Paradise Valley & Yellowstone National Park
Katie and I met when I first moved to Montana and we became quick friends. Some of my most treasured memories from my time there include Katie and Carter. Not only did we get to work together for nearly 5 years, but we also used to take weekend trips to Yellowstone and spent evenings together at dog parks and breweries. Over ten years later we're now on opposite sides of the country, so this was a long overdue and really freaking fun reunion. The day was so perfectly them, carefree, casual, and filled with love. We started the day at Chico Hot Springs where the couple's good friend Joan (owner and stylist at Evolve Hair Design) did Katie's hair and makeup... and assisted in Carters attire decision. We then drove out trail creek rd. for a quick portrait session before the ceremony. After that we headed back down into the valley where they had selected their ceremony spot. The winds picked up just as we got there, making the ceremony the coldest part of the day. Their good friend Brie officiated a very short but sweet and fun ceremony before we made a quick lunch stop at the Old Saloon. At lunch I shared a few sneaks and the marriage license was signed. After a few more photos in the bar we headed south into the park and the negative temps made the rivers steam and my photographer brain explode. The plan was that there was no plan, we just drove around and found beautiful spots, which in Paradise Valley & Yellowstone, that's not hard to do at all. The only challenge of the day was having to work so quick, it was so cold we couldn't be outside for more than 5-10 minutes at a time. These bad ass lovers made it all look easy. Cheers to the kindest, most adventurous, happy-go-lucky couple willing to brave negative temps for an epic winter Yellowstone elopement, love you both!!! So hard. Forever.
