Here at BHL headquarters located in Southern California, we do not see much snow around here, so when we have a dreamy winter wedding to feature, we are totally head over heels in love.  Rich sumptuous colors, roaring log fires, a gorgeous handcrafted bouquet made by the mother of the bride,  beautiful snowy day as the backdrop, and this wedding is romantic and magical. Then you have Marianne Wiest Photography behind the lens to capture it all, and you have a handful of stunning images which has us swooning over all the pretty details.  Cozy up to this lovely winter wedding, and enjoy the romance!

 

From Marianne Wiest Photography…

This sweet, cute and goofy couple had a cold and snowy, but absolutely beautiful wedding in Missoula, Montana.  Luckily they were used to the cold since they are from Nome, Alaska!

Jake and Kaley have known each other for 10 years. They met in Kalispell, MT, and were friends through mutual friends. Kaley was in a relationship at the time, so was not interested in more than a friendship. Jake moved to Alaska and they went our separate ways. They didn’t have contacted for 4 years. One night, Kaley’s friend Sara was trying to set her up with a friend. We talked about relationships and Kaley mentioned how she and Jake always had a connection. They spent the night on google looking for info and pictures of Jake. The next day, Sara called the last known bank he had worked at and pretended he did a loan for her. Reluctantly, the bank gave her his number because he had moved to Fairbanks. She called him and told him he needed to get in touch with Kaley. Jake called later that week and they began a long distance relationship for 2 years until Kaley moved to Alaska.

 One of Kaley’s favorite things to do in Nome is to comb the beach for sea glass along the Bering Sea. It was in May and she was leaving for Montana the next day to spend the summer with family. Jake and Kaley went to collect sea glass on the beach. As they were walking along collecting glass, Jake got down and said “I think I found a piece of glass you will really like” Kaley looked down and he was on one knee with a wedding ring. Of course I couldn’t believe he was proposing right before she was leaving but she was so happy that they were going to get married. I said “yes”

They began planning a winter wedding in Missoula, Montana, which was close to both of their families.  They figured a Christmas/winter wedding would be convenient for family that had time off of work were traveling home for the holidays.

Although the blizzard made for bad driving conditions, the snow added a beautiful element to the photos.  And the 1953 Chevy, restored by the groom’s father, was an added bonus as a prop!  Jake’s dad Gerry rebuilt the truck from the ground up. The exact same model driven by 3 generations in Jake’s family. 

Instead of a cake, the couple had a local bakery make blueberry pies out of blueberries they had handpicked and brought with them all the way from Alaska.  This way they could have a little bit of Alaska with them in Montana.

 The bride chose natural colors that go along with burlap, eggplant, blush, and other natural tones. She wanted the wedding feel to be antique, the shabby chic with the lace and burlap. Instead of bouquets, the flower girls walked down the aisle with vintage fans.

On all of the wine bottles were from a book of love poems that the bride’s great grandma had given her mom. The lace, broaches in the bouquet and the gloves were from the bride’s great grandma. The bride’s mom made the bouquet and the bride made the boutonneires.

 

Vendors:

Photographer: Marianne Wiest Photography

Venue: The Ranch Club

Hair: Bella Sauvage Spa & Salon

Wedding Pie: Bernice’s Bakery

Bridal Gown: BHLDN

Jewelry: Blue Nile

Groom and Groomsmen Attire: Tuxedo Gallery

DJ: ZooTown