Wedding Workshop

WOW! We did our first wedding workshop that I mentioned last week and here are some of the images from it! We have been talking about doing workshops for a long time. While I was in Portugal I did one that went really smoothly even though it was our first and we were in a foreign country!

We will be hosting some other workshops in the months to come and would love to know if any of you are interested in being a part of them.

We used dresses from After 5 in Bozeman, Chieko from Nashan Photographers did Keegan's hair and Karen from Grace Studio did Crae's hair.

If you would like to see the images larger please visit the gallery at
http://nashanclients.com/RedCart/
then select Melanie: Workshops.

I hope you love the photos!!!!

Care to guess the models ages?



LOVE THE MOTORCYCLE SHOT.







LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this one.

Coubrough.McDermott Engagement

Christi and Drew just started planning their Montana Wedding a few weeks ago. I loved Christi when she came into my office with her mom to look at the various album options. She is a CPA but she is fun and so light hearted, and refreshing to be around!

We took the photographs by the Old Story Mill and the Stockyard Cafe, which is my favorite hole in the wall to go to!!!!

I am always so taken aback by the connection between people in 'young love' as me and my friends call it. I have been married for almost 20 and have a wonderful relationship with my husband but there is something so refreshing to be around the excitement and energy that happens between a couple that is getting to know each other.

While I think the photos came out beautifully the actual shoot had its challenges. We were eaten alive by mosquitoes and when Christi and Drew came out of the 'bushes' she head a whole head full of burrs. (I hope you don't mind that I hosted this photo but it was just so indicative of our experience!!!) If you look closely you can still see the burrs in Christi's hair.

Anyway, I can't wait to photograph their wedding at The Spring Hill pavilion in just a couple of short weeks!!

Take a peak at the rest of their photos at
http://nashanclients.com/RedCart/
Scroll down to Melanie: Coubrough.McDermott
ENJOY!

Barbie

A couple of years ago I found a Barbie bride that I wanted to use for fun just to break things up a bit. (I also bought Ken but I don't like his hair so he doesn't get the attention he deserves, kind of like grooms sometimes!)

Anyway, when I went to photograph Kristen and Scott's engagement session I brought Barbie along. The first photo was in the parking lot of the IGA as I was waiting for them and the second shot was in the same field that I took some photos of them in.

I love the second one.

"Barbie gets married in Montana." She has also been to Vegas, Yellowstone Park and I will continue to bring her around....

Workshop

First private wedding workshop. I met Cynthia through Smith Works, a friend and client who lives in Lewistown, MT. Cynthia is a wedding florist who is interested in becoming a wedding photographer. She has assisted and been a second shooter several times and her first solo weddings are this August. We planned this rather quick wedding workshop in a matter of a couple of weeks.

This whole event could not have happened without everyone's help. Megan at After Five 'loaned' us the dresses which we ended up buying for several reasons, one of which is that I want to do this some more in the future and the dresses were just wonderful. Chieko helped in many ways especially with Keegan's beautiful hairdo. My dear friend Karen O'Connor from Grace Studio created a unique up-do for Crae's hair. Cole, my handsome little son, helped me pick flowers the day before to make Keegan's natural bouquet.

Here are a few shots of the wedding workshop. I will post some more of the images that Cynthia and I took of the beautiful brides, some portraits and an e-session!

It truly was a DIY workshop that incorporated the work of the entire group!

Arnold/Jorgenson Engagement

On Friday I drove out towards Rosebud Lake to take engagement photos of Kristen and Scott. As I left Livingston in a downpour that has been all too common I wondered if it was a smart decision. AS I drove East the skies opened up and I was hopeful that it would be a perfect evening to take some photos. By the time I got off the freeway at Columbus the clouds started coming in again and I called Kristen to see if they could meet me somewhere closer to try and get in front of the rain that was coming our way. When we met in the IGA parking lot we raced to try and get ahead of the storm but couldn't outrun it. I suggested that we just take some photos by the grain elevator and try to get something.

The rain was POURING and the wind was HOWLING! Here are a few of the photos that I love. (Thank you Cindy for removing the rain from Scott's shirt!)





After about 10 minutes of shooting, with my shirt over my head trying to keep my camera dry we decided to take some photos at the Dew Drop In. As we started driving towards it we noticed that the clouds were clearing where we had originally planned on taking the photos.

We drove past some of my favorite scenery in this area, saw a bald eagle and dear literally five feet away from each other in the grass in the field, to the spot that they wanted to do the photos at.



I love the lupine and the two of them in the background....


I love taking engagement photos! It is always so fun to get to know each other!

Unusual Weddings: Weddings you will remember

My friend Kyle has been sending me unusual wedding stories for years now. Some of them are odd, crazy, sad, or just embarrassing. I finally thought of sharing them on the blog.

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (AP) - The bride wore white—and a face mask. A Chicago couple married in surgical masks and latex gloves Sunday after learning less than 48 hours before that they both had swine flu. Ilana Jackson and Jeremy Fierstien went ahead with the ceremony after doctors assured them guests wouldn't be at serious risk.
But to be sure, the 26-year-olds kept a 10-foot distance from family and friends at all times, even walking around the gathering instead of down the aisle at a Highland Park synagogue.

Jackson says they'd joked about swine flu after both experienced vomiting, achy limbs and fever. But they never thought they really had it.

She says the circumstances were unfortunate but that they took it in stride.

and another.

A couple proved their were head over heels in love during their wedding by getting married in zero gravity.

By Paul Thompson in Florida , London Telegraph
Published: 7:39PM BST 21 Jun 2009

Noah Fulmore and Erin Finnegan floated around as they became the first couple to tie the knot while weightless.

They were married on a special flight that simulates the zero gravity experienced by astronauts on space walks.

The couple paid more than £10,000 to have their wedding in a converted Boeing 727 jet that undertakes roller coaster-style dives.

As the jet plummets, passengers inside the padded cabin experience weightlessness.

Actor Tom Hanks prepared for his role in the film "Apollo 13" by taking a zero gravity flight.

Richard Garriott, the British-born space tourist, officiated at the ceremony.

The couple, both science fiction fans, came up with the idea after deciding they didn't want a conventional wedding.

Mr Fulmore, 31, and Ms Finnegan, 30, from New York, exchanged rings made from precious metal fragments of a meteorite that crashed to Earth in Namibia 30,000 years ago.

Their flight took off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

The zero gravity flight, which lasts 90 minutes, made 16 roller coaster-type dives, known as parabolic arcs, to create the weightlessness inside the cabin.

Mr Fulmore said:" It was outstanding, and everything we were hoping for."

His wife wore a designer wedding dress with trousers to protect her modesty during weightlessness.

Montana Wedding Guide

A little over a year ago we launched Montana Wedding Guide and we are working on some exciting new additions to the site and company. The first of which is our new home page which is our blog site. Yesterday I posted my first new blog on Montana Wedding Florists and will continue to write about the different vendors that are represented on the site. The wonderful thing about Montana Wedding Guide is that it includes free advice from the various vendors who advertise on the site.

When you are looking for various vendors for your wedding please stop by the site and look at the work of the great vendors that we have in Montana. In addition it has some wonderful real Montana weddings and an ideas page that are full of unique and beautiful ideas that you can incorporate into your plans.

On a side note if you would like to see what some of our brides have done please visit our Your Event page to see some of the beautiful weddings that we have photographed.

Real Montana Bride blog: Mark & Rebecca

I took Rebecca and Mark's engagement portraits several months ago. They are a sweet couple that has a zest for life and a great connection with each other. I had posted the photos awhile ago but Rebecca just agreed to be our guest blogger and chat about what they are planning during the last month and a half before their wedding. Here is her first entry.....Thank you Rebecca!!

Mark and I have been busy, busy with the wedding plans. We just finished hammering out the details for the helicopter rides! Mark is a helicopter pilot, and we really wanted to give his grandparents, family, and friends an opportunity to fly with him and see the beauty of Montana. Leslie Lukas (our amazing planner and florist) http://leslielukas.blogspot.com/ has been working hard with the many small details that I have been throwing at her. It is finally coming together. After being engaged for over a year and a half now, we feel like we’re nearing the finish line of planning and the beginning of the rest of our lives together. We still have a lot to do, but we’re having fun with it all in the meantime.