Wedding Blog

In one of my recent posts, I mentioned that we were taking photos with our wedding party during cocktail hour. Well, we did, but not before we took some formal portraits together. Nicole took a TON of photos that I absolutely love, and I can’t wait to share them with you. Of course it’s hard to edit them all down, so I’ve broken these portraits…

While we snuck off for some portraits, things were just getting started at the Otter Woman Trading Post, where we’d set up for cocktail hour. There were jugs of water and Arnold Palmer (half iced tea/half lemonade) set alongside our homemade blackberry vodka, lime gin, and limoncello infusions. And, of course, there were plenty of bottled Cokes chilling in ice, a couple of mixers, and…

After our ceremony, even the mountains came out to say hello! The clouds that had been hanging low over some of the highest peaks lifted, revealing a brand new dusting of snow. Despite the increasing chance of rain and fast-moving weather, it had been a beautiful afternoon.

Standing in a field with the mountains at our backs, we took a moment to look at each of our guests. Slowly and clearly, with the volume and dictation one could only hope to find in a seasoned professional, Cathy began to read the ceremony we had written.

We chose our simple, unassuming ceremony site in Polebridge partly for its convenience, accessibility, and proximity to our reception, but there was also something utterly breathtaking about being married in center of a small town in the shadow of such stately peaks. Although part of me wishes we’d chosen to be married on the shores of Lake McDonald or had been given permission by the…

September 6th, in the remote, Northwest reaches of Montana, our wedding was about to start.

While I waited in the wings for the ceremony to begin, dramatic clouds boiled and broke overhead, throwing the mountains into sun and shadows, sprinkling us with the lightest of showers…

Our guests arrived, finding among friends and family a few long-lost connections or rarely seen relatives, talking and laughing on the…

When we arrived in Polebridge, there was still over an hour until the ceremony. I had expected to have maybe half an hour to prepare… a time that I could have easily filled with setup and organization. But given all the time we then had, I didn’t know what to do with myself except make sure that Mr. CP didn’t accidentally stumble upon me before…

( My bridesmaids and I on our personal “limousine” )

When planning our wedding, we decided to use school buses as wedding shuttles for several reasons. First, our venue (Polebridge) was about 20 miles from the Lake McDonald Lodge in Glacier National Park, and a number of our out-of-town guests weren’t renting cars. Second, about 12 miles of the road to Polebridge are rough and unpaved—we…

While the ladies started primping and preening as only girls can do before a wedding, the guys took their sweet time savoring their breakfast, lounging in their pajamas, and shooting the breeze in the Lodge lobby.

Mr. CP, on the other hand, had been convinced by his cousin Alexander to give himself a wedding-day “wake up” in a different way.

Our wedding day dawned gray and cold. It had rained the night before, and while the sound of the stream outside had convinced me it was still raining, it was actually dry and partly cloudy. Not ideal, and certainly not 75 and sunny like it had been the previous Saturday, but the best weather we’d seen all week.

(Lake McDonald facing Logan Pass)

For the past several weeks I’ve been sitting on our pro-pics and stewing. I’ve been having an exceptionally difficult time figuring out how to begin sorting through the over TWO THOUSAND images sent to me by Nicole Tavenner of Piknik Studios to find the choice few to share with you.

After several revisions and one massive dump into Flickr (which I will share with you after…

Heyyo! Remember me? I was all set to tell you about our Zihuatanejo honeymoon when the holidays kicked my arse!

Well, guess what I just got?? A preview disc of our wedding photos! Our photog has over 1,800 post-processed shots for us and wanted to send us something to show our folks for Christmas, so she sent us 3 of the 11 folders that are coming…

After showing you all those guest pictures of our wedding recently, it seems only fitting to share with you a few more photos that I took, afterward.

(Morning at Apgar Dock, Lake McDonald, 9/8)

The day after our wedding (which was Sunday, 9/7) turned out to be sunny and amazing. It was a bit of a letdown to see clear skies after the intermittent rain on our…

What better way to finish my guest recap posts than with some photographs of details from the day!

First, to set the mood, a shot of the Polebridge Mercantile, home of the Polebridge bakery (responsible for our cake and tartlets). This sight greets guests as they drive into Polebridge. You can see our tent in the field behind it…

After dinner, our band took the stage. We’d hired Good Wood, a bluegrass band from Kalispell, for their awesome sound and great price - $1200 for 3 hours! Neither of us had ever heard our band live before.

We just knew that Polebridge’s hand-built stage deserved live music, and something with a local flair. Good Wood was the first band that turned up after a Google…