Missoula Montana Wedding Photographers

The Best of 2016

2016 was a great year for us! We shot 5 weddings, 3 engagement sessions, 7 commercial shoots, 2 video productions, 49 portrait sessions, 3 seniors sessions, 1 newborn, 1 maternity and 4 fitness shoots! Wow! We started the year by welcoming our little Ela into the world and ended it by celebrating her 1 year birthday. This was our 2nd year in business here in Montana. As you can see, we shot more portraits than we did weddings. Next year we have more weddings booked and we are excited to get even more. Alicia became my full time 2nd shooter. There are several of her shots in here:) We had 3 limited edition mini sessions that were so much fun! The spring session ended up raining, so we went with it for some adorable rainy day photos with umbrellas. We photographed the new Miss Montana and her family, a new and upcoming musician, 5 high school juniors before prom. We photographed the Lavender festival in Missoula. We made it back to Ohio for an AWESOME Indian wedding and a few family shoots there. At the end of summer, we organized a stylized wedding shoot at The Barn at the Ranch Club and worked with some amazing vendors. Jesse taught a summer intensive class for the Rocky Mountain School of Photography and mentored several of the students. I was selected to do the portfolio reviews at The Rocky Mountain School of Photography as well. We ended the year with our Holiday mini sessions and were pleasantly surprised with 50 degree weather the 2 days after Thanksgiving! We met wonderful people and made friends in the process. We are so thankful to all of you who trusted us to capture the special time in your life. We are excited for all that 2017 has for us and look forward to working with you!

Thank you for a great year!!

What wedding photography has been for me…

Photographing weddings has become such a life changing opportunity for both Jesse and I. We have been truly blessed to have begun this journey in our lives.

This wedding season marks the 12th year in the wedding photography business. Our first wedding ever, Jesse photographed our good friends wedding by following around their photographer. Jesse then designed them an awesome flush mount album with black and white color mixes, matching color strokes and feather bleeds! We were the at the top of the game:) Haha… needless to say, times have changed and so has our style. We strive to be classic, timeless and beautiful.

Shooting weddings for that long has really given us some amazing opportunities! Wedding photography has taken us to different countries, to different states, on road trips. It has introduced us to different cultures and religions. We have made lifelong friends and have met some pretty cool people. I would no way have been able to experience what I have in my life if it wasn’t for wedding photography.

I am drawn to the emotion and love between not just the newlyweds, but also the love and closeness of the families we meet. The aroma of the fragrant bouquets and flower arrangements during the ceremony and reception, have me craving the smell during the winter. The time our couples spent planning these weddings has been a feast of my senses and as I pour over the years of wedding we have photographed, I am brought back to the day they were captured. I remember the feeling of being there.

As a new year is ahead of us, I can only imagine what lays in store for us and the weddings we will be blessed to capture.

This year also brings a new change for us. Our 17 year old daughter Alicia has interned and apprenticed for us for many years and now is photographing along with us. I am very excited about that, and amazed at her talent at such a young age.

Here are a few weddings from one of my favorite years. I hope you enjoy!

-Nelli

Sara & Russ | Married at the Island Lodge

Sara and Russ both grew up in Missoula, MT. They now live in Oregon, but Montana is home to them. When planning their wedding, they knew that they wanted to have a beautiful Montana wedding with all the comforts and details of what they call home. They chose the quaint little lodge, Montana Island Lodge that is located right in the middle of Salmon Lake, right outside of Seeley Lake, Montana. The day was absolutely breathtaking! Fall colors had just arrived and the lake mirrored them in a breathtaking display. Their guests were boated to the Lodge to enjoy a full day of celebrating the love that Sara and Russ share together. The sunflower decorations and rustic lodge, the laughing and celebrating of friends and family, the sweet moments that we witnessed between Sara and Russ were just a few of our favorite things we were a part of that gorgeous day in October. Enjoy!

Theresa & Miguel | Married

Miguel and Theresa are both living in New York City these days, but celebrated their wedding at a few of my favorite downtown Cleveland locations: St. John’s and the Old Courthouse. We started the day off at the Hyatt Arcade, where both Miguel and Theresa were getting ready. I could tell as soon as I met all the groomsmen, family and bridal party that this was going to be a fun day. You could see right away how happy everyone was for these two. Nelli and I both really appreciated Theresa and Miguel’s style. From the planning packet they sent out, to the decorations, to their avatar logo – it was all super stylish. You could tell that they were artists that used their wedding to express their style, and I love that. Here’s one of my favorites…

Thank you so much Miguel and Theresa. It’s was great to be able to spend this day with you. It was great meeting all of the family and guests. Congrats to you both! We’re looking forward to hearing about the honeymoon.

Jessica + Matthew | 1 YEAR!

Jessica + Matthew | 1 YEAR! Jessica and Matthew’s wedding a year ago was one of my favorite weddings. I remember editing the images was a difficult task because they were all looking good. They are really good subjects to photograph – naturals. I consider making people feel comfortable one of my strongest points and love using my camera to show the joy and beauty of people. These two make photography really easy. I like shooting weddings and engagements, but Anniversary sessions have to be my favorite of all. Isn’t it great to see a couple who is even more in love the next year? Marriage is a journey with an lot of ups and downs. Anyone who’s been married for very long will tell you that it’s not always easy, but love grows deeper through every trial and every tough decision. We have a tradition where couples hire people like me to help capture the celebration of marriage (falling in love) – the initial commitment. I think it would be great if couples utilized photography as a way of celebrating staying in love. That’s what Matthew and Jessica did. I hope you enjoy the images for Jessica + Matthew | 1 YEAR!…

Congrats on year 1 Jessica and Matthew. We had a great time with you and look forward to seeing you soon.