{Featured Montana Bride E-Session} Samantha + Riley

 One weekend night while just cruising the town, Samantha was looking through her friend’s phone’s contacts as her friend was driving. Sam saw a name she did not recognize and asked “Who is this Riley Jacobson?” Haley, Sam's friend, stated "Oh, I think he's a kid I had a class with. I don't know why I have his number though”. Sam asked if he was cute and Haley responded "Yeah, he's kinda cute". So Samantha decided it would be a good idea to text this man and see what he was up to that night. He turned out to be in the area so they met at the K-Mart parking lot where Samantha kicked off the conversation with Riley about his lifted Chevrolet truck with "sweet" wheels.....and then it all started. Riley and Sam started to hang out...a lot!

 During a summer evening Riley walked to Sam's house (about 10 blocks away) while he was texting her, making sure she would not see him, and wrote a message on her truck window asking if she would "go out" with him leaving a place to check “yes or no” with a window marker. Ever since checking that “yes”, they have been inseparable!  As the seasons changed so did their activities: In the summer, Sam would enjoy attending all of Riley's hill climb events and teaching Riley how to do water sports, kayak, and jet ski at the lake. In the fall Riley taught Sam how to shoot (starting out with buying her a .22), hunt, how to gut a deer, and took her on many fun camping trips. They also enjoy fishing, hiking, and hanging out with their good friends!

 They are each other’s best friend and companion. 4 and 3/4 years of being together later, Samantha graduated from nursing school and had a large graduation BBQ in her backyard. There, surrounded by friends and family, Riley popped the question and these two could not be happier in this next big step in life together!!!

Photography by Amber Reinhardt's Photography

{Tips From the Pros} Hiring your Photographer. Part 5 of a 5 Part Series

Hiring the right wedding team is a critical part of the wedding planning process. Personality, budget, skills, compatibility are just a few of the factors to consider, but whats the deciding factor in hiring the team to run such an important event?  We are excited to bring you this insightful, in-depth 5 part blog   on hiring your vendor.  Though its written with hiring your photographer (a VERY important vendor!) in mind, its applicable to hiring all of your vendors.  Thank you to our Guest Blogger, Paul Bellinger Photography for this great piece.  We will be posting this complete blog over the next weeks, so check back weekly.  Now for Part 4.   Read the Entire Blog…. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4  

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A PERSONALITY

Problem: how to ensure your wedding photographer has a personality for success on your wedding day.

Solution: Meet with potential photographers face to face and assess their personality on key characteristics detailed below.

You need to like your wedding photographer!  This doesn’t mean you have to be their best friend, but you need to like the way they handle themselves, how they interact with people, and their attitude before you unleash them on your dearest friends and family.  Your wedding vendors represent you on your wedding day, and reflect your taste to your guests. The photographer is one of the most visible vendors on your day and they’ll be spending a lot of time with you and your guests, so you should care about the way they are representing you.  The photographer is also one of the most pivotal vendors at your wedding, and if they get flustered, lose their cool, or freak out, it could be disastrous.

Personality is a complicated trait to consider, but beyond generally being nice and a pleasure to be around, there are two key characteristics to seek out that will ensure you have a great experience with your wedding photographer: professionalism and leadership. 

1.  Professionalism:  There is no better way to represent yourself to your guests than by hiring professionals who conduct themselves in a tasteful manner no matter what may happen on your wedding day.  Hiring a professional should give you peace of mind and let you relax and enjoy your day.  You’ll be in good hands with wedding professionals in your corner.  But how can you judge the professionalism of a prospective photographer?  Professionalism is about habit.  It’s about always following best practices.  Send your photographer an email and see how long it takes for them to reply.  Professionals usually reply very quickly, almost always within 24 hours.  If your photographer is repeatedly slow to reply to emails, then their professionalism may be lacking.  Meet with your photographer and assess their punctuality, preparedness, dress code, and demeanor.  Ask them tough questions and see how they handle the pressure.  Professionals never crack under pressure.

2.  Leadership: No matter how hard you plan there are going to be times throughout the day where your photographer will have to take control of a situation to ensure that you get the wedding photos that will be worthy of your first family heirloom.  It may be an unruly guest, a wardrobe malfunction, or a pushy church attendant.  You never know what may happen on your wedding day and you want your vendors to be able to lead the way out of any chaos that breaks out.  But does your wedding photographer have the ability to be decisive, take control, and be a leader?  This seems like a difficult question to answer, but it’s usually apparent when you meet someone face to face.  Are they outgoing?  Are they passionate and opinionated about their area of expertise?  Do they have a voice or presence that could be commanding if necessary?  A shy, quiet photographer may be a great artist, and exactly the type of person you’d like to hang out with or have a portrait session with.  But if you can’t envision them being a leader during crucial, chaotic moments, then they are probably not your best choice as a wedding photographer.  Just to be clear, I don’t want anyone to think that I’m saying you need a man with a loud voice.  The woman who taught me how to be a leader as a wedding photographer doesn’t have an especially loud voice.  But her presence is commanding because she’s a leader.  People listen when she speaks, just as they do for women leaders in all disciplines.

Key tip: You have to meet your wedding vendors face to face in order to assess their personality!  You can learn a lot by noting their professional work habits, such as how quickly they return your call, but there is no substitute for a face to face meeting.  If you are hiring a photographer from out of town and absolutely cannot meet them face to face, you should at least meet them on video chat using Skype or Google + hangout.

Guest Blogger

Paul Bellinger

Paul Bellinger Photography

406-850-2674

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{Featured Montana Bride Wedding} Ali + Trevor

Oh how we love featuring Montana Brides and their handsome Grooms in uniform.  We saw a preview of this wedding on Cabel Noteboom's page and reached out to him immediately.  We love the joy he captured on Trevor + Ali's big day!

Trevor & Ali met on Match.com. Ali is from Laurel and Trevor is from Thermopolis, WY.
Trevor is a hard working, independent 9 year veteran of the US Navy. They will be moving to Rhode Island with Lillian, their 4 year old who Trevor just adopted. 

Photography: Cabel Noteboom Photography
Venues: Big Horn Resort and ZooMontana
Tuxes: Men's Warehouse
DJ: Prince Party Productions
Flowers: Gainans
Hair: Patty Knopp (Hair on Main)
Cake: Your Story Cakes
Caterer: Amy and Will Guenthner

{Featured Montana Bride Wedding} Carey + Travis

 Carey had just finished reading Ree Drummond’s love story “Black heels to Tractor Wheels” when she made the move from the big city to small town Montana to be closer to family.  Just as she started to settle in her new home town, the man (and cowboy) of her dreams appeared at her parents’ home in Waterloo, Montana; a farming and ranching community, about an hour drive away. Travis was a neighbor and friend of her father’s.  Travis asked Carey out and there was an instant connection, something they both had been looking for their entire lives.  Her life began to parallel Ree’s love story after meeting her knight in shining amour (atop his horse named Blue), and soon after they were engaged to be married.   Soon she would be moving to the farm, and had a whole new and unfamiliar life ahead of her.

 They planned their wedding to capture the natural beauty of Montana.  They were married in Carey’s parent’s backyard against the stunning backdrop of the Tobacco Root Mountains.  The October weather was beautiful.  Waterloo’s Hall was transformed into a sparking reception venue with country flair; burlap and lanterns on the tables; favors were jars of peach jam made by the family wrapped in purple satin; the beer tent served Big Sky Brewing beer in mason jars.  That night the couple danced into forever to the music of the John and Russ Band.

Photography: Pat Vasquez-Cunningham Photography

Location: Waterloo Montana

Caterer:  Red Apron Catering

Florist:  Cottage Floral

Rentals:  Montana Party Rentals

Hair:  Bliss Hair Studio

Cake:  Sweet PeaBakery

Dress:  EskayBridal

Invitations:  Minted

Band:   John and Russ Band