It’s not everyone that would enjoy the winter’s ‘brisk’ breezes on the banks of the Yellowstone River during their engagement photo session! And by the looks on their faces, I think Jessica and Charlie enjoyed every minute of it! As for this seasoned photographer, I went dressed for the job and worked quickly. It was splendid! Then we drove up into the mountains to get an over view of Paradise Valley.
In the course of a year there is rarely a day when the Paradise Valley is not spectacular! Whether it’s the freezing temperatures of the dead of winter, a rainy day in spring or even when the smoke of a fire far away puts a golden filter on everything. On this day it was a bit smokey with a late afternoon sun.
This couple brought their own brightness to the valley and nature shown kindly upon them. The wedding is coming right up in August in a high mountain valley near Big Sky. I can’t wait!
And… after we had said goodbye and I started my drive up the valley, the entire sky began to light up! I pulled over immediately, grabbed my camera and trotted out to the highway in hopes that my clients were following the same route. Soon they came rolling up and I waved them over to capture this most amazing sunset! SWEET! I love it when that happens! Magic!!! I can’t wait to see what their wedding day will bring!!!
Summertime weddings in Paradise Valley are almost always spectacular! The wedding of Kristen and Patrick was true to form and most stunning! The day was warm, the light was delicious and seemed to embrace every moment, changing with the mood with a sense of artistry.
See for yourself!
A splendid summer wedding day in Paradise
Allyson wore her Grandmother’s wedding dress for the first look, in her honor. Then she surprised her husband (to be) with her own wedding dress when she came down the isle. Awesome!
At the end of the day the grandeur of Paradise Valley shown it’s amazing light and beauty upon this wonderful couple. Cheers to Allyson and Drew!
Wynn and Trisha chose the wonderfully spectacular Paradise Valley for their New Years Day wedding above the Yellowstone River with the Absaroka Range hovering above. When they contacted me and booked my day, I was musing about what the weather might be like. ‘Visions of blowing snow and sub zero temps!’ OMG!
After living here for nearly 30 years, I know how changeable our winter weather is in the valley!
The good news is that it was quite amazing and gorgeous and the sun won out over the morning overcast.
Enjoy the view!
At the end of the afternoon we landed on the banks of the might Yellowstone in it’s winter repose, quietly awaiting the coming of Spring.
Cheers to my new friends. Many blessings! Larry
Where to start this story? Let’s see, it was almost 39 years ago that I married the love of my life Heather Van Wessem in southern California. Life was exploding with excitement and the months passed quickly as we prepared to follow our dreams and move to Montana. Heather was nearly 9 months pregnant with our first child when I put her on a plane to Bozeman. I stayed over a few weeks to fulfill business obligations and pack the rest of our earthly possessions for my exodus. Push came to shove when I got a call late in the evening with news that Heather was showing early signs of labor. I scrambled to book an early morning flight and just before I left for LAX I got news that my first sweet daughter had been born. So I was in rare form on the flight, barely able to contain myself when people would say hello and notice that I was beaming!
So that was the beginning. The story continues… When we had married we received the wedding certificate signed by the Pastor and safely put it away. What we didn’t realize was that we should have gotten it certified or notarized in Las Virgenes before we left. Years went by quickly and the need to have a certified wedding license was forgotten. We had the paper and it was signed by the Pastor so we just thought we were all good.
Recently Heather was getting our paperwork together and when she pulled out the certificate as a form of ID, it was noted that it was not complete, and legally we were not married all these years.? yikes…
So, I came up with the idea to propose again and take all the steps to make this beautiful and solid. Heather was awash in joy and accepted. I suggested a simple little wedding with our adult daughters and their families and my dear sweet sister in law Marla.
We chose a place near our home where we have always played, ran & swam for all of these years.
So, why is this on my wedding blog? Simply because this is ‘our’ story. I have captured and shared so many other’s joyous stories and images for over 20 years of weddings that I have photographed. So now, I thought it time to share a bit of our story!
Thanks to my fine friend Carlie Breen for being our photographer and to my friend and officiant extraordinaire, Reverend Bradford Lartigue.
Enjoy the view!
We have always been married, just missed an important detail! Now once we get this piece of paper stamped we’ll be able to prove it!
In every walk of life, may your path be fruitful and solid! And… if you need photography, give me a call.
Photographs by the amazing Carlie Breen! Thank you Carlie, we love you.