbell // Calligrapher: Cast Calligraphy and Design // Cake Designer: Elle’s Belles Bakery // Culinary: LaFoley Kitchen // Rentals: Montana Party Rentals // Ceremony Location: Trinity Episcopal Church // Pre Ceremony Location: El Western // Reception: Channels Ranch
A Spring Wedding in Montana
From the photographer, Lauren Brown Photography:
Ask around about the secret to a long and happy marriage and you are sure to get a colorful variety of answers and advice. But there is one piece of solid marriage wisdom that in incredibly common, and that is, “be friends with your spouse.” Anna and Tom will have no problem with this. In fact, the story goes that they were friends first – they were introduced in college, at a time when Anna was determined to focus on her studies and not be distracted by dating. So the two remained “just friends,” establishing a solid base of companionship and compatibility long before things took a turn towards the romantic.The wedding of these two friends was beautiful. This year the spring in Montana was a wet one, with rain and grey skies for weeks on end. But the rain stopped and the clouds parted just in time to give Anna and Tom an absolutely gorgeous wedding day!
THE VENDOR TEAM
Photographer: Lauren Brown Photography – Second Shooter: Lindsey Mulcare Photography // Event Planner: Reed & Lee Weddings // Floral Designer: Lukas Trudeau Event Co // Band: Blue Jack // Invitation Designer: Cast Calligraphy // Venue: Chico Hot Springs Resort
A Homegrown Garden Wedding in Montana
From the bride, Robin: After eight adventurous years of dating, Tyler got down on one knee after we hiked to the top of Wayna Picchu, a site overlooking Macchu Picchu. From hiking to train rides to buses, we didn’t have service for days, so we were able to relish in our engagement and begin fantasizing about our wedding. We were in the midst of a three month backpacking journey and started counting how many countries we will have had been to together by the end of the trip, and realized it would be 22. We quickly decided that travel should be the theme of our wedding, and every table should be a country that we have been to together.
I am a very creative person, so it was hard for me to not DIY everything! But honestly, some of the best advice I got was to leave it to the professionals, so week of you can relax and enjoy the moment with everyone. Thus, I just incorporated DIY into a few special, heartfelt areas.
The venue of our wedding was decided before we were even engaged: my parents’ 400 acre farm in Montana. It was so special and heartfelt to get married at my home. We had a lot of fun incorporating the things most important to us into our wedding: travel, Montana, music, and friends/family.
Tyler and I are concert junkies in San Francisco, so we knew we needed as much live music as possible, which ended up being all of it! We had a cellist in the secret garden for the entry music and processional. And as soon as we said “I do,” a bag piper started playing (to represent my Scottish heritage!) to escort the guests to cocktail hour. At cocktail hour, we had acoustic guitar, and after that a fiddle player (from the band) escorted the guests to the reception where the rest of the band was waiting to play the rest of the night!
The travel theme was most evident at the reception. Our guest book was a globe, our seating directory was bag tags directing you to a country, travel books and maps were everywhere, and we had photos of us from around the world on all of the tables.
Everyone’s name was painted on a river rock from Glacier National Park and placed on their table setting. I also photoshopped a greeting and thank you card that was on everyone’s place setting.
I’m sure every bride says this, but it is truly hard for me to pick a favorite memory of the day. Everything was so special, that I was truly blissed out on love for months to follow, just reminiscing every moment and detail. From yoga with my bridesmaids in the morning, to serenading each other with our vows, to Tyler whispering how beautiful I am and how much he loves my dress (win!) during the ceremony.
The dance floor was packed until nearly 2am! I have to admit, I do think we had the best wedding band ever!!
MY ADVICE:
I really struggled with the invite list since we are both from a small town and wanted so many people to be there, but at the same time, wanted that intimate feeling. Looking back at the wedding, I am glad I ended up sending out all of those extra invites and having more smiling faces there to support us. It is not everyday that you get to see everyone you love from all facets of your life get together in one place to support you: relish in that.
Secondly, only look at blogs and Pinterest in the beginning to gather your own ideas, but once you make a decision, move on! You can’t keep second guessing things and changing ideas because you will never get anywhere, and, not to mention, your vendors might get annoyed!
Plus, for me, who was getting married outdoors in Montana, I had to keep remembering that the natural setting is beautiful by itself, so I don’t need to keep stressing about dressing it up. There is something to be said about letting the surroundings speak for themselves.
Thirdly, DIY is great, but also stressful. Even without DIY, the week of your wedding can be overwhelming trying to navigate everyone, see relatives, get ready, RELAX, etc. So incorporate it where you can, and let your vendors do the rest. They are extremely good at what they do – just trust them!
And lastly, take a few minutes throughout the day and night to soak it all in. Everything is moving so quickly that it is easy to get flustered and let it all slip by you in a whirlwind. Step aside and just look around you to take mental pictures of your hard work, the love that surrounds you, and the best day of your life!
RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Photography: Marianne Wiest Photography // Coordination & Styling: Joyce Walkup // Videography: Britney Paige Cinematography // Catering: Cuisine Machine // Liquor: Casey’s Bar & Grill // Band: Savannah Jack // Rentals: The Party Store // Flower & Design: Beargrass Gardens Florals & Events // Photobooth: The Fotowagen // Cake: A Whole Lotta Yum // Dress: Rue de Seine Bridal // Bridesmaid Dresses: Joanna August // Groom & Groomsmen: J.Crew // Makeup: Kristen O’Leary // Hair: Zachary Morad
A Destination Wedding in Montana
Traveling from Canada, Brittney & Forrest planned a destination wedding at the beautiful Lodge at Whitefish Lake. They have known each other for 13 years, but not until 3 years ago did their friendship turn into more. Their wedding date was the last date open at the lodge when they called to book it early on in the year, and it was the same day of Forrest’s proposal to Brittney the year before. They decided October 25th must just be meant to be. A few years earlier, they had tickets to the Brad Paisley concert in Calgary, on October 25th, and during his song “I Thought I Loved you then” Forrest got down on his knee and popped the question.
From the bride: I am a hippie at heart and tried to incorporate outdoorsy boho elements. I chose a mint and navy blue color palette.
We got married in a tent looking out onto the lake.
My advice: Don’t stress too much about wedding planning! Because once it’s over you realize how fun it actually was and kind of miss it.
Brittney’s RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Photographer: Jennifer Mooney Photography // Venue & Caterer: Lodge at Whitefish Lake // Event Design, DJ & Officaint: B & T Sound Productions // Hair Stylist: Christina Stevens // Flowers: Mum’s Florist
An Intimate Pajama Ceremony in the Mountains
From the photographer, Lauren Brown Photography: On a crisp, snowy January day, in a little resort town high in the Montana mountains, Amy and Patrick became husband and wife. Theirs was not the traditional wedding, in fact far from it. Opting for a small, intimate ceremony, this fun and freewheeling young couple said “I do” in the close company of loved ones in a small spa room at the Rainbow Lodge Ranch in Big Sky, Montana. Keeping it the definition of casual, the gorgeous Amy wore custom kimono-inspired silk pajamas with Patrick and the wedding guests following suite in their own assortment of comfortable and cozy nightwear. Patrick’s mother officiated the warm and joyful candlelit ceremony. The couple read their handwritten vows while settled atop pillows made to look like logs. While theirs may not have been a day filled with familiar wedding customs, it was a day filled with the most important element of any wedding – love.
