I recently photographed Bobbijean & Chris’ Wedding Day in Yellowstone National Park. What a cool experience! It’s not every day that I get to photograph a wedding in the most famous national park in the country. I’m excited to show the full celebration but for now, I give you a preview of a few favorites so far. I’m hard at work editing the whole lot. Many more great wedding photos to come. Stay tuned… -M
I had the pleasure of documenting the wedding day of Julia & Peter out at Chico Hot Springs outside of Pray, Montana a few weeks back. These two were so much fun. The historic venue is located in the heart of Paradise Valley in a beautiful setting backed up towards Emigrant Peak. It’s a perfect place to tie-the-knot in Montana. These two lovebirds along with their friends and family took over the historic venue for a night of celebration, laughter and get down dancing. It was a wedding of mixed cultures and influences. I like how the bride and groom melded her family’s Jewish traditions together with their own style to make a wedding celebration all their own. After the walk down the aisle and the family toasts to the newlyweds, the whole wedding party took to the dance floor in force. Such great energy from the lot. I had a great time documenting their special day. My congrats to the newlyweds! -M
To see more photos and purchase prints from their wedding day, click here.
A couple weekends ago I traveled down to the small Idaho town of Rigby near Idaho Falls to photograph the country garden wedding of Hope and Jeffery. I met the two last summer when I was photographing her sister Ashley’s wedding day in the Montana Bitterroot Valley. It was so great to celebrate another wedding with their family again. Hope and Jeffery had their wedding at her grandparents country garden home, a beautiful property covered with flowers, produce, horse pastures and cottonwood stands which left all onlookers to admire the artistic touch of two master gardeners. Her grandparents said they collected over 30 gallons of raspberries alone last year. I love seeing wedding couples take the idea of a wedding and make it all their own. These two were no exception. Hope and Jeffery were able to blend a country wedding with Jeffery’s Japanese roots. His relatives folded 1000 paper cranes and then hung them intermixed with lights all in a large cottonwood tree which made for a beautiful ambience. The food had a wonderful homemade touch. They had many mouths to feed since about 360 guests were invited. The riddle was solved by having a caterer make pulled pork BBQ. Rather then create an exorbitant wedding cake, they opted for a smaller wedding cake from a fancy bakery then the family cooks united and made dozens of homemade pies, a delicious personal touch to a wedding day food menu. Once bellies were full the night entertainment began. Drinks were poured and the moment the DJ cued the music, the dance floor got busy. Yard games, a photo booth and an epic candy bar assisted in keeping spirits and sugar levels high into the late evening. Smiles were seen all around. In all, it was a beautiful day and I was thrilled to be apart of it. I wish Hope and Jeffery all the best! -Mike
The Wedding Team:
Cherz & Co. Salon – Hair and makeup by Kellie & Kristie Stolworthy – Idaho falls, Idaho
North Hi-Way Cafe – BBQ catering – Idaho Falls, Idaho
Master DJ – music man Tony Schmitz – Omaha, Nebraska
Fall has come to California and I find myself meditating on my good fortune to have had the opportunity to photograph so many of my friend’s weddings this past year. But none have had so much anticipation and impact on me like Zack and Anna’s The HideOut Wedding Day did.
I’ve known Zack and Anna for almost four years now. They were some of the first friends I made after arriving to my first newspaper job in Redding, California. But when the time came to move on and travel to South America with my brother, our paths moved in different directions. Zack and Anna left their positions as bird researchers in Redding and began graduate school in Ecology at The University of California Davis. Little did I know that upon my return to the States six months later, we would reconnect. I got a new newspaper job close to Davis and would eventually become roommates with them and four egg-laying chickens.
It was fun to watch their excitement grow as the months and weeks counted down to their big day The HideOut Wedding Day in Kirkwood, California. Because of my inclusion in the preparation, I felt the whole wedding day to be all that more important. We headed out towards Lake Tahoe to a beautiful, secluded log mansion at The HideOut in Kirkwood, California for their wedding weekend.
They completely made their wedding day all their own with the help of great friends. The two wild pigs were shot then roasted over a borrow spit. Friends made homemade decorations and desserts. Despite plummeting mountain temperatures, their guests brought relentless energy and good spirits that helped keep the party going long into the night.
It was incredible to see the amount of giving. Each of their friends and family members contributed to help celebrate the union of these two individuals. We had a great time and I was proud to be apart of it. There are countless photos from their wedding day and I hope you get a chance to check them all out. I wish them all the best. -M
You know you’ve done something right when one of your past wedding couples refers you to their friends. I consider those gestures one of the highest compliments a photographer can receive. It lets me know that I am doing my job well.
Back in 2006, Abby and Johnny asked me to photograph their Teller Wildlife Refuge Slack House and Barn Wedding in western Montana after hearing about my photojournalistic style through their friends and my former clients.
It was the ultimate picturesque Montana cowboy wedding. Their outdoor wedding was held at this cute little ranch where the men were decked out in their cowboy boots and hats. They twirled the women in their summer dresses as they danced to the upbeat rhythms of bluegrass music. Summer was ending and with it, the days grew longer. Because of it, we were blessed with beautiful afternoon sunlight that made the dried wheat fields glow with a golden hue as the sun set over the Bitterroot Mountains. What more could a photographer ask for?
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