My Montana Wedding is the official publication of the My Montana Wedding Association P.O. Box 8731, Kalispell, MT 59904 (406) 250-3213
This is an annual publication.
Don’t miss the annual My Montana Wedding Expo & Style Show: Saturday, January 4, 2025
Flathead County Fairgrounds, Trade Center Building, Kalispell, MT Visit www.mymontanawedding.com/expo for more info. Visit us at www.mymontanawedding.com. On the cover: Christina Adele Photography
6 Welcome
8 Glacier National Park / Jennifer & Brandon
14 West Glacier / Madison & Fate
22 Glacier National Park / Madison & Drew
28 Whitefish / Krissy & Todd
34 Glacier National Park / Katie & Joe
40 Bigfork / Olivia & Casey
46 Glacier National Park / Fran & Jordon
52 Kalispell / Lindsay & Brady
58 Glacier National Park / Rachael & James
62 Kalispell / Bryahna & Travisr
66 Kalispell / Kate & Kyle
72 Whitefish / Jennifer & Chase
78 My Montana Wedding Vendor Directory
84 Ad Directory
As we embark on another exciting year together, I am thrilled to welcome you to the latest edition of our magazine, celebrating all things weddings in our beloved state of Montana. It is my privilege to serve as the president of this association, representing our talented vendors who continually elevate the artistry and joy of weddings across the state.
In the world of weddings, trends come and go like the seasons, but some things remain timeless. As an association we believe in celebrating love in all forms, and the enduring values of love, commitment, and community that weddings symbolize. Your journey with us will showcase how our vendors craft unforgettable moments that transcend fleeting trends, ensuring your wedding day reflects your unique story and vision, with the beautiful Montana scenery providing the perfect backdrop.
Here in Montana, we are blessed with unparalleled natural beauty that serves as a canvas for your special day. Whether you dream of exchanging vows against the backdrop of majestic mountains, beside tranquil lakes, or under expansive Big Sky horizons, our diverse landscapes offer limitless possibilities. Our vendors are here to turn your Montana wedding dreams into a breathtaking reality, blending your vision with our local expertise.
As we look ahead to the coming year, I am filled with anticipation for the inspiring weddings, heartfelt moments, and creative collaborations that await us. Together, we will continue to innovate and elevate Montana weddings to new heights, ensuring each celebration is as unique and exceptional as the couples we serve.
To our couples embarking on this journey, remember that wedding planning is not just about logistics—it’s about cherishing every moment and embracing the joy of creating memories that will last a lifetime. My Montana Wedding is here to support you every step of the way, from selecting the perfect venue to finding vendors who share your vision.
Thank you for entrusting us with your dreams. Here’s to a year filled with love, laughter, and unforgettable Montana weddings. With a sincere and heartfelt congratulations,
Graham McDonald, President My Montana Wedding Association
Jennifer Brandon&
We fell in love in 2016 after meeting through a childhood friend. In 2019, our family grew to five when we had our precious baby boy, Cooper. In 2020 we decided to celebrate our love by planning our adventure to Montana together.
Brandon and I chose a non-traditional approach as we opted to “elope” all the way from Lake Lure, North Carolina. I often tell people that the popular TV series “Yellowstone” was our inspiration to visit the breathtaking landscape of Montana; which was truly a major part in our ambition, among others. We began with researching Photographers since that part would play a key role in our “wedding.” That’s when we found Christina. She was the entire package; an officiant, a photographer, an employee at Glacer National Park—not to mention incredibly sweet and down to earth. I knew right away we that had found our hidden gem. She knew everything
about the park and helped us plan our dream destinations for our special day. We traveled miles that day together as if we were old friends just enjoying each other’s company—it was such a humbling experience!
If you’re not familiar with Montana, definitely begin by researching the most favorable time of year to visit. We learned quickly that the weather is very unpredictable which we were fairly accustomed to being from Western North Carolina! Find out when the different activities are in season and plan your time accordingly. We missed out on Going-to-the Sun-Road because we weren’t aware of the closures. However, it gave us the perfect excuse for an early anniversary trip back! Other than that, I would suggest taking in each moment, each sunrise and sunset, and revel in the earthly magic that is Montana!
MY MONTANA WEDDING MEMBER VENDORS
CAKE & DESSERTS
Montana Wildflour montanawildflour.com
LODGING
The Lodge at Whitefish Lake lodgeatwhitefishlake.com
PHOTOGRAPHY
Christina Adele Photography christinaadelephoto.com
Madison & Fate
We met in a psychology class during our sophomore year at Troy University in Alabama. After class one day Fate asked me to get coffee with him and the rest is history!
One thing that Fate and I love to do is travel. A year before we were engaged, we took a trip with my family to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park and we fell in love with the area! I had always loved the idea of eloping or having a destination wedding, so when it came time to start wedding planning, Montana became top of our list! Being from Alabama, we weren’t sure how much of our family and friends would actually be able to come but we still wanted to invite everyone who would’ve been invited if we had our wedding in our home state. To our surprise, 11/12 of my bridesmaids were able to come and all of Fate’s groomsmen along with most of our families and many of our closest friends! This made it that much more special! Not only did we get to share the best day of our lives with our favorite people, but we got the opportunity to show our
favorite people one of our favorite places! It made the whole weekend so much more special, stress free, and fun! We had a welcome dinner Thursday night after guests arrived, I took my bridesmaids, family, and close family friends on a hike Friday morning and Fate took his groomsmen to play golf before we all met back up for the rehearsal dinner! Saturday we had our perfect day and Sunday we met back up with a few close family friends and our families for a red bus tour before everyone went their separate ways!
The biggest piece of advice I could give brides planning their own special Montana wedding would be to trust your vendors! They know what they’re doing and are so good at what they do! I also couldn’t recommend getting a wedding planner more! Having a planner truly made the whole planning process so stress free, easy, and enjoyable! This also helped us to be able to ship fun special touches to Montana ahead of time so we didn’t have to fly with everything!
MY MONTANA WEDDING MEMBER VENDORS
BEAUTY & NUTRITION
Bridal Bliss Hair & Makeup By Lana bridalblissmt.com
As with most good days and good stories, it started with wine. Three friends and I enjoyed a beautiful February day on the knoll at our favorite winery, hosted by Todd. He was cute, funny, and charming and even snuck some tastes of my favorite wine, St. Laurant, but no numbers were exchanged and we went our separate ways.
A couple weeks later, during an evening scroll through Hinge, I came across his profile and swiped right in the interest of striking up a friendship with the cute guy from the winery. It was a match and we began chatting. After a few weeks, we decided to meet for a first date doing all of my favorite things in my neighborhood. In late June, after a few months, we made things official.
A proposal seemed imminent. Ring conversations had been taking place for months and the timing just felt right. The circumstances, however were anything but expected.
It happened on a gorgeous summer afternoon in the ‘Lemon Lounge’ at the Threlfall’s house in Pennsylvania. I was enjoying a week of “funemployment” before starting my new job so the afternoon had been spent playing in the pool with our
niece and nephew. As I sat in an adirondack sipping a negroni, Todd moseyed over carrying a towel and knelt in front of me. Fully unaware of what was happening, despite the whole family having their phones pointed at us, I gave him a kiss and then proceeded to sit speechless as he poured his heart out. I finally came to when he opened the box containing the prettiest ring I have ever laid eyes on. It was all a blur but that was the happiest day!
While overall look and feel of the wedding was obviously important to us, our approach to planning our dream wedding was to ensure we were doing so in a way that truly prioritized guest experience. The majority of our guests traveled from around the country and we wanted the wedding to feel like a full weekend experience rather than just a day.
We kicked off the weekend Thursday inviting anyone in town for beers at Bonsai in Whitefish. This was the perfect start to the weekend and allowed us 1:1 time with everyone who had arrived so far. We then moved the party over to the Blue Moon Rodeo for a real taste of Montana experience. This was a highlight for so many guests.
MY MONTANA WEDDING MEMBER VENDORS
CATERING 406 BBQ 406-bbq.com
COORDINATION
Dear Dahlia deardahlia.mypixieset.com
FLORALS
Dear Dahlia deardahlia.mypixieset.com
LODGING
Star Meadows Ranch starmeadowsranch.com
PHOTOGRAPHY
Thewmatt Photography thewmattphotography.com
PHOTOGRAPHY (2ND PHOTOGRAPHER)
Porsche Jean Photography porschejeanphotography.showit.site
RENTALS & DECOR
Empress Tents & Events empresstentsevents.com
VENUE
Star Meadows Ranch starmeadowsranch.com
When choosing our venue, we knew we wanted a location where as many guests as possible could stay onsite. This “adult summer camp” feel brought everyone together in a way that cannot be accomplished with all guests in hotels and we were so happy to see all our friends and family from near and far becoming
fast friends. We hosted both our Friday welcome party and of course the wedding/reception at Star Meadows and I could not praise this venue more. It surrounds guests with the most beautiful Montana views and the stunningly well maintained grounds require very little additional decor.
We were also lucky to work with some insanely incredible and talented vendors who went out of their way to make our day so special and beyond memorable. As cheesy as it is, it was truly the best weekend of our lives and our friends still talk about how much fun they had.
First and foremost, this day is about you and your soon to be spouse. It is really easy to get caught up in it all and lose sight of that.
Some of the things that helped keep me on track and avoid major wedding planning meltdowns are:
• Plan the day that you and your fiancé want to have. Don’t let other people’s opinions sway you from doing what you want.
• Discuss a reasonable budget and stick to it as best you can.
• Vendors make or break your day. Work with reputable people and try to meet with them ahead of time to make sure they feel like a good fit.
• Everyone will tell you this, but things will go wrong. Some will be easy fixes and others will not. It is all part of the process!
• Your mood the day of rubs off on everyone. If you are stressed your family and friends will be. If things are going wrong, rely on a trusted friend or family member to help you get things back on track and then go back to enjoying yourself.
• Most importantly, have fun! Enjoy the process, relish in your hard work, embrace all the love and attention, celebrate your marriage and the prioritize this above all else, and don’t take it or yourself too seriously.
Katie & Joe
We met through the classic story of “he slid in my DM’s”, sending funny messages and subtly striking up conversation here and there. We had a ton of mutual friends but somehow hadn’t met in person yet. When I asked my friends what was the deal with this Joe guy, they all vouched for him. One of my friends said, “I can’t see you and Joe not having a great time together.” We made arrangements to hang out in the midst of the COVID-19 lock down, eating food outside on his back patio, and we haven’t made each other stop laughing since!
We knew we were in love with each other six months into our relationship. We were tearing up the dance floor at my brothers wedding reception, we looked at each other and felt that same zing at the same time. Our wedding was intimate, surrounded by the people we love most, with stunning mountains, wild flowers & wildlife all around us. We even saw a moose right after we finished the ceremony!
Because we kept things so small, the whole day was truly stress free. When Joe & I were driving out of the National park as the sun was setting, I told him I wouldn’t have changed a single thing about the day. It was perfect in every way.
You’ve decided to get married in the most beautiful place! So, you’re already doing great!
We picked our photographer and videographer first. It was important to us to have the most stunning photos and video since we were traveling such a long way (from southern Louisiana)!
Once we nailed down which dates they were both available, we planned our flights and accommodations.
Then lined up everything after that; hair and makeup, florist, officiant, reservations, etc.
MY MONTANA WEDDING MEMBER VENDORS
BEAUTY & NUTRITION Craft Society Salon craftsocietysalon.com
CATERING
The Lodge at Whitefish Lake lodgeatwhitefishlake.com
FLORALS Mum’s Flowers mumsflowers.net
OFFICIANT 406 Officiant 406officiant.com
PHOTOGRAPHY
Marianne Wiest Photography mariannewiest.com
Olivia & Casey
The old adage “the best relationships start as friendships” truly applies to Casey and I. For 20 years we have been in each others’ lives in some form; from kids thrown together at 6th grade outdoor science camp, sitting next to each other in 8th grade history class, hanging out in early high school, and finally becoming close friends our junior year in ceramics class.
Our friendship rooted in a sarcastic sense of humor quickly grew into one of trust, support and understanding that eventually turned into a relationship in 2019, after nearly 15 years as friends.
Casey and I have had the joy of growing up together and getting to know and love each version of one another over the years. He proposed on July 4th, 2022, because “Fireworks duh,” during or favorite shared activity of hiking in the beautiful outdoors of Montana with our dog Arlee.
From the moment we got engaged we knew our wedding would be a true reflection of us and that started with Bigfork. Bigfork holds a special place in both our hearts; it’s where we first visited Montana and fell in love with the state, where we have decided to
build a life and home together, and where we have built an extended family of close friends over the years.
We kept it close to the heart with all our choices for the wedding. We had our close friend Travis as the officiant, our friend Alexa helped us craft the most delicious signature cocktails and The Nest pressed fresh apple cider for them. We held our rehearsal dinner at Burgertown where I worked for five years alongside the best bosses ever, Kim and Andy Sweeney, and had our first dance to The Black Keys, Casey’s favorite band. Our close family friend, Kasey, made our favorite sugar cookies for the dessert table and they sat amongst the best donuts from Harvest Foods. Casey had a custom green suit made for the big day and embroidered our wedding date on the inside. We even found a way to incorporate our beloved dog Arlee into the wedding as a bonus bridesmaid!
Having our closest family and friends there was what truly made our day special. We both had friends from childhood there, my friend from Scotland was able to come, and all the special adults who helped raise us along with our parents. It was so fun seeing everyone from all parts of our life dance and celebrate all night!
MY MONTANA WEDDING MEMBER VENDORS
CATERING
The Kopper Kitchen thekopperkitchen.com
PHOTOGRAPHY
Three Sisters Photography threesisters.photography
RENTALS & DECOR
Empress Tents & Events empresstentsevents.com
VENUE
The Nest on Swan River thenestonswanriver.com
Advice I would give would be to hire a wedding planner and get a mom like Karen Frick. At the very beginning of planning the four of us sat down and had a discussion about what was important to Casey and I and the two of them did the rest. We showed up day of to the most beautiful and perfectly executed surprise wedding day!
Definitely think season! We knew we wanted to get married in fall ecause it was our favorite season with the beautiful colors and minimal heat. Our wedding day turned out to be quite chilly and rainy but made for a gorgeous background and photos, all thanks to Three Sisters Photography. I wouldn’t change a thing!
Fran & Jordon
Jordon and I met at the local diner where I worked as a waitress. I actually asked him out for our first date! We went bowling then went for a second date the next morning to get coffee. We immediately hit it off and have been together since 2020. I don’t think there was a particular moment we fell in love, the connection just came natural to both of us and we’ve been inseparable since the start! Our marriage is rooted in friendship which we think is the best foundation for a relationship.
We went to Glacier National Park in August 2021 for vacation and fell in love with it. It was our first trip to Montana. Jordon proposed at the base of Virginia Falls during our hike on August 18, 2021. We both agreed that we wanted to come back to get married and bring our families. We didn’t want a traditional wedding back home so we decided to elope. We wanted to be surrounded by the people closest to us which was our immediate families. Our wedding was unique to us because the entire day was tailored to our interests. We love to hike and travel so eloping in Montana seemed like the perfect choice! The morning of the wedding, our entire family got ready together in Lakeside and had brunch. My sister in law did my makeup and my
brother in law officiated our wedding. We decided to write private letters to one another to read while we got ready and exchange gifts before the ceremony. The day was centered around family and we loved that we could share our favorite place with our favorite people while we tied the knot! The picnic by the river after the ceremony with just the two of us was one of our favorite moments. We were able to relax without with stress of a big wedding and it was exactly what we envisioned our day to be. We had so much fun exploring the park while taking pictures and getting to spend the evening together privately.
My advice would be to relax, enjoy every moment, and remember you’re getting married in the best place on Earth! The scenery is beautiful no matter what time of year it is so don’t stress about the weather. Find a photographer that offers the things you are looking for to best suit you. I contacted several photographers and looked at tons of websites when looking for a photographer. Christina was super helpful and her photos were beautiful. She offered a great selection of packages and has tons of knowledge of Glacier National Park and the
MY MONTANA WEDDING MEMBER VENDORS
BEAUTY & NUTRITION
The Edge Salon theedgesalonkalispell.com
CAKE & DESSERTS
Montana Wildflour montanawildflour.com
FLORALS
Mum’s Flowers mumsflowers.net
PHOTOGRAPHY
Christina Adele Photography christinaadelephoto.com
surrounding areas. She helped plan so many small details for our day that helped so much since we are from the East Coast.
Remember the day is all about you and your spouse so make it exactly what you want because it’s a day you will refer back to for the rest of your life! Our day was perfect because we took the time to personalize small details, included our family but also set aside time for just us, and had great vendors to work with.
Lindsay & Brady
Brady and I went to high school together here in Kalispell, but we never really got to know each other. It wasn’t until college that we officially met. We both enrolled at Flathead Valley Community College where we ended up becoming friends. After about six months of the best friendship I have ever had, Brady told me he liked me and wanted to take me on an actual date. I was hesitant because I didn’t like the possibility of ruining our friendship if things went south, but we decided to give it a try anyway. Five years later, we have been married for almost one year, and I cannot remember what my life was like before I fell in love with my best friend.
Our wedding day was made special by all of the amazing friends and family that came together to make it possible and absolutely stunning.
One of my favorite parts about our wedding that I felt was unique was having my older brother be the officiant. It added such a special and personal touch to the ceremony. Another one of my favorite things ended up being a cereal bar we set up towards the end of the night! We had all different types of cereals, milk, and coffee.
I would say to be sure and book the big things such as venue, photographer, caterer as quickly as possible to ensure availability for your date. I would also say to be sure and make the day yours. Those little details may not seem like a huge deal but they end up being some of the stuff you remember the most. On the day of your wedding, try not to stress because before you know it, the day will be over!
MY MONTANA WEDDING MEMBER VENDORS
CAKE & DESSERTS
Montana Wildflour montanawildflour.com
Sweet Traditions mtsweettraditions.com
COUTURE
Mimi’s Bridal mimisbridalmontana.com
PHOTOGRAPHY
Thewmatt Photography thewmattphotography.com
VENUE
Diamond B Weddings diamondbweddings.com
Rachael & James
We met in May 2020 right as the pandemic was taking place, on a blind date. James’ job took him to the pink sandy beaches of Bermuda four weeks into us dating and he left a note on my pillow that said “I miss you” and I knew I loved him. From there things fell into place, we shared our love of hiking, the ocean, animals, and exploring outdoors. In July of 2022 he proposed to me back on the pink sandy beach’s of Bermuda.
We wanted an intimate wedding with our family surrounded by nature. National parks hold a special place in our heart and we hope to visit all of them someday. We both wrote down our top three parks to be married in
and Glacier National Park was number one, so the decision was easy. Keeping things simple was our top priority and Carrie Ann did an unforgettable job making that happen. Our wedding was beautiful, intimate and everything we could have dreamed of.
Follow your heart! Trust your wedding planner/photographer and just go with it, they know what they are doing. No matter what happens the day will be perfect because you and your husband get to do it together. Whether my husband and I are stuck in traffic or in a hail storm on a tundra hike he always says “at least I get to do it with you.”
MY MONTANA WEDDING MEMBER VENDORS
BEVERAGE CONSULTANTS
O’Briens Liquor & Wine obriensliquor.com
FLORALS
Mum’s Flowers mumsflowers.net
PHOTOGRAPHY
Carrie Ann Photography carrieann-photography.net
Bryahna & Travis
Funny story... we actually met at work! I was Travis’s boss at the time, but we didn’t start talking until after he left the company (no HR involved we swear.) The first time we got together, we met at the Remington in Whitefish. Before we met up, I emphasized that we were going as friends, and he wasn’t allowed to buy my drinks. When we got there, we talked for hours, and didn’t realize we had closed down the bar and the employees were waiting for us to notice so they could go home. After we went our separate ways, I think we both knew we were in trouble, and the whole “just friends” thing went out the window real quick. From there, we couldn’t go a day without talking or seeing each other. Our connection was so strong from the start, and just keeps getting stronger every day. The crazy thing is, neither of us wanted to get married in our lives... until we met the right person who made us feel safe and understood. The biggest thing for us was we wanted all of our family and friends to come together as one unit. There was no “groom’s side” and “bride’s side.” We both grew up with different family dynamics, and many of our friends we consider our family, and we didn’t want any separation of
that. I dreamed of my perfect wedding day since I was a little girl even if I didn’t think I was ever going to actually get married. And our day could not have been any more perfect, and everything we could have imagined. We wanted a country, rustic wedding, something that wasn’t super traditional, and something that was wholeheartedly put together by ourselves and the people we love the most.
Brides, listen up. The best advice I can give you, is to just go with the flow! I know many of you have been dreaming of this day for your whole life, and you want everything to be perfect. The reality of planning a wedding and being the star in one, is that things will never go perfectly. And that’s okay! Don’t sweat the small stuff, focus on being able to marry your best friend at the end of the day, and everything else will fall into place. That’s the best thing I did on our big day, and it’s the best advice I can give to you! I was 30 minutes late to our first look photos before the ceremony because we couldn’t find the keys to the car... and we were 30 minutes late getting back to the ceremony to start! The wrong song was played walking back down the aisle with my hubby, our flower girls were wearing two
MY MONTANA WEDDING MEMBER VENDORS
BAR SERVICES
Spinnaker’s Bar Service facebook.com/spinnakermt
CATERING
Porteus BBQ porteusbbq.com
CAKE & DESSERTS
Cakes by Debi cakesbydebi.com
JEWELRY McGough & Co. mcgoughandco.com
PHOTOGRAPHY
Porsche Jean Photography porschejeanphotography.showit.site
RENTALS & DECOR
The Party Store thepartystoremt.com
VENUE
Holt Stage Hideaway holtstagehideaway.com
different shades of white for their dresses, and there was nobody in control of getting people up to the buffet for dinner. But guess what? Nobody noticed the song, the dresses, the buffet, or that we were late, and every single person who came, had the best time, and we were married at the end of the day! That’s what matters most. So just take a breather, and enjoy every moment.
Kate & Kyle
Kyle and I met in the summer of 2019 through a dating app called Hinge. My good friend Erica actually swiped right on him. He played hard to get in the beginning but before you knew it, we were living together by March of 2020. We always say that if you can survive a pandemic together, you can do anything together! That Fall we bought a house together, and a year later we got a puppy (Blu) to add to our family. Belle was so happy to have a sibling. During the pandemic, Kyle and I would go camping and off roading. We just liked to get out of the city and explore the Pacific Northwest. Despite the challenges of a pandemic, we found strength in our bond to one another. I knew for sure that I was in love with Kyle when he agreed to take a 30 hour road trip with me and Belle to go visit my family during the pandemic. It was the summer of 2020 and work was tough. I needed a break and Kyle knew that. I was missing my family back in Wisconsin. One night, Kyle suggested that we just take a road trip there and that’s what we did. We drove from Seattle to Green Bay. The first year was pretty rough. I wanted to get home so badly that I didn’t want us to stop for the night. We ended up in Minnesota and a rest stop to try to sleep for a few hours.
Well I left the sunroof open and when I woke up, my nose was swollen. I was bit by a mosquito. I was freaking out. Kyle remained calm and collected. There were many challenges to that trip but overall, it brought us closer together. To this day, we do the road trip every year creating new memories.
Kyle and I picked Montana because we wanted a destination to bring both of our families together. Most of our friends and family had never been and they were able to make their own adventures. We fell in love with the venue Snowline Acres right away—the history, the aesthetic, and the community. We rented the Snowline Guest house for the entire week. We had a large wedding party and we decided to use the guest house for the girls to get ready. We had the stylists come to the guest house to do hair and makeup. There was plenty of room for everyone.
Kyle and I belong to a whiskey Cask Club where we make our own whiskey. Our first batch was old fashioned flavor and we names it after the dogs, “Blu Belle Whiskey.” Our card holder was an oak barrel that I ordered on Etsy. I had it personalized with our names and wedding date. We enjoy creating
MY MONTANA WEDDING MEMBER VENDORS
BAR SERVICES
Mavericks Casino maverickscasino.net
BREWERIES & DISTILLERIES Sunrift Beer Company www.sunriftbeer.com
CATERING The Kopper Kitchen thekopperkitchen.com
CAKE & DESSERTS Miss Patti Cakes misspatticakes.com
FLORALS
Pure Happiness Wedding Flowers purehappinessweddingflowers.com
PARTIES & SHOWERS Sunrift Beer Company www.sunriftbeer.com
PHOTOGRAPHY
Marianne Wiest Photography mariannewiest.com
PLANNING
Big Day Celebrations bigdaycelebrations.com
RENTALS & DECOR
Empress Tents & Events empresstentsevents.com
VENUE
Snowline Acres snowlineacres.com
and tasting our own whiskey and I wanted to surprise Kyle with something special.
We made our guestbook an interactive experience. I ordered black blank pages and bought metallic sharpies for the guests to write with. We had two Instax cameras and also provided a bunch of stickers and Washi tape. We had an area set up next to the bar with a neon sign of our last name. We had two barrels on either side that had floral arrangements on top. We created an area where our guests could keep busy taking photos, signing and decorating the guestbook. I gave all of my bridesmaids Instax cameras with fun film as their gift. I encouraged them to take photos throughout the day.
We really wanted to include the dogs because they are our family and couldn’t be there with us. We had a local artist from Seattle hand draw portraits of each dog. We framed them and brought them to Montana to be the center of our party favor table. We love to go camping and exploring so Kyle created a custom logo that we used throughout the wedding. We got custom camping cups made with our logo. Inside the cups contained Tim Horton’s Hot Chocolate, Heritage Cocoa Bomb Chocolate Whiskey, a mini whisk, custom stickers of the dogs, and the recipe for Belle and Blu’s Adventure Hot Chocolate. Kyle is Canadian so we wanted to include Tim Hortons. Heritage is the Distillery that we make our whiskey at. The whisk was my touch so the tag line could be “Thank you for whisking away to celebrate our big day.”
Can koozies had our custom logo on and we had them made in two sizes. We offered beers from Wisconsin and Seattle. We went with all Washington wine so our guests could try something new.
We ended up doing a buffet even though I didn’t want to. I didn’t like the concept of people waiting and watching a line. So, we had the buffet in the front room of Snowline that way no one was waiting and watching people as they went through. I did have a plated salad that was delivered to each person at the table. We had a menu printed that listed the salad, entrées, desserts, and late night snacks. I wanted the guests to be able to have a plan for the evening as far as food went. The back side of the menus had our custom logo.
I ordered a sign on Etsy that we printed and framed. I got a bunch of flip flops from Old Navy in various sizes and we had them out on the dance floor. I wanted our guests to be comfortable and not have to run back to the hotel to grab stuff.
We had six individually crafted glass votives that tell a story throughout our venue. We had two at the bar and four on the remembrance table. Each votive is unique
when lit. I actually spent hours in the store going through different shades and colors. They each have a specific name. Two of the ones that I got were called Angel and Celebrate. Kyle and I were celebrating our new life together but also remembering those we hold near to our hearts that couldn’t be there with us. I gifted these to our mother’s after the wedding.
During the reception we had light up foam sticks. Kyle is Canadian and I’m American. With his colors being red and white and ours red, white, and blue we bought the foam sticks in red, white and blue. I had the DJ play “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus and that’s when we handed them out.
We also had custom frosted cups made for our signature cocktails that were Wisconsin Old Fashioned and Huckleberry Vodka Lemonade.
I was inspired a lot from Etsy. I had our cake topper made. A picture of my dad and I when I was younger and put it on the back of his tie. My grandma couldn’t make it to the wedding because of her health. I took old cards she wrote me and had a pendant custom made in her writing that said “ Love Always Grandma Carol”. I surprised my mom with it and had her help me tie it onto my bouquet so that my grandma could be there with us.
I would recommend any bride planning a wedding in Montana to get a wedding planner. Katie was absolutely amazing. She was a local resource who had strong relationships with all the vendors in the area. We knew that anyone we picked to work with, we could trust them. Kyle found Snowline Acres on a social media post. I went to their website and found a list of vendors they work with. From there I already knew that I wanted Kopper Kitchen to do our catering. We made a trip to Kalispell and spent a weekend interviewing wedding planners and looking at venues. When we met Katie for the first time, we just hit it off. Kyle and I hadn’t even gone through all of our options and I was already telling her I was going to get married at Snowline and I wanted Kopper Kitchen. If you don’t live in the area, make a trip. I don’t think the majority of our families would have visited Montana if we didn’t get married there. It was truly amazing to see the memories they made and hear about how many of them plan to come back. We are grateful to the community of Kalispell. We have large families and everyone was so welcoming. Overall, it is your big day and enjoy the moment!!
Jennifer & Chase
In December of 2019, I was a single mom with a two year old daughter working as a nurse on an oncology unit. One of my patient’s going through treatment of breast cancer ended up becoming a good friend of mine over the course of her treatment. She randomly called me one day and asked if I would be interested in meeting a friend of hers that she had grown up with. I didn’t think I was open to dating but she said it came to her in a dream and I had to at least meet this person. Turns out we had lots of mutual friends and our paths had crossed years before when we were both in previous relationships. We went on our first date and I knew right away there was something different and special about him. COVID-19 happened, the world shut down, and we fell madly in love. Not too long after everything re-opened again, we bought a house, had a baby, and got married. Now living our happily ever happened together in Florida. I had a vision that were were going to get married in Montana before Chase ever proposed. Neither of us had ever been, we both love to travel and love mountains and national parks and it seemed like the perfect
fit. The view at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake was stunning. I booked everything without visiting or meeting anyone first—just through research and phone calls. And it all came together more perfectly than I could have imagined. All of our friends were happy to travel from all over the country to celebrate with us. We had to postpone the wedding a year because our baby came first. So seeing both of our daughters as our flower girls down the aisle was such an epic tribute to all we had been through and accomplished together. It was a dream come true.
My best advice is to have an incredible wedding planner like Katie from Big Day Celebrations, make sure the DJ is amazing (like Graham from Sidecar Audio), capture the moments with stunning pictures and videography (Thewmatt Photography and Treasure State Entertainment) and don’t sweat the small stuff. Savor the moments because it is all so fleeting and special. My only regret is changing out of my wedding dress before the sunset photos! Might have to make a trip back out there for more pictures one day.
MY MONTANA WEDDING MEMBER VENDORS
CATERING
The Lodge at Whitefish Lake lodgeatwhitefishlake.com
DJ
Sidecar Audio sidecaraudio.com
LODGING
The Lodge at Whitefish Lake lodgeatwhitefishlake.com
PHOTOGRAPHY
Thewmatt Photography thewmattphotography.com
PLANNING
Big Day Celebrations bigdaycelebrations.com
RENTALS & DECOR
Empress Tents & Events empresstentsevents.com
VENUE
The Lodge at Whitefish Lake lodgeatwhitefishlake.com
VIDEOGRAPHY
Treasure State Entertainment treasurestateentertainment.com
101 Central / Herb & Omni herbandomni.com
Atanaha Events Center atanahaeventcenter.com
Desoto Grill desotogrill.com
Glacier Park VFW Lounge Catering kalispellvfw.com
Glacier Park Weddings glacierparkweddings.com
Grain & Grove Experiances grainandgrove.com
Josephine’s Speakeasy josephinesbar.com
Mavericks Casino Mobile Bar Services maverickscasino.net
Piggyback BBQ Catering piggybackbbq.com
Sodalightful sodalightful.square.site
Spinnaker Bar Service facebook.com/spinnakermt
Split Rock Bar Services splitrockbeverageservice.com
Sunrift Beer Company sunriftbeer.com
Treasure State Hospitality treasurestatehospitality.info
Bespoke Beauty bespokebeautymt.com
Bridal Bliss Hair & Makeup by Lana bridalblissmt.com
