Roy and I had the opportunity to head back to our old stomping grounds for a beautiful winter wedding in Montana last month.  The town of Whitefish is nothing short of a dream in the winter. I always describe it as the town that lives inside of a snow globe.  It’s so quaint, cute and always has a thick blanket of snow.

We met Alison and Scott out in Seattle last summer for their engagement session. Click here to check that out!  It was exciting to photograph them in a snowy mountain environment after we had captured them on the hot city streets of Seattle!  They were married at the Grouse Mountain Lodge surrounded by family and close friends who traveled from all over.  Alison, with the help of Courtney from 114-West, had every single little detail planned out which allowed the day to take its course so smoothly!  Alison and Scott decided to do a first look prior to walking down the aisle which allowed us to get in lots of portraits before the sun went down (at like 4:45pm in the winter!).  Doing a first look also allowed us the time to drive over to the picturesque Whitefish Lake. Alison looked so graceful as she approached her groom standing on the “beach.” :)

Thanks Alison, Scott, their bridal party & family for braving the snowy conditions in order to capture all the beauty that NW Montana offers in the winter!

To view more images from this winter wedding in Montana, click here.

A fantastic team of vendors in Whitefish, MT-
Venue: Grouse Mountain Lodge
Weekend Coordinator: Courtney of 114-West
Floral: Mum’s Flowers
Dress: ‘Londyn’ by Hayley Paige
Suit: Hickey Freeman from Nordstrom
Makeup Artist: Emily from EmJ Cosmetics
Hair: Red Union Salon
Pie: Loula’s Cafe
Rentals: Celebrate!

Have you ever been up Hyalite Canyon?  It’s a great place to recreate in the summer and in the winter, from paddle boarding to back country skiing, they pretty much have it all.  It’s also a very photogenic area. :) Stephanie contacted me just a couple weeks before Christmas seeing if I had any spots open for a last minute shoot for her Christmas card.  I am so glad I did, because it was wonderful meeting these two!  It was a chilly day to be out and the wet snow just kept coming down and so I was very thankful for Stephanie and John’s positive and cheery attitudes.  I think they ended up getting a pretty suitable Christmas card photo too. Thanks Stephanie & John for picking us to be your Bozeman Portrait Photographers – we hope you are enjoying your images!

To view more from this Hyalite family session, click here.

Family portrait sessions in the winter can be so much fun!  We were blessed with the perfect combo of above freezing weather, fresh snow and a beautiful backdrop.  The Scheidt family travels to a ski destination from Illinois every year and Big Sky has become one of their favorites.  I was so excited to workout my schedule so I could go be a Big Sky photographer for a day!  I love an excuse to make the quick 45-minute drive through the canyon and up to one of the most glorious places.  What a great idea to plan a photoshoot while you are on vacation with your whole family in a winter wonderland environment!

If you are reading this and have never made a trip out to Big Sky, Montana, you gotta go!  It is certainly one of my favorite ski destinations with no lift lines, tons of terrain for all levels (coined “The Biggest Skiing in America”), and you can ski off the very tip-top of the mountain, Lone Peak.  I should probably mention that it’s where Roy and I got married so my opinion may be a little biased. ;)

To view more images from this Big Sky family session, click here.

My best friend is engaged!  Sammi got engaged to a man who simply adores her.  How could he not? She is adorable!  These two drove over from Missoula, Montana for their Bozeman engagement photography shoot this month.  Sammi’s dream was to ice skate during her shoot- so we made that happen, along with strolling around downtown.

I won’t be photographing their wedding day (I’m a bridesmaid!), so it was an honor to be asked to shoot their engagement session in Bozeman for them.  I met my dearest Sammi back in Oregon at our freshman year in college.  In fact, we met the very first day of school because she lived right across the hall from me! About three quarters into our freshman year, I decided I was going to transfer to the University of Montana and yep, convinced Sammi to do the same.  Skip forward several years and now she is marrying a Montana boy.  I am one happy friend!

Sammi is a gem and so is Jeremy.  And together, they sparkle! Don’t you think? :)

We are just about to ring in 2016 (wiggity whaaaaat?!), so let’s take a look back at a handful of our 2015 weddings.  Without a doubt, our hearts are full to the very brim (maybe even spilling over a little bit) with all the memories we have with couples and families who welcomed us so warmly on wedding days.  All the people we get to meet and stories we get to share is why we love what we do.  We consider it a great honor and cherish our memories with you all!

It’s been one year since we’ve settled in Bozeman, Montana and we are confident saying that we are here to stay- and geez, that feels good!  Although we are grateful for living in 5 places in 6 years (yikes!) and for all of our memories in those cities, it feels pretty awesome to call this place home.  As Montana wedding photographers, we ended up in several Montana towns- Bigfork, Billings, Whitefish, Livingston, and Big Sky, amongst others. Good thing we live in such a beautiful state!  It’s not too bad to zig-zag across it during wedding season. :)

We have a great lineup of weddings in 2016 already!  We do still have a few dates available, so be sure to get in contact with us if you are getting married in 2016 and want us to be your Montana wedding photographers! Enjoy this look back at some of our top wedding picks and we will see you in the new year.