Robin + Tyler || Wedding Trailer from Britney Paige Cinematographers on Vimeo.
From the bride... Tyler and I both grew up in Whitefish, but it wasn’t until high school that we really met. I had just come back from a year of study abroad, and during that year, our friends had mixed circles. So as soon as I got back to Montana, it didn’t take long for us to meet and the sparks to fly. After our first picturesque year together, we endured five years of a long distance relationship while we attended different schools on the East Coast. Once we came out on the other side of that, we knew we could conquer anything together. After eight adventurous years of dating, Tyler got down on one knee after we hiked to the top of Wayna Picchu, a site overlooking Maccu Picchu. From hiking to train rides to buses, we didn’t have service for days, so we were able to relish in our engagement and begin fantasizing about our wedding. We were in the midst of a three month backpacking journey and started counting how many countries we will have had been to together by the end of the trip, and realized it would be 22. We quickly decided that travel should be the theme of our wedding, and every table should be a country that we have been to together.
The venue of our wedding was decided before we were even engaged: my parents 400 acre farm in Montana. My dad was working on a historical project that was restoring 100 year old barns on our land and implementing ponds and vegetation to forgotten cropland. Tyler and I had both worked on the project at various times while saving money to travel. It was so special and heartfelt to get married at my home, where our relationship had flourished, and to be able to show off the fruits of everyone’s labor, especially my dad’s. He had a vivid dream about a secret garden, and with his creative genius, brought it to life. I knew that our ceremony would take place there, while the reception would take place in the midst of the barns.
We had a lot of fun incorporating the things most important to us into our wedding: travel, Montana, music, and friends/family. The travel theme was most evident at the reception. Our guest book was a globe, our seating directory was bag tags directing you to a country, travel books and maps were everywhere, and we had photos of us from around the world on all of the tables. But as much as we love to travel, we love Montana just as much. So we really wanted to incorporate that as well. Most of our guests flew in for our wedding, so we wanted to showcase our homeland for them. I had our florist work off of an “enchanted Montana forest” theme, using bold natural colors you find in Montana. I didn’t just want to pick a few colors, I wanted them all. So we used rich deep hues from golds to indigos to purples. We used moss and fern on the tables for a lush look. Everyone’s name was painted on a river rock from Glacier National Park and placed on their table setting. We drank local beer. It was great! Tyler and I are concert junkies in San Francisco, so we knew we needed as much live music as possible, which ended up being all of it! We had a cellist in the secret garden for the entry music and processional. And as soon as we said “I do,” a bag piper started playing (to represent my Scottish heritage!) to escort the guests to cocktail hour. At cocktail hour, we had acoustic guitar, and after that a fiddle player (from the band) escorted the guests to the reception where the rest of the band was waiting to play the rest of the night! And as far as friends and family go, we used them everywhere: my sister’s best friend did our hair, my mom’s dear friends officiated the ceremony, played the processional cello, and ran the photo booth, my dad’s best friend was the MC, my friend created our specialty cocktail (using local huckleberries!), Tyler’s friend played the guitar for cocktail hour, a family friend helped wedding plan, and even our cakes were done by our close friend! So despite the wedding being upscale, it was really homegrown as well.
I am a very creative person, so it was hard for me to not DIY everything! But honestly, some of the best advice I got was to leave it to the professionals, so week of you can relax and enjoy the moment with everyone. Thus, I just incorporated DIY into a few special, heartfelt areas. With a table full of white and gold fabrics, feathers, and strings, we had a craft night in San Francisco with our friends to make dream catchers that would later be the perfect touch to our ceremony arbor. My best friend and I also painted a mailbox for all of our cards on the gift table. A few weeks before our wedding, Tyler and I went on a weekend getaway with a bag full of watercolor supplies. We painted backgrounds for us to handwrite our vows on (so we could frame them at a later time) and thank you cards for our family and bridal party. Days before the wedding, some friends and I sat around and painted names on the river rocks for guests to find their table seats and then take home with them at the end of the night. I also photoshopped a greeting and thank you card that was on everyone’s place setting. So we definitely had a personal element of DIY scattered throughout the day, but what made it even better is that our friends were involved in all of it, so pieces of them were scattered throughout as well.
When Tyler and I had decided on our wedding date, my mom asked if we even checked out how the planets would be aligned or if there would be a full moon that night. We immediately checked the full moon schedule, which quickly reconfirmed our date: full moon! This fact made our first dance even better because we knew we would be dancing to Moondance by Van Morrison, the song that was playing when Tyler asked me to be his girlfriend all those years ago.
I’m sure every bride says this, but it is truly hard for me to pick a favorite memory of the day. Everything was so special, that I was truly blissed out on love for months to follow, just reminiscing every moment and detail. From yoga with my bridesmaids in the morning, to serenading each other with our vows, to Tyler whispering how beautiful I am and how much he loves my dress (win!) during the ceremony. But if I had to choose, I would say the beginning part of our reception. It started off strong with our first dance, and immediately got better with the speeches to follow. My parents stood on the stage in front of everyone, asking for all of my family members to join them up there and raise their glasses in a toast to having Tyler join our family. Six speeches followed from our friends and siblings that had the crowd roaring with laughter, tears flowing, and Tyler even doing pushups! It was very obvious that an abundant amount of love was in the air. To cap it off, my dad and I danced to Quicksilver Girl by The Steve Miller Band, which ended with everyone gathering on the dance floor to, literally, boogey the night away. From that moment on, the dance floor was packed until nearly 2am! I have to admit, I do think we had the best wedding band ever!!
I have a handful of advice for brides planning their own special day! I really struggled with the invite list since we are both from a small town and wanted so many people to be there, but at the same time, wanted that intimate feeling. Looking back at the wedding, I am glad I ended up sending out all of those extra invites and having more smiling faces there to support us. It is not everyday that you get to see everyone you love from all facets of your life get together in one place to support you: relish in that. Secondly, only look at blogs, Pinterest, inspiration boards in the beginning to gather your own ideas, but once you make a decision, move on! You can’t keep second guessing things and changing ideas because you will never get anywhere, and, not to mention, your vendors might get annoyed! Plus, for me, who was getting married outdoors in Montana, I had to keep remembering that the natural setting is beautiful by itself, so I don’t need to keep stressing about dressing it up. There is something to be said about letting the surroundings speak for themselves. Thirdly, as I mentioned earlier, DIY is great, but also stressful. Even without DIY, the week of your wedding can be overwhelming trying to navigate everyone, see relatives, get ready, RELAX, etc. So incorporate it where you can, and let your vendors do the rest. They are extremely good at what they do - just trust them! And lastly, take a few minutes throughout the day and night to soak it all in. Everything is moving so quickly that it is easy to get flustered and let it all slip by you in a whirlwind. Step aside and just look around you to take mental pictures of your hard work, the love that surrounds you, and the best day of your life! PS- Bands are super fun and a great way to get the WHOLE crowd going!
Vendors:
Photography: Marianne Wiest Photography / Coordination & Styling: Joyce Walkup / Videography: Britney Paige Cinematography / Catering: Cuisine Machine / Liquor: Casey’s Bar & Grill / Band: Savannah Jack / Rentals: The Party Store / Flower & Design: Beargrass Gardens Florals & Events / Photobooth: The Fotowagen / Cake: Tina Meyer of A Whole Lotta Yum / Dress: Rue de Seine Bridal / Bridesmaid Dresses: Joanna August / Groom & Groomsmen: JCrew / Makeup: Kristen O’Leary / Hair: Zachary Morad
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