Montana Weddings

wedding anniversary photos

Daniel and Serena married a year ago May 12th at the Deep Creek Range in Paradise valley. I got a call from Daniel on Friday last week and he was looking for a photographer to meet him at the venue on the anniversary of their wedding and surprise his 7 month pregnant wife with a photo session!

Of course, I was all in for such a surprise. Daniel and I chose a time in the morning on this Mother’s Day. As I had hoped the sun was warming and bright yet a bit softened by very light clouds in the area. It made for the perfect environment for this beautiful celebration.

Chico Hot Springs wedding – Michael and Stephanie

On July 1st Stephanie and Michael joined their lives together at Chico Hot Springs Resort in the ever beautiful Paradise Valley. Coming all the way from England, they chose to make Montana their destination wedding. Friends and family came from near and far to join them on their wedding day, and a grand day it was!

Cheers to a long life together, full of joy and happiness! Enjoy a few highlights from the day’s events.

Many thanks to my extremely talented friend and professional photographer, David Clumpner for second shooting with me. Here, I caught him being his exuberant and funny self during our sunset photo shoot! Several of these images were his work! Thanks David!

Chico Hot Springs wedding, Paradise Valley

Chico Hot Springs weddings are a weekly occurrence all year round. For over 15 years, I have photographed with couples from all over the world at this beautiful lodge and hot springs tucked into the hills of Paradise Valley. From England to Scotland and including just about every state in the US, people come here for a very good reason. If you don’t know why, you should go visit for yourself. As they say “location, location, location”, Chico has spectacular views in every direction and I would also add service, charm, excellent food, history, a great western bar and of course a wonderful hot springs facility.

Well, on July 14th this Chico wedding couple were Montanan’s and I felt right at home!!! So much family love and participation. It was a rocking night complete with the band headed by the bride’s father, family and friends. It was great!

So… here’s a small collection of images to enjoy. Feel the Montana love!

The wedding of Diane Rauch and Eric Tackett. Happy Trails!

Thanks to Laura Simmons for her artistry! Laura joined me as second camera contributed to this collection.

Springhill Pavillion Wedding

In photography and in life itself, moments are everything. Meaningful moments stacked like dominoes one after another, all somehow connected in the greater scheme of things. Real life, real people… real images. This is what I capture.

Saturday I photographed for Lindsay and Michael at the Springhill Pavilion. I witnessed a grand succession of moments, some joyous, some sad, some poignant and some downright breath taking! So this blog post is about the unique and authentic moments of this very special occasion.

Sometimes during a wedding day there are moments that are very personal to the bride and groom. I always approach these carefully with respect, as I did this time and I felt welcomed to capture these. Michael’s mother is fighting breast cancer and could not be at the wedding. Right before the ceremony Mike and Lindsay called his mother to share their wedding day. It was a beautiful thing!

It was a stellar day with this lovely couple and their families. And then there was the sunset!!!

wedding by the Yellowstone

It’s not always that I get the opportunity to shoot a wedding just blocks from my home right here in Livingston Montana. The fall colors brought a unique beauty to Sacajawea Park and the adjacent Yellowstone river. Anne Marie and Dan contacted me earlier in the year and I was excited to be hired for the photography. The colorful autumn weather held off colder temperatures until the day after the wedding. Phew…!

Thanks to my good friend and stellar photographer Carlie Breen Auger for second shooting with me. Here is a mix of some of the beautiful images we captured… Oh yes, and a fun collection of my images portraying what it’s really like with the groomsmen in their ‘get ready’ process!

enjoy the view!

Montana Wedding on top of the world

It’s not always that I have the opportunity to hop into a helicopter and fly off to a high mountain ridge overlooking the wilderness to shoot with my clients. Well that’s exactly what I did last Saturday!

Tyler (the groom), myself and Camden (the videographer) boarded this amazing Bell 407GX at Bozeman Airport lifted off to pick up his bride-to-be Katelyn at her family’s farm. When we put down in the field Katelyn and her family faced a helicopter blizzard of sorts created from the rotor wash. Tyler jumped out to greet them all and returned to the helicopter. One of the most exciting ‘first looks’ I’ve seen. Then up, up and away across Bozeman and southwest over Four Corners towards the Lee Metcalf Wilderness. This entire adventure was the wedding gift from Tyler’s uncle Mark of Rocky Mountain Rotors. Certainly, a gift that will never go forgotten!

Mark took us up unto a high mountain ridge which revealed the Madison River about a thousand feet below in what is known as Bear Trap Canyon. He sat it down on a clear area and we walked a brief way to the over look. Spectacular!!! The entire day was a real treat to photograph. Cheer’s to Katelyn, Tyler and Jackson!

Enjoy the view!