The Dueck's were on a cross-country trip visiting National Parks and just experiencing all of the amazing things the American West has to offer. We met up in West Glacier just outside Glacier National Park on a mildly smoky late summer day, which is a fairly common occurrence unfortunately. The good news is, sometimes the haze makes for some truly dreamlike light and backdrops. That feeling came through really well in this gallery of images.
Kristina & Ryan's wedding at Great Northern Resort just outside Glacier National Park in West Glacier was such a lovely, laid-back affair surrounded by family and their closest friends. We were able to have a little fun with the wedding party photos—as you can see above—and enjoyed the live music stylings of The MAC Band as the night came to a close.
Venue: Great Northern Resort / Planner: Big Day Celebrations / Bakery: Cakes by Debi / Band: The MAC Band / Florals: Foolish Blooms Farm / Hair & Makeup: Glacier Beauty / Rentals & Decor: Empress Tents & Events and The Party Store / Videographer: Erickson Media / Second Photographer: Porsche Jean Photography
When I arrived at Great Northern Resort just outside Glacier National Park, Amelia greeted me with the greeting "Welcome to the shitshow!" It was half being silly—we'd been joking about the wedding day ending up as such—and half serious. Some things were invariably not going 100% according to plan. I assured her however that, to be honest, wedding days rarely go 100% according to plan. Even under ideal conditions and with a team of amazing vendors, some things will go wrong or fall through the cracks, and that is okay! Often the fact that anything went wrong is completely invisible to the wedding guests and is only known by the couple and a handful of wedding vendors.
The great news is, that Amelia and Jim's day was no different, and the evening was just a beautiful evening full of friends, family, and laughter.
Venue: Great Northern Resort / Catering: Oso Catering / DJ: Treasure State Entertainment / Florals: Flathead Farmworks / Hair & Makeup: Elegance by Joy Renee / Planner: Dreaming of I Do / Rentals & Decor: The Party Store
I'm not sure what it is with so many of my family portrait clients who are vacationing from places I have deep ties to, but the Feckes were no exception. They were visiting from Northern Illinois, which is where my mom is from, and where many of my friends from my time at Eastern Illinois University live. I'm not mad about it, it's always fun to compare and contrast the geography of Western Montana—majestic mountains everywhere—and just about anywhere in Illinois which is decidedly lacking in majestic mountains, though there is often a small hill or two. In addition to getting family portraits, they also used it as an opportunity to snag individuals of each kiddo, as well as some 'senior style' portraits of their oldest.
Lauren, the eldest of the Hamilton daughters, was fortunate to be working as a seasonal employee at Glacier Raft Co., and even more fortunate that her family was able to come to visit her here! They spent time traipsing around Glacier National Park, and naturally—since you're seeing this on my website—took the opportunity to get some family photos in the Last Best Place.
I met Leah and Hans at the My Montana Wedding Expo and Style show this past January and they booked me on the spot. They were planning a "backyard wedding" at some property of family friends on Halfmoon Lake just a hop, skip, and a jump from Glacier National Park in West Glacier.
After a quick "fake first look" with the best man standing in for the bride, and then a real first look we hopped into cars and headed into and around Glacier for the wedding party photos before returning to the ceremony and reception location for the remainder of the night.
Venue: Private Residence / Rentals & Decor: Empress Tents & Events / Catering: Josh Auerhammer / DJ: Bradshaw Media / Florals: Bitterroot Flower Shop / Second Photographer: Porsche Jean Photography
It's a bit of a cliché that the weather here in the mountains can be unpredictable. But sometimes clichés are created for a reason. My evening with the Newman family was a perfect illustration of that. Mid-June temperatures in the 40s? Why not?! It was a bit of a shock for these wonderful folks from Louisiana where the heat index was well into the 100s this past week. They braved the chill though, and the clouds, sun, and sky couldn't have been more cooperative for some truly amazing evening light.
It's not every day I get to hang out with a family from Texas, and some newly minted University of Texas alumni. While photographing the Wyat family, however, that was just the case. They were visiting from Northeast Texas—a small town I was surprisingly not familiar with already—and two of the grown children are now former students from the campus where I spent a lot of time growing up.
As bad luck sometimes does, smoke from recent wildfires in Western Canada blew into Northwest Montana the few days before our session, and decided to hang around. That said, I think you'll agree it did nothing to make the backdrop any less amazing than it would normally be. Different? Yes. But Montana rarely disappoints.
A few weeks ago I got a text from my friend Katie with An Epic Elopement to see if I was available on a Tuesday for a quick elopement in West Glacier. As it turned out I was available and was happy to jump at the chance to once again work with her to document a lovely couple's nuptials.
Why only two weeks in advance? Well, Carly and Steve just happened to be in the area helping some friends move to the Flathead Valley, and decided they'd go ahead and get married while they were here. They've been together for years and engaged for several of those years. After getting engaged people would ask Steve when the wedding was and he would respond "Tuesday." Turns out, he's been telling the truth all this time.
We met up at the old Belton Bridge outside Glacier National Park for a sweet ceremony, celebrated with tequila shots afterward, and then headed into Apgar Village just inside the park for some portraits on the shores of Lake McDonald.
Planner: An Epic Elopement / Officiant: Raul with Best Day Officiants
Morgan & Eric visited Montana for their honeymoon after their Florida wedding. Going from one corner of the contiguous United States to virtually the opposite corner. Trading beaches for mountains and sun and warmth for winter.
They were absolute champs though, and Morgan fully embraced the winter setting by pelting Eric with snowballs—with a little bit of warning at least—to close out the session. Because if your winter portraits don't break out in a snowball fight, did they ever happen?
Matt Wetzler is an editorial, motorsport, portrait, and destination wedding photographer based in Whitefish, Montana.
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