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Last weekend I had the pleasure of photographing Gallatin River Lodge Winter Wedding ceremony of Amanda & Harley.

It has been such a fun time getting to know these two high school sweethearts over the past year.

They met at the age of 16-year-old. From the get-go, they shared an easy-going sense of humor and appreciation of the little things in one another.

Harley, usually a shy kid, recalled how profound it was that she could always bring him out of his shell and how to completely be himself around others.

Thinking back on what was a difficult childhood, Amanda loved that meeting Harley showed her the possibility of a better life and how to be a kid again.

More often than not, this usually takes the form of dancing and singing to music while cooking together.

Over the next ten years, Amanda and Harley’s relationship flourished.

“We were able to develop around each other and made up for each other’s perceived “faults”, Amanda said.

It was a wonderful, mutual balance of support, love, and acceptance. Each knew they had found their person.

What began with an April phone call, culminated into a really fun and pretty unique portrait photography experience for them last summer.

Through discovering all that they valued in their relationship, we ended up highlighting some of their fondest memories growing up together.

For them, it was going on dates to the historic Washoe Theatre in downtown Anaconda and dining at one of their favorite restaurants in Butte, the Pekin Noodle Parlor – the oldest Chinese restaurant in the country.

The experience was a hoot.

Needless to say, the build-up of excitement for their Gallatin River Lodge winter wedding day could not be overstated.

These two wanted to spread out their wedding celebration so they could highlight the seasons of Montana through their photography.

They loved the idea of having a snowy wedding and opted for a winter ceremony in Bozeman with their immediate family.

Later this summer, they have plans for their wedding reception to be in their old hometown of Butte, Montana.

As their wedding day arrived, unseasonally warm temperatures, unfortunately, melted most of the snow outside but that small detail didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits.

They rolled with it, put on boots along with a good attitude and we were able to make some creative outdoor portraits for them.

After a brief ceremony, the two families came together for a lovely evening to celebrate, laugh and share stories then settle in for a nice intimate dinner.

I look forward to photographing their grand wedding reception in August.

Congratulations to the newlyweds! – M

Wedding Vendors:

Venue/food/drinks: Gallatin River Lodge

Flowers: Sola Chic Boutique LLC

Cake: Julie Hoskins and Big Sky Wild Flour

Hair/makeup: Alex McDaniel and Alli Abraham with Running Bare Aesthetics.

Signs: Kayli Renae Designs

Rings: Jewelry Studio and Millers

Videography: Eterna Films 

Photography: Greener Visuals Photography

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