I am so excited today to finally have had the opportunity to post this wedding blog from a destination wedding I was so honored and fortunate to capture for my clients Laura & Bob last September at Lakeside Ranch In Helena Montana. First let me start this story of how this all happened. Back 10 years ago, I was so fortunate to travel for a destination wedding in the Grand Bahamas, for Jennifer & Casey. Their wedding was incredible has you can image blue coral water,white sand beaches, palm trees, close family and friends, and perfect 8o degree weather. I even on that following Sunday did an amazing trash the dress session were the couple ended in the pool with some outstanding images. Jen and Casey became friends and threw social media Facebook we always kept in touch, I also had several future bride contact Jennifer so that they could get a great feel for my impeccable service and wedding photography and she always was happy to do. Well, I must have had a great impression on this amazing couple and family that when her sister Laura big day came, I was one of the first person they contacted. Wow can you imagine being so fortunate to be able to not only photograph weddings here in Charleston, Sc, but to be a destination wedding photographer, that your images mean so much to that said clients that they are ready to have their sibling hire you. What a huge honor. When Laura asked me if I had ever been to Helena Montana, I said no, and then she told me that she wanted to have an outdoor, intimate ceremony that they both wanted, a very rustic wedding at the beautiful Lakeside Ranch. This place is breathtaking, it is on the shores of Hauser Lake, 3,200 acre reservoir on The Missouri River, and surrounded by beautiful landscaping, nature trees, and a variety of wildlife. I obviously said yes yes, and here I was in September traveling for an entire day to Montana, for this amazing wedding, that I was going to have the honor and privilege to capture. Wedding planning is already hard enough, but this great family gladly stepped in working to help them plan the wedding of their dreams, the rustic/barn wedding theme was Laura & Bob dream to have their whole life this ranch was perfect for this. It had a unique rustic charm the couple was looking for and the outdoor ceremony space planning process was really a fun family gathering.The wedding was simply elegant and full of fun details, has you can see in my images but everything was chosen with meaning behind it. The couple included tree trunks in the middle of the aisle with a custom arbor, candy table for the children, the couples had their name engraved in the custom tree trunks, the day was so perfect, so was the sunset and my images portray that perfectly and in a very story telling meaningful way. Laura and Bob family and friends and their guests danced the night away for this once in a lifetime rustic wedding celebration. Thank you ever so much Jen, Casey, Laura & Bob, and your entire family for giving me this beautiful opportunity to do what I do best, and for being so loyal and great to my family and I. I am most appreciative.
Here from the bride Laura,is how this all started. Enjoy:
We met through mutual friends.I was out to dinner with my sister Jennifer and a couple of her friends and the conversation, as usual, turned to “finding Laura a husband!” One of the ladies, Brittany, mentioned that she knows a single guy that works as a Sheriff Deputy. Brittany gave Bob my number and we began talking frequently. We met in person for the first time on August 2, 2014, out at the lake in Helena. We found out we had a lot in common from our careers in public service (I am a Registered Nurse and he is a Sheriff Deputy) to our taste in music. Most
importantly, Bob was so great with my 10-year old son, Ethan. The rest is history! Bob proposed on January 19, 2015, and we planned our wedding for September 26, 2015. We went searching for wedding venues and quickly settled on the beautiful Lakeside Ranch in Helena, MT. We loved that it overlooked the lake and we loved the rustic feel of the ranch. We got to work on the wedding planning and decided that red and yellow would be gorgeous colors for our outdoor fall wedding. Michel Berda had beautifully photographed my sister’s wedding on Grand Bahama Island years prior and I called Michel right away! He graciously agreed to fly literally all the way across the country to photograph our wedding. We chose Westmont Flower and Trading Company for our bouquets. Delisa Pearson created the beautiful yellow lily and red rose arrangements. Bob’s father, Richard Kinyon, does professional catering in Conrad, MT so we were lucky enough to have the food decided on right away. We used Facebook to search for a baker to create our cake and after browsing through many photos, we choose Anne James to bake our cake with yellow and red lillies and roses. We found a bar that would come to the wedding to serve to the guests and we hired a great DJ (Jason Slead) from right here in Helena. We got started on our Pinterest- inspired centerpiece projects (painted mason jars with burlap and lace) and ordered the linens. Things were starting to really come together!
The week of the wedding was a whirlwind of finishing last moment details and praying for good weather! In Montana,the weather is unpredictable and it’s not unheard of to have a 65 degree day followed by a snowy 25 degree day. My sisters, Jennifer and Sarah, both came from out of town and helped with so many parts of the wedding. They created and assembled a candy bar and helped with all the decorations and details. Michel arrived in Helena and took me downtown for a bridal portrait day the day before the wedding. We had so much fun! We went out to the ranch for rehearsal dinner and Michel photographed the entire thing. He captured so many moments and memories! The day of our wedding came and everything went perfectly! It was a beautiful fall day in Montana and almost 70 degrees! We all headed out to the ranch and all of our bridesmaids and groomsmen were so helpful with anything that needed to be done. Shortly before the ceremony, the wind that had been absent all day started to blow. Of course, I panicked about my hair! When we all went outside for pre-wedding photos, we observed that the wind had caused the leaves to all fall to the ground, creating a gorgeous Montana scene. The ceremony went perfectly and then Bob and I spent some time posing for Michel. He captured the most amazing images! We moved on to the reception and enjoyed the evening laughing with family and friends. Michel stayed as long as we all did and he did not miss a single moment! Our wedding was absolutely perfect and we want to thank everybody that had a part in that! We are so thankful that we have beautiful wedding photos to last a lifetime.
Laura
Wedding vendors website links:
King Street Photo Weddings, Photographer, Michel Berda:
Westmont Flower and Trading Company,Delisa Pearson:
