It’s no secret that I seriously have a soft spot in my heart for rock the dress sessions because these sessions tend to allow us to get a little more creative with what we can do outside of the wedding day. And when rock the dress sessions include horses, chickens, and dogs (not to mention an awesome bride and groom), then, oh yes, sign me up for the fun! Melisa and Zack’s Dutton Montana farm rock the dress portraits were the absolute epitome of aforementioned fun, and I’m pretty certain I did not stop smiling for one second of our time as we made these images together.

We met up again on their farm the day after their wedding, and just traipsed about the grounds, collecting animals as we went along. Song, their gorgeous horse (who also starred in their wedding) was first up for some portraits. Turns out, being a wedding superstar is a lot of (apparently tiring!) work, and he had us all cracking up as he yawned and yawned and YAWNED through his portraits. (And when a horse yawns, he YAWNS!)

The yawning bug must have caught up to Zack and Melisa’s dog, Junebug, too, who began to yawn as Zack and Melisa were sharing some smooches! Animals are just the BEST, amiright? :)

Eventually we made our way to hang out with all the chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and peacocks (the peacocks were camera shy though, so no photos of them). All the chickies ran hither, thither, and yon, but each one got some cuddle time with Melisa. Unlike the peacocks, Davíd, the male turkey, REALLY loved the camera (or me – Melisa told me he had a little turkey crush on me), and he literally strutted his stuff, back and forth, photobombing quite a few of my images to ensure that I got his best side (I’m pretty sure Davíd believes ALL his sides are his best side – haha!).

The pups joined us again in the hay for some more images (such sleepy puppies!), and the chickens, not to be outdone (and, Davíd, too of course!), hung out with us again, jumping onto hay bales, hanging out in Melisa’s lap, and scratching around for goodies while we made some fun photos.

We also zipped on over to the silos lining the driveway (because aren’t they just awesome!), and had a lot of fun creating some more editorial types of images with the graphic nature of the silos. (Gotta love those yellow doors!) Melisa had a great time dancing in her dress, playing with her voluminous skirts, and getting that beautiful veil to catch the wind. Junebug decided to join us again, too, and, really rocked her own poses as well! (Though I think it *might* have had something to do with the rabbit running around the silos.)

Last, but not least, we took a little respite in the shade of several of their trees near Melisa’s flower garden, and had such a good time making some stellar portraits of just Melisa – no photobombing turkey this time.

Suffice it to say, this session was just an absolute blast – thank you again, Melisa and Zack, for such a wonderful couple of days spent with the two of you and your menagerie of incredible critters! You absolutely rocked that dress and I’m so glad we got to make these images for you! Cheers to you both!

On the Docket:

Weddings, portraits and more! Stay posted!

Cheers,

-Kristine

P.S. Here’s a fun little “behind-the-scenes” image from our session. :) And yes, Davíd was photobombing us again. :)

 

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My other office for today. What a blast to get to do what I do! Thank you again, Melisa and Zack! You absolutely rocked your rock the dress session, big time, and I loved every second of it! #kristinepaulsenphotography #behindthescenesphotoshoot #turkeysfordays #abrideandherbirds #ilovemyjob

A post shared by Kristine Paulsen (@kristinep_photo) on Jun 30, 2019 at 3:50pm PDT

Every time I get to work with Becka and Stephan (I’ve done their family photos and their wedding!), it’s a total blast, so it was no surprise at all to me that we had such a fun time during their Missoula Montana summertime rock the dress photos. AND they brought two of their good friends, Jes and Kara, and their pup, Daisy, too.

It was a *much* warmer day than their snowy wedding day back in November, and Becka joked that this time around she didn’t have to wear leggings under her dress! And what a gorgeous day it was! We couldn’t have been treated to more beautiful light or scenery for their session. And everybody was full of laughs and jokes and Daisy enjoyed herself as well!

I think one of my favorite things about Becka and Stephan (and there are a lot!) is just how easily they love one another. The way they look at one another. The way they laugh together. They way they goof around and just have fun – it’s awesome and such a treat to get to capture for them!

Becka and Stephan’s friends Jes and Kara were such a blast to photograph as well – they were game to walk through the super tall grass (in heels, even!), and were the best cheerleaders for Becka and Stephan’s photos. They got just as excited as I did when we hit those fantastic pockets of beautiful light!

Becka was just radiant and glowing as we made her individual photos. And every time Stephan joined her, her smile became even wider, her eyes sparkled brighter, and it’s like they were in their own perfect world – truly a joy to document!

Becka and Stephan (and Jes and Kara and Daisy, too!) – thank you, again, for such a fantastically fun session! I swear, you need to just keep having major life events so I can photograph them all for you. ;) It’s always such a treat to get to hang out and make beautiful images with you! Here’s to you two and your love!

On the Docket:

Weddings, elopements, and portraits! Stay posted!

Cheers,

-Kristine

When Megan contacted me about doing a Missoula Montana rock the dress session with her and her husband, Scott, I admittedly got a little nervous – it’s not every day you photograph other photographers (they are the couple behind Megan Lane Photography out of Helena). But they were so excited and so gung ho about doing this to celebrate their upcoming 11th anniversary (yay, you two!), I knew it was silly of me to be nervous, and more importantly, that we’d have a great time making these images. Plus, it’s always fun to work with folks who’ve got a vision for how they’d like their photos to look (magical, fairytale, editorial – yahoo!).

And oh! What a great time we had! I think Megan and I have got the exact same excitement level when it comes to making photos, so we were probably both a little ridiculously excited (let’s just say there were many, many peals of laughter and giddy sound effects), but for good reason – these two truly rocked their photos!

Megan and Scott! It was such a treat to meet and photograph you two, and I’m so happy that you did this as a treat to yourselves. What a fantastic way to celebrate 11 years together! Congratulations again, and here’s to lots of photo fun in front of and behind the camera! :)

On the docket: portraits and weddings! Stay posted!

Cheers,

-Kristine