Tag Archive for: mountains

On the final evening before the annual Spring road closure going up to Hyalite Canyon, I had the pleasure of photographing a stargazing portrait photographic experience for Aysha and Brad this past weekend.

For Aysha, her love of Brad’s spontaneity and ability to make her laugh won her affection over quickly. Both are dedicated to their craft – for her helping run the family plumbing business and for him working as an electrician apprentice – their relationship grew closer through their LDS faith, love of soccer and live music, and being together stargazing with each other in their Montana backyard.

Brad summed up Aysha as nothing short of amazing and kept commenting on how much he cherished how every day, she gives everything her all.

After dating for seven months, they were engaged a few weeks back while next to a campfire.

During our discovery call, we decided to highlight some of their favorite loves they share together and scheduled to meet up at the Hyalite Reservoir for their night time, stargazing photo experience.

With clear skies, plenty of s’mores, cups of hot chocolate, a warm campfire and the arms of each other created a perfect mountain atmosphere to showcase their relationship and made for a fun night.

Here are some of our favorite photographs we made from our evening together.

I’m so excited for these two and the good fortune that lies ahead for them. Congrats to Aysha and Brad! -M

To view all of their photographs from their Hyalite Canyon Stargazing portrait photographic experience, click here.

Livingston Wedding Photographer Paradise Valley wedding couple

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of 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 in Bozeman, Montana. After a friendly ten-minute conversation, it was clear my candid, documentary photographic 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.

Their ceremony was held in the grand space of St. Mary’s Catholic Church complete with an hour Mass service. From there we made our way up Orea Creek Road near their Livingston home. We couldn’t help ourselves to stop numerous times to make some portraits with the epic Montana scenery around us. It is so beautiful up that way. The sound of cheers from their awaiting guests greeted the newlyweds to their outdoor reception on their Livingston property.

It was a wedding celebration in the pure local Montana cowboy style.

The live country band beckoned everyone to the dance floor where formal country two-step dance lessons were given. Yardgames and a photo booth entertained in between songs and everyone got stuffed on good Montana BBQ and libations. It was a perfect Montana evening to celebrate the union of these two amazing people. I could not be more excited for these two. Congrats to the newlyweds Teresa and Bob! -M

To view all of their wedding photos, click here.

 

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 Engagement Photographer Middle Cottonwood Canyon couple

The other day I met up with my wedding clients Lisa and Noah for their Middle Cottonwood Canyon Bozeman Montana Portrait Photographic Experience just outside of Bozeman Montana.

For these two, they wanted to feature a special place as the setting for their engagement session. It was here that Noah brought Lisa on their second date for a hike up Middle Cottonwood Canyon. These two have been living in Washington for the last year, Lisa working as a software engineer and Noah working away on his pursuit of a science graduate degree. When it came time to plan their wedding day, choosing their Montana home as the backdrop was a no-brainer for them. These two will be tying-the-knot tomorrow! I’m so excited for these guys! Stay tuned for their wedding photo preview! -M

Click here to view all of the awesome photos from their engagement session

 

Bozeman Engagement Photographer Hyalite Canyon couple portrait

Capitalizing on a recent break in the rainy weather, I met up with Allison and Matt for their Hyalite Canyon Bozeman Montana Couples Portrait Photographic Experience.

Over these last few months, I’ve really enjoyed getting to know these two.

They recently moved to Bozeman from Davis, Montana where they attended school as Ecology grad students. Back during my time working in California newspapers, I too lived in the city of Davis. As we got to know each other, we quickly realized we had many overlapping UC Davis friends and shared leisure activities. We quickly hit it off and had a blast exploring the scenic local landscape during our photo session. These two are great.

And their big wedding day is quickly approaching. I’m looking forward to documenting and celebrating them at their Springhill Pavilion wedding day in a few weeks! -M

To see all of their photos from our session click here.

 

El Western Resort Wedding Photos Becky and Kyle

This past Saturday, I stepped in to create the Ennis Montana El Western Resort Wedding Photography Day of Becky and Kyle.

Sometimes in life, you can’t always plan for the unexpected.

I woke up to an early morning message from a photographer friend of mine. Overnight she had become quite ill and woke up the morning of her client’s wedding day unable to work it. That is a nightmare situation for any working creative. Thankfully, here in southwest Montana, there is a strong community of supportive, talented wedding photographers who when called upon, strive to help out one another.

Luckily, I was available and took over the reins for her agreeing to photograph her client’s El Western Resort wedding.

It makes me proud that I live amongst a community of wedding professionals that go the distance for their clients and help each other out to provide the best service possible for wedding couples having their celebrations in southwest Montana.

While it wasn’t ideal news for bride Becky and groom Kyle to find out the morning of their wedding day, they understood and were grateful for the help.

Not having any time to get to know them before their wedding day, I stepped up to make the best wedding photography experience I could for them. The result was a fun, country wedding celebration filled with good people in the heart of horse and fly fishing country.

A great time was had by all. I have a lot of great photos to edit through but I wanted to share a few favorites so far that have stood out to me. I’m excited to show them all the goods from their special day. Stay tuned for more wedding photos! -M

 

Hyalite Canyon Winter Engagement Photo Session of Heather & Andrew

A few weeks back I got to meet and photograph Heather & Andrew for their winter engagement photo session at Hyalite Canyon outside of Bozeman, Montana. I’ll be photographing their 2016 wedding day at Chico Hot Springs next April and while they were in town for Thanksgiving with family, we found a window of time to drive to the nearby majestic rocky mountain canyon. The snow had just recently fallen a couple days before and now cast a white blanket across the surrounding Hyalite Reservoir and Gallatin National Forest. It was a cool ice covered scene to explore. With the mixed overcast clouds, I was able to play with the cooler winter color palette of the Montana landscape. These two were a lot of fun. I appreciate a wedding couple that is up for an adventure. I’m looking forward to documenting their wedding celebration this Spring. Congrats on your engagement you guys! -Mike

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There is something so therapeutic in the aesthetic beauty of the Bridger Mountain Range near Bozeman Montana.  At any time of year one can look to the mountains, sometimes capped with snow, and see them showing off their beautiful depth of dimension and color giving the beholder a feeling of resounding peace and calmness.  The Bridger Mountains like many other mountain ranges all over Montana balance the juxtaposition of topographical majesty and serenity of nature giving one’s wedding day an inspired rustic charm while bringing out a natural beauty so stunning, it can take your breath away.

Weddings in Montana should never be about competing with the rustic beauty of the landscape, but about harmonizing with its natural inspiration. The very nature of the Montana landscape elicits a beautiful rustic charm and a sense of timelessness.  It can also be unpredictable. Often the changing weather patterns in and around the mountains hold no tolerance for the perfectly primped and planned-out outdoor wedding. Sometimes things don’t always stick to the plan.

With that in mind, I encourage my wedding clients to embrace the unexpected on their wedding day.

You never know when a flash rainstorm might occur. It’s not unheard of for a sudden flurry of snow to happen in June.  It is the imperfections and those impromptu moments that can create an authentic, untouchable beauty to one’s own wedding day. Those are the moments that could never be planned for or prevented, but only accepted and enjoyed. Such was the case for Courtney and Chris’ wedding at the Springhill Pavillion last summer.

The wedding venue sits at the base of the Bridger Mountains just 20 minutes north of Bozeman. It’s a beautiful place and was a spectacular setting for their Montana wedding. Alas, there was a little precipitation on Courtney and Chris wedding day. Despite the rain, the newlyweds kept a positive attitude throughout the day. No amount of unexpected weather could stop their celebration. Their constant smiles and laughter made the hiccup of rainy weather insignificant and it shows in their wedding photography.

Partnering with a Montana wedding photographer who knows how to utilize the unique mixture of scenes and rustic environment (while juggling the unexpected and unforeseen circumstances) helps to create stand out imagery all the while keeping things refreshingly candid and natural. It is the best way to make the most of your Montana Wedding. As a photographer, it’s what I strive for during every wedding I photograph.

The ability to capture candid photos that tell the story of a couple’s wedding celebration is paramount. It’s the beginning of their adventure through life together surrounded by their friends and loved ones. For those who seek to utilize the rustic charm of the rocky mountain landscape, having your wedding in Montana can provide the most vivid of backgrounds and creates a truly unforgettable wedding experience. Rain and all. -M

To view more photos from Courtney and Chris’ wedding day, you can view my blog post about it here.

Special thanks to my amigos at The Social Den for assisting on this post.

What a weekend! I’ve begun editing through and reliving the fun wedding photos of Ali and Drausin’s celebration I made last weekend at the 4 Eagle Ranch in Vail, Colorado. I wanted to share a sneak peek of some of their wedding photos. Many more to come. My work is cut out for me. Congratulations to Ali and Drauslin! Stay tuned. -M


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 year. But none have had so much anticipation and impact on me like Zack and Anna’s wedding 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. When the time came to move on from Redding and travel to South America with my brother, Zack and Anna left their positions as bird researchers and began graduate school in ecology at The University of California Davis. Little did I know that upon my return to the states, I would get a new newspaper job close to Davis and would eventually become roommates with them and four egg-laying chickens.

Unlike other weddings I have photographed in the past, being roommates to an engaged couple automatically made me apart of the wedding planning. It was fun to watch their excitement grow as the months and weeks counted down to their big day. 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 for their wedding weekend. They completely made the day all their own with the help of their great friends. Everything from the two wild pigs that were shot then roasted to the homemade decorations to the relentless energy and good spirits of their guest that helped keep the party going long into the night despite plummeting temperatures. It was incredible to see the amount of giving each of their friends and family members gave 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. You can find all of their wedding photographs here. I wish them all the best. -M