When I hear the word "Glacier," I have to admit - my heart goes pitter patter. And when I hear the words "Glacier National Park elopement" I darn near about have a heart attack. That's how much I love it up there. So when Meagan and Brian contacted me about meeting up with them to photograph their wedding ceremony (with just them, their officiant and me), I was more than a little excited. They had never been to Glacier, but had always wanted to visit, and figured this was a great place to be married. And oh, it was. It was, it was, it was, a million times over. Montana pulled out all the stops for them and the weather was perfect, complete ...
Married amongst the Mission Mountains :: {Mariah and Erryn’s Sky Ridge Ranch Montana Wedding}
When you plan your wedding in Montana, there's always a risk that mountain views might be obscured by wildfire smoke. Unbelievably, this year, we really haven't had to deal with smoke all that much from our own fires...but smoke doesn't obey state lines, and it drifted over from Canada, Washington and Oregon and planted itself right in front of the beautiful Mission Mountains - and on Mariah and Erryn's wedding day. It's a part of life here, so everyone took it in stride, but we all were secretly wishing and hoping it would dissipate, especially since Erryn's family came all the way from Chicago, and we all wanted them to see just how amazing ...
Running through the Woods :: {Kristeen and Colt’s Rock the Dress Session}
Oh, how I adore rock the dress sessions! They are just so much fun - relaxed, beautiful, playful, creative, and most importantly they take place outside of the wedding day timeline to allow more flexibility with image-making. Don't get me wrong, I love making photos during wedding days too, and Kristeen and Colt's day was certainly no exception, but there's something just so special about doing these types of portraits without time constraints, and simply allowing yourself to go with the flow of the day and just follow the light and let it do its thing. So that's what we did. It happened to be a very smoky day since wildfires in Canada, ...
A Montana Kind of Love :: {Kristeen and Colt’s Sky Ridge Ranch Wedding}
I'm always a little blown away by how quickly time flies when I'm having fun - one day I'm photographing Kristeen and Colt's engagement session in February at Sky Ridge Ranch and we've got snow up to our knees, and the next, I'm marveling at the gorgeous summer vistas the ranch provided Kristeen and Colt on their wedding day. It truly was an absolutely beautiful day for these two to be married. The skies were blue, the lemonade was refreshing, and the love was tangible. As Kristeen walked down the aisle with her father, Colt visibly became choked up as he saw his radiant bride smiling at him. There was so much emotion in their sweet ...
The Mountains are Calling :: Megan and Zach’s Montana Waterfall Wedding
It's not every day that I get asked if I'll photograph a Montana waterfall wedding. But holy moly, I wish it were! When Megan contacted me a while back and asked me if I'd be willing to hike up to the falls for an intimate wedding with just her, her fiancé Zach, and their families, I was absolutely stoked. I truly love this type of creativity, adventure, and pure Montana awesomeness, and I knew we'd all have so much fun together. Megan told me that she and Zach had been road tripping in Montana a few years ago (they are both from Ohio) and had stumbled across this hike to the waterfall. When it came time to get married, they both knew they ...
Winter in the Mountains – {Kristeen & Colt’s Montana Portrait Session at Sky Ridge Ranch}
From the moment I talked to Kristeen on the phone (and we exclaimed over the fact that we're both "K" Kristines - woot woot! we're rare, I tell you!), I knew we'd just have a blast working together! So, when Kristeen called to tell me she and Colt were in Missoula, visiting from their home base in Hawaii, and that they had decided they wanted to take advantage of the snow we had here to do some fun portraits, I was completely game. We all carpooled together up to Sky Ridge Ranch (which is where they'll be getting married this summer - such a beautiful venue!), and decided to tromp around in the snow and make the most of the white-capped ...
An October Kind of Love – {Jennifer and Brian’s Spokane Wedding at the Roberts Mansion}
There is something decidedly romantic about an autumn wedding - especially when it takes place at a gorgeous mansion surrounded by colorful foliage, and really celebrates an intimate ceremony. When I met up with Jennifer and Brian at the Roberts Mansion in Spokane, Washington, sun streamed in through the stained glass windows as Jennifer readied herself to see her groom. And as she stepped out of the mansion doors and he saw her for the first time, his eyes lit up and a big smile spread across his face. Their ceremony was thoughtful, simple and beautiful. The two held each other's hands and looked into one another's eyes as they ...
An Autumn Love in Majestic Montana – {Lindsay and Paul’s Double Arrow Lodge Wedding}
What is it about autumn that is just so magical? The beautiful colors? The exceptionally golden light as the day winds down? The crisp, cool air? I'm not exactly sure what the answer may be, but I can tell you that Lindsay and Paul's wedding day was magical, too. (Remember their beautiful autumn engagement session?) Laughter and jokes bounced around as Lindsay and Paul got ready with their friends. Soon, it was time to walk down the aisle, and the setting couldn't have been more brilliant. The sun was shining, the mountains were dusted with a fresh layer of snow, and everyone looked amazing in their wedding finery. Lindsay and Paul's two ...
These are a few of their Favorite Things – {Dusty and Tom’s Missoula Rock the Dress Session}
Dusty and Tom are so fab - first, remember their gorgeous Glacier wedding last July? Secondly, when Dusty told me what she wanted to do for her rock the dress session, I was loving how her goal was to incorporate some of their favorite things - golfing, their love of Missoula, their passion for the Griz and, the cherry on top - quintessential Missoula summer awesomeness: floating the river with beers in hand. We started out golfing a few holes and took advantage of some gorgeous Missoula vistas as well. Talk about a perfect day for all of what we had planned! After hitting the course, our next stop was the "M" trail at the university, and ...
Rocking the Dress, Montana-Style :: Lauren and Thad’s Day After Rock the Dress Session at Lake Koocanusa
Reason number 5 million and one why I think Lauren and Thad are the bee's knees: they are avid rock climbers AND they wanted me to document, quite literally, a rock the dress session for them the day after their wedding. When they first told me this, in my head I was all giddy and yelping and saying (in my head, mind you), "Can I get a heck YEAH!?!!!" (Though now that I think about it, maybe that wasn't all in my head.) Because 1. How completely, totally awesome. And 2. I'm a rock climber as well. Albeit a bit rusty after not having had a partner for a couple years, but I GET rock climbing. I get it. I love it. I understand it. I ...