on a beautiful table, deep in the Wyoming mountains . . .

The end of this summer's wedding season ended with an extremely memorable, check-yourself experience deep in the mountains of Wyoming with one of my very best friends, event planner and floral designer extraordinaire Angela Klotz with Fresh Designs . . .



To summarize this 3 1/2 day affair, Angela was hired by the lovely Stanley family from Memphis, Tennessee, who were traveling to Wyoming to celebrate the wedding of their son Josh to his fiance, Melissa. Josh and Melissa met in their teenage years attending two different summer ranches 8 miles down the road from one another . . . on Thursday evening the welcome dinner was held at Elk Creek Ranch, where Melissa spent her time, and Friday evening's rehearsal dinner was held at the 7D Ranch, where not only did Josh spend his time, but his mother Mary had been traveling to the ranch since she was a little girl as well.

Whew!

A little snippet of the evening, the guests, the amazing flowers and table decor, and as always delicious-beyond-belief food by Sarah Knecht . . .







Since I was there anyway, I assisted Angela with the setting up and tearing down of the event and oh. my. god. . . . I have an entirely different appreciation for what Angela does . . . we worked our tails off in the pouring rain, surrounded by thunder and lightening, at different portions of the day, and she kept herself together completely where I would have fallen apart. Wedding days and other immensely-planned events deserve someone who when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. She pulled it off amazingly again the second night, which is another post to follow very, very soon . . .

Happy Thursday and First of September, everyone!

kristy and austin: july 8, 2011

To Kristy and Austin, and their families and friends . . . thank you for giving me the opportunity to photograph you all in such an amazingly beautiful location - for being warm, kind, generous, and making me feel welcome and included in your beautiful day!

Kristy and Austin are a darling couple from Livingston, Montana, who had me to Kristy's grandmother's drop-dead-gorgeous ranch on their wedding day . . . the flowers were designed and put together by the lovely Leslie Lukas, and the event was planned and decorated by the lovely Angela Klotz. The weather was a bit iffy, and we had a classic Livingston-wind on the hillside, but it can only provide for such classic, candid photo opportunities like this beautiful bride worked for me:



Kristy's family also lives in Miami, and they brought their beloved hair stylists with to work magic on these lovely ladies . . . take it from me, when you find a good hair stylist, you make sure they travel ;)





I truly love this photograph of the entire wedding party . . . so many different dynamics are happening here!



A few portraits of the beautiful couple . . .



Kristy, you are simply stunning!





And a little gathering of some beautiful details!



This beautiful event deserves credit! : )

Event Planning and Design: Fresh Designs
Floral Design: Leslie Lukas Weddings & Events
Catering: Zac's Montana Kitchen

Photos are of course way more fun with a little music, so click here to enjoy the slideshow!

it's all about the light . . .

Oh, Montana . . . you beautiful state with your beautiful mountains, scenery, perfectly-placed trees, wildflowers, and big, blue skies - but to a wedding photographer, thank you for your beautiful light . . .











I sit here on a Saturday night, at 11:00 pm, and I am so extremely grateful for all of my amazing couples this season . . . next week I head to Wyoming to photograph the pre-wedding festivities of a destination couple from the south, but sitting here right now, I am completely done with my summertime weddings - I look forward to sharing so many weddings, tips, stories, photographs, and connections with you on this blog! Stay tuned for lots and lots of amazing-ness!

tedi and danny are married!

I'm sure I've said this a thousand times before on this blog, but when I show up at a wedding, I truly have no idea what to expect . . . especially when I have never met the couple! Danny and Tedi were so fabulous - their families and friends were wonderful, so friendly and enjoyable, and beautifully emotional at all the right times. Oh, and have I mentioned how amazing the light was?!

Some prettiness before the ceremony begins . . . the wedding was held at the Meadowlark Country Club in Great Falls:





I saw the boys first . . . they were quite handsome and animated, which always sets the mood for a fabulous evening!





And I'm pretty sure Tedi's just about the cutest thing in the world - and she's about to become a dentist! Sorry, boys! She's taken!



It is not very often I get this view during the ceremony, but there were enough things to keep me moving like a ninja that I was able to photograph the wedding backlit for much of the ceremony . . . ahh!



Married!











Danny and Tedi, thank you for a beautiful evening! Click here to view more photos in a slideshow!

get inspired!

For my 100th blog post on this lovely little blog of mine, I wanted to share some of my favorite bouquets and ideas . . . go get inspired in planning for 2012!



The beautiful designers behind these ideas, color palettes and flowers:

(From left to right, top row first)
Photos 1, 4 and 7: Icing on the Cake Events
Photos 2, 5 and 9: Fresh Designs
Photos 3, 6, 11, 12, 14 and 15: Leslie Lukas Weddings & Events
Photos 8 and 10: Bloom

coming soon . . .

I cannot believe that summer is winding down . . . it seems it just started! And there is still so much to blog! This time of year gets a little hectic while we all scramble to wrap up post-production while trying to scheme up brilliant marketing plans for next year's season . . . so here is a little sneak peek of what's coming on my blog until the posts officially arrive!

what's your style?

A very famous What-To-Ask-Your-Photographer question during an initial potential client meeting is always an interesting one for me to answer . . . Describe your style. Well, I talk a lot. And I think out loud, so I say a lot of stuff that no one else really needs to hear, and I say things that don't even contribute to the conversation whatsoever . . . and then I laugh, and say I'm probably talking too much!, and the potential clients say politely, no, you're fine. But, really, what's your style?

And just to get even wordier, I explain that my style is a good mix of photojournalistic - a phrase most of us know now, and even seek out when searching for a photographer - and editorial. We are searching not just for someone who can give us beautiful portraits to hang on the walls, but also beautiful candids that make our hearts flutter a bit, because such a wonderful, personal moment was captured, when no one was looking.

As an example (I'm getting too wordy again!), here are a few images I would consider photojournalistic. And a very important thing here is that these were all taken during the portrait session of the day. Even when I pose people, I always tell them that some of the best photos are of what is happening in between poses, and it happens when they have their natural reaction to what I am asking them to do. In other words, here are some of my clients laughing at me. : )

Chad and Michelle at Rainbow Ranch:



Leanne and Brian at The Woodlands:



Jennie and Randy at The Story Mansion:



And Nicole and Alex at Chico Hot Springs:



Editorial always needs a bit more explanation. I'm not sure where I decided to start using that term to describe these types of photos, but this style, to me, is about making my couple look and feel - dare I say it? - sexy. It was one of my most memorable comments ever from a couple . . . that no one else can give them images of them that way. They are beautiful, posed images that engage my couples with one another for just a moody, romantic look that reminds you how much you love one another.

Jennifer and Eric at Grassy Mountain Cabins:



Brooke and Brendan at Whiteface Club & Resort:



And Jamie and Bud on the Mayan Riviera, Mexico:



I try and give equal amounts of both styles unless a client requests a different preference - and there are always plenty of posed, traditional portraits as well, as those are just as important (but not as fun to post on my blog ;)

Happy Friday!