Bozeman Wedding Photographer Kelly Canyon Quaker Wedding portraits

For Lisa and Noah’s Bozeman Montana Kelly Canyon Wedding Day celebration, it was important to return to their cultural roots.

They met two years ago through online dating here in Bozeman. As their relationship flourished over the next two years, Noah would eventually propose to Lisa on his family farm Kelly Canyon outside of Bozeman, Montana. The two currently live in Kirkland, Washington where she works as a computer scientist and he has started his graduate school program with a developing interest in Chinese medicine. When it came time to plan their wedding day, there was no better place to host it than on his family’s farm back where it all began.

Their wedding would be a wonderful hodgepodge of tradition and a unique blend of the couple’s own interests.

Their shared love of medieval fantasy book genres influenced their wedding decorations, outfits and even an honorary object for the day. The wedding party all took turns wielding the wedding couple’s actual battle hammer named “Schmerglehermer”. With a sense of humor throughout, the wedding couple and party included the hammer in the festivities. It was walked down the aisle during the ceremony, guests posed throughout the day with it in photos and it even found it’s way onto the dance floor. I love a couple and community that geeks out together. It was no short of epic.

The bride and groom’s friends and family gathered together on Noah’s family farm to witness the bride and groom’s traditional Quaker wedding ceremony in the Montana summer sunshine.

Tucked back against a large stand of pine trees, they decided on a traditional Quaker wedding ceremony to honor Noah’s family roots. The bride and groom were married “under the care of a Quaker meeting” before God and gathered family, friends, and meeting members — but was for all purposes officiant free. The idea is based on the tenet that only God can join a couple in marriage. Quakers believe that no church official is essential for a marriage to take place. Instead family and friends throughout the hour-long ceremony would occasionally break the silence by stepping up to the microphone to give words of advice, tell stories or well wishes. I found it to be a really relaxing and thought reflective ceremony. To hear the words of the important folks in their lives in front of all was a special way to honor their guests just as much as they were honoring them.

Like all good weddings, they sealed theirs with a kiss surrounded by a roar of cheers from their surrounding loved ones. The wedding celebration moved on to their evening reception at the Lindley Center in downtown Bozeman where dancing, outdoor games, a good steak BBQ and a Greener Visuals Photo Booth were utilized in full force. It was an awesome time and a wonderful reflection of all the things that are important to these newlyweds lives. I could not be more excited for these two. I wish them all the best! -M

To see all of their fun wedding photos, click here.

 

Bozeman Wedding Photographer Springhill Pavilion

I’m still buzzing with excitement after photographing the Springhill Pavilion Wedding Day of Allison and Matt this past weekend.

I’ve gotten to know these two Montana transplants over the past year and have been looking forward to documenting their wedding day for some time now. Both got their Ecology graduate degrees from UC Davis, a place where I used to live and a place that is close to heart. We bonded immediately over Davis stories and the realization that we knew many of the same people. Sometimes you encounter certain people in your life that you know will instantly become friends.

These two are wonderful, hilarious goofballs.

Their Montana wedding day was everything you would hope one could be – lovely Spring-like weather, the perfect setting, and a gathering of friends and family that were ready to get down on the dance floor. Their wedding day was an absolute blast to photograph. As I begin editing through all of the photographs, I wanted to share a preview of them. Many more to come! Stay tuned… -Mike

 

Livingston Wedding Photographer Paradise Valley wedding couple

Last Friday I spent the day photographing and celebrating the Livingston Montana Wedding Day of  Teresa and Bob.

I met these two lovebirds at last year’s A Montana Wedding Bridal Event at The Commons. After a friendly ten-minute conversation, it was clear my candid, documentary style resonated with their wedding day vision. They booked me on the spot. For these two, their love for each other, their family and devotion to their Catholic faith would the focal point of their wedding day celebration. The day could not have been better. Here is a sneak peek of their wedding photos made at St. Mary’s Catholic Church and up Orea Creek near their home where they had their reception. So many more fun photos to share with you all! Stay tuned! -M

 

Bozeman Wedding Photographer Kelly Canyon Quaker Wedding ceremony

Montana native newlyweds Lisa and Noah got married on his family’s property in Kelly Canyon just outside of Bozeman Montana last weekend. Perfect sunny weather blessed the day where these two celebrated their Quaker wedding with their close friends and family. I’m working hard to edit through all of the fun photos I made throughout their wedding day.

For now, check out a preview of some favorite photos I made for them. Stay tuned for more… -M

Livingston Wedding Photographer Yellowstone River wedding portrait

A few weeks back, I had the absolute pleasure of providing the Livingston Montana Wedding Day Photography of Erika and Josh.

For these two, it was all about returning to the source of where they met.

Little did they know after a chance encounter over a foosball game table in Livingston, Montana, two years later they would be celebrating their wedding at the Livingston KOA in the beautiful Paradise Valley just south of town.

Both are well versed in the art of hospitality (Josh as a chef at Feast Raw Bar & Bistro and Erika as a former wedding planner now operations manager for the Shane Center for the Arts), they wanted to have their wedding day be “about letting their friends and family know how much they’ve impacted us in our lives.” by creating a personal wedding experience for their guests.

In a wonderfully intimate setting along the Yellowstone River, guests were met with great food, meticulous decorations of 1,000 paper cranes and rock cairns, homemade booze-infused cupcakes and the right tunes to keep the dance floor busy.

Their attention to the little details made their wedding day a true delight.

Not even the constant rainfall throughout the afternoon could dampen the spirits of those in attendance.

As the sounds of the consistent rain and the high waters of the nearby Yellowstone River serenaded the evening, the big pavilion transformed smoothly from the ceremony to the catered dinner and then into an energetic all night dance party.

Happiness, smiles and good times abound. What a day!

Here are some of my favorite highlights from my day photographing their wedding celebration. Congrats again to the bride and groom Erika and Josh! Wish you guys a lifetime of happiness! -M

See all of their wedding photos here.