Janna and I had such a great time with Carolyn and Ben at their beautiful wedding.  The whole event was held at the Gallatin Gateway Inn – just outside Bozeman, Montana -  which I have to say has become of my favorite venues.  The staff did a wonderful job, the setting is beautiful, the food was great – what more could you want?

Carolyn looked amazing in her dress from J.CREW – simple and elegant.  A perfect reflection of the entire day – everything was very nicely done.

Also, I have to say that all the bouquets and the floral arrangements looked great as well.  I think Country Flower did a great job!

Finally, I want to give a quick thanks to Josh from Lockie Photography and Jeremiah from In His Image Studios for lending a hand – you guys were a huge help!

I hope you enjoy our selection from the day – feel free to leave us some feedback in the comments section, and try out that new Faebook “Like” button, too!

Chris

As mentioned in their sneak peek, they had their dog Luna along for the ride…  She makes a guest appearance in this set as well.

We had such a fun time hanging out at some of my favorite locations around town.  The light was perfect, the couple was perfect, what more could you want?

I hope you enjoy the images here.  Leave them some love in the comments if you want!  You can see the full gallery here.

Thanks!

Chris

Leave this beautiful people some love in the comment box while you are there. 

Chris

I had the wonderful opportunity to be Brad and Mandy’s wedding photographer for their beautiful event at the Kleffner Ranch.  It was a beautiful, if a bit windy, day… But that didn’t stop us!

So, here is just a sneak peek…  I know, we’ve had a lot of those, but I will have some full weddings to post very soon!  I just can’t help it – I have to show at least a couple!  Here are a few that jumped out at me while I was going through them tonight…

Hope you enjoy them – leave them some love in the comment box!

Chris

Kaitlin and Garrett came down on Saturday from Great Falls to shoot their engagement session here.  They are getting married in September at The Woodlands down in Bozeman (and I can’t wait!).  We wandered all around downtown Helena, as we as to a couple of my favorite little outdoors places…

They also brought their trusty pooch, Luna, whom you will see featured at the end. 

Just a couple ones that jumped out at me while I was editing through them – there will be lots more when to post when I get them finished!  Let Kaitlin and Garret know how awesome they look and leave them some comment lovin’…

Chris

And we can’t forget about Luna…!

The rain threatened all day off and on, but other than a little wind it was actually a nice day.  Made for some nice clouds in a few images!

Overall it was a very classy wedding to say the least.  The speeches at the end of the night were some of the most touching ones I’ve heard in some time…  You guys are truly blessed to have a family that supports you so much!

We had a wonderful experince working with Ashley and Chris and their families – we hope you all enjoy the images as much as we enjoyed making them!

Please feel free to leave some feedback in the comments area…  Thanks so much for looking!

Chris

As I was loading the images onto my computer last night, this one image really jumped out at me, so I wanted to go ahead and share…  There will be more posted very soon.  Hope you enjoy!

Chris

First off, I have to say that Andy and Angie were a pleasure to work with from the very beginning.  We spent a good bit of time back and forth via email trying to get a date sorted out, and also just what we wanted to cover during the day.  Angie covered most of this with us, and she was even nicer in person than she was via email. 

Also, we had some trouble getting a rental car for the day we had scheduled, and in the end they just offered to come to the airport and pick us up – which was a huge blessing and also saved a lot of headache.  I did offer to pay them, but they refused.    So they picked us at about 7:45 that morning, and we headed off to get some breakfast (which they also would not let me pay for) and talk a little bit about the day, and our business.  We had decided to spend the morning talking about business and SEO related subjects, and spend the afternoon shooting and going over some off camera flash techniques.

After our breakfast Q&A session, we moved down the street to a coffee shop to talk in more detail about SEO and biz related matters.  (We also randomly saw a good friend of mine at the coffee shop – small world – Hi Addy!)  The morning session was awesome.  I learned so much in a short amount of time!  And and Angie were very knowledgeable when it comes to SEO, and had great advice for business in general as well.  They were also totally transparent when it came to questions about their own business, which was helpful and refreshing.    I really think the morning session more than made the trip worth it all on its own.

So, after we grabbed a snack for the road, we met up with Andy and Angie’s assistant, Charlotte.  She was going to be our model for our afternoon lighting session – which she did a great job as and was a totally trooper!  Once again I think both Janna and I found that they were very knowledgeable on the subject – and even more than that, they were patient and kind teachers.

I think that it is worth noting that throughout the day we found Andy and Angie to be a total pleasure to work with.  They have a passion for teaching that shows, and they do it well.  They were (and still are!) genuinely interested in seeing us succeed and helping us better our skills and our business.  There was no question that was off limits, and even more important, I think, was that there was no stupid questions to them.  It was the kind of environment that you felt like you could truly learn in – and we did!

To top off the evening we had dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory (which they finally conceded to let me buy) before we had to head back to the airport.  Nothing like a good meal to end a good day!  We learned a ton, and also had a ton of fun in the process.  I think I can safely say I would recommend Andy and Angie’s workshop to anyone looking to spend the day with some quality people and learn a few things.  Or just hang out for a good time!  Thanks guys!

And because I promised…  Here are a few pictures from the afternoon – feel free t leave Charlotte some love in the comments section!

Chris

There will be more to come soon, but for now, just a couple to whet your appetite! 

Let us know what you think in the comments box, if you like…

Chris

We had the day all setup – locations picked, sets planned, the works.  Then what happens?  It rains.  And the wind blows almost 50 mph.  Seriously.  Not so great, especially since it meant it was under 40 degrees with the wind chill.  So, we went to plan B, and made a few phone calls.  Thanks to some very generous people, we had a couple different indoor locations offered to us within just a little while…  After scouting the locations, we decided on a very cool four story brick building that is in the process of being renovated – the historic Montana Distillery building – and we had the whole thing to ourselves!  (Thanks Blair!)

We set up camp on the top floor and got to work.  Several hours – and one patient model – later, we had some great images…  Which are coming, I promise.  We set out to shoot this as more of a fashion shoot – to showcase some gowns and location ideas that you might not get to see in an everyday wedding (at least not here in MT).  I think we accomplished what we wanted, and we had a ton of fun doing it!  Thanks to the whole team for being so flexible and being willing to make it up as we go – it turned out great!

And last, but certainly not least, I want to give credit where credit is due – then on to the images!

Location:  the Montana Distillery Building in downtown Helena – made available by Blair from Urban Mountain Development – http://www.urbanmountaindevelopment.com/
Styled by: Katalin Green – http://www.katalingreen.com/
Model: Laura Viren – http://www.modelmayhem.com/1503931
Hair by: Elizabeth Carpenter of Sugar Salon – http://sugarforhair.com
Dresses: Thati and Mustique by Melissa Sweet – provided by the designer through  Avant Bridal – http://www.avantbridal.com/
Veil – Jennifer Leigh Veils – http://www.jenniferleighveils.com – Provided by Jennifer through Avant Bridal
Diamond ring by Saunders Jewelry
Makeup by – Deirdre Quinn, Indulgence – www.indulgencemontana.com

Also, thanks to Josh from Lockie Photography for helping out.  I think he will have a few images of his own to post soon – be sure to check them out as well!

Thanks again to everyone who made this happen – I would highly recommend any of them!

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…  Enjoy the pictures, and please feel free to leave some feedback for us in the comment box!

Chris